poly bushings vs oem

[TJay]

Been looking into the pros and cons of poly bushings and it seems a lot of folks are saying oem last longer and you pretty much know how the truck will handle.
With this in mind does anyone have any experience / input that may help me to make an informed decision?
Also if I decide to go oem does anyone know where to get a full kit from the UK as I'll probably bring them over in the SeaCan.

Thanks
Tom

[northerndefender]

Hi Tom

Here is a link to the distributors for Polybush:

http://www.polybush.co.uk/our-distributors

I see britpart are listed which would make it easy

Cheers
colin

[Red90]

The problem with the discussion is that just saying "poly bush" does not mean anything.  Some brands are crap and fall apart in 5 minutes, some last forever.  Some are hard as rocks, some are softer than stock.  With that said, it is nearly impossible to find any proper reviews or opinions that are not highly biased.

The only ones that I think would be safe to recommend are the Superpro brand bushes.  There are people I would trust in Australia that have found them to last and provide good suspension movement and feel.  I would not really listen to opinions from anywhere else as they are really the only ones have conditions that truly test suspension components.

Current OEM bushes are not very good, IME.  The original bushes they put on the trucks were amazing and lasted forever.  The stuff you buy today goes a few years at most when used hard.

[binch]

I put the poly bushes I got from Britpart (blues) on my 110 a few years back and I've been happy with them.   But bang for you buck the orginal rubbers last well and they're not expensive.

[TJay]

After doing a pile more googling I totally agree with you Red, "it is nearly impossible to find any proper reviews or opinions that are not highly biased." If the bank account would have  :-\, I probably would gone with Superpro the Aussies do really like em.
So I've opted for the Britpart ones, found quite a few pretty good comments on them so figure I'll give them a whirl. Thanks for the input and I'll report back as to how install went and how they feel / perform.

Thanks all,
Tom

[pechanec]

Be warned, the old ones can seize in really bad. A good hydraulic press or skill with a torch to cut the old ones out is necessary!

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[pechanec]

Also, running orange polybushes in my D1 with good results

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[TJay]

My brother has a 20T press that I'm hoping will do the job, unfortunately his garage is not heated so I probably won't get at it until it warms up a bit. If any of them give me too much grief I suppose I can rent an oxy/ac kit and burn them out  ::)

[Red90]

Everything is pretty easy to get out with a press that size except the axle end of the radius arms.  I get about a 50% success on those.  Part of the problem is the very thin shell that require a very specific diameter die.  Need someone to run some dies on a lathe...  If they won't press out, then press out the rubber leaving just the outer shell.  Then hacksaw through the shell and knock it out with a hammer and chisel.

[VedRover]

Be warned, the old ones can seize in really bad. A good hydraulic press or skill with a torch to cut the old ones out is necessary!

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I recently had to replace radius arms bushings that must've been there for decades and yes, it's not easy. I tried everything that the Internet wisdom recommends (hydraulic press (mine is a 6 tons and wouldn't budge them), punch/hammer) and all methods took lots of time and all failed me in the end.
I however, then figured out a virtually pain-free method: hit the edge of the outside metal sleeve with an air chisel (or just hammer/chisel) to bend it inwards a bit from both sides (5-10 mins per bushing with an air chisel) and then they press out almost effortlessly. See reply #7 on my rebuild post:
http://alre.club/Forum/index.php?topic=859.msg5759#msg5759

[TJay]

I had run across that on the interweb and was planning on just trying to press the rubber out and then cut the steel. Would save a lot of toxic fumes going into our air from burning them out

[TJay]

Ya I just finished reading your new 110 post VedRover, that is a smokin' way (without the smoke) to get those pesky bushings out, definitely going your route. Thanks, I'm very sure it will save a lot of time and grief.

[Matt H]

I drill multiple holes through the bushing then use an air hammer to cut out the outer shell. That's  the easiest way I've found if I don't have a big press handy. If you use just the air hammer sometimes the rubber bushing absorbs much of the impact, reducing its effectiveness.

Of course the real best way is drop off a two four of beer and the items you need pressed out at your friendly local machine shop. Job done.

[VedRover]

Ya I just finished reading your new 110 post VedRover, that is a smokin' way (without the smoke) to get those pesky bushings out, definitely going your route. Thanks, I'm very sure it will save a lot of time and grief.

You're welcome and glad I could help. I'm lazy and always try to come up with a way that takes the least amount of effort. 4 bushings took me about an hour all in all. Beats the heck out of pressing the center rubber and then cutting the sleeve with hacksaw.

[Red90]

Doing a set the hacksaw method won't take more than half an hour.