TR2/3/3A Tr3 front suspension re-bush, what's good out there

[Got_All_4]

Went to do some clean up and replace the upper control arm bushings again and low and behold the entire suspension bushings are all shot. Looked in the top 3 catalogs for urethane bushings and a lot to look at. Not sure what to get. Want a better ride and longer lasting parts because this is the last time I want to do this. I like the idea of the metal insert in the bushing too. Suggestions please?

 

[TomMull]

No experience yet but just ordered kit (GAC6068) from BPNW. Seemed like decent price and I'm not sure how much difference there is in the urethane bushings.
I would be very interested in what bushings failed on car and how soon they failed.
My car had the original rubber bushings, 55 years old 100k + miles and showed varying amounts of wear and age splitting, none of which I would describe as totally shot. Are we making a mistake going to urethane?
Tom

 

[M_Pied_Lourd]

I used poly urethane bushings on mine but I don't have mine on the road yet. Personally, I wouldn't go with rubber anymore as the quality of the rubber parts these days are not of good quality and do not have a long life IMO.

I bought mine from TRF.

Cheers
Tush

 

[Got_All_4]

Here is a pic of one of the control arms. They are more deteriorated on the outside but the inside is just starting to deteriorate. Very little life left in them. Looking on line last night and in my catalogs just got confused because there is a bunch out there. From $20 to $250. I want a good pair that I won't have to do again when I'm 75 but also don't want to brake the bank. It wouldn't be fair and I would have to guess where I got this set from some 12 to 15 years ago. But they are straight urethane and with out metal inserts. I like the idea of the inserts insted of running the rubber directly on the fulcrum pin. I'm going tomorrow to my local Triumph supplier and see what these Prothane bushings are all about. If the front are that bad and I never did the rears. (had the car since 1976) then the rears got to be horrible.

 

[M_Pied_Lourd]

I have not seen bushings with metal inserts for the fulcrum pins. Mine were just straight poly that slipped over the pins. The bottom were steel sleeves with nylon inserts.

Cheers
Tush

 

[Don Elliott]

The last time I changed mine, I wanted it to be the last time. So I asked the help of a neighbour and he drilled and tapped for grease Zerts. In over 20,000 miles the new poly bushings are still like new. We made spiral grooves so the grease can get into where it's needed for the full length. I grease then with red synthetic AMS grease. Hopefully the synthetic grease will be better and won't rot the rubber bits etc.

 

[TomMull]

Here is a pic of one of the control arms. They are more deteriorated on the outside but the inside is just starting to deteriorate. Very little life left in them. Looking on line last night and in my catalogs just got confused because there is a bunch out there. From $20 to $250. I want a good pair that I won't have to do again when I'm 75 but also don't want to brake the bank. It wouldn't be fair and I would have to guess where I got this set from some 12 to 15 years ago. But they are straight urethane and with out metal inserts. I like the idea of the inserts insted of running the rubber directly on the fulcrum pin. I'm going tomorrow to my local Triumph supplier and see what these Prothane bushings are all about. If the front are that bad and I never did the rears. (had the car since 1976) then the rears got to be horrible.

Thanks for the picture. Food for thought, to say the least.
Note that price and quality are not necessarily directly proportional.
I'll look forward to your final choice.
Tom

 

[TomMull]

The last time I changed mine, I wanted it to be the last time. So I asked the help of a neighbour and he drilled and tapped for grease Zerts. In over 20,000 miles the new poly bushings are still like new. We made spiral grooves so the grease can get into where it's needed for the full length. I grease then with red synthetic AMS grease. Hopefully the synthetic grease will be better and won't rot the rubber bits etc.

Thanks, Don, another example of your thoughtful engineering and attention to detail. However, I'll repeat my original comment that the original rubber bushings last a long time without grease. Tush is probably correct in questioning the quality of today's rubber bushings but it seems a bit sad that we have to re-design the system in order to get the "upgrades" to last.
Tom

 

[Don Elliott]

I forgot to mention above that with the greased bushings via the Zerts, I don't have any more squeaks in the front suspension that I used to get earlier during 2 sets of rubber bushes and one set of poly bushes. The usual suggestion at that stage was to spray WD40 or Teflon spray onto the ends of the bushings to stop the squeak. All it did was ruin the rubber ones and the poly ones with spray lube on them still squeaked and all 3 sets wore out.

 

[PatGalvin]

I only have a couple thousand miles on my TRF magic kit poly bushings. But they are quiet (wish I had installed Zerks) and I am very happy with the ride quality. It is definitely not too stiff.

Pat

 

[TomMull]

Don, I thought that squeak was engineered in to let you know the suspension was working. Hard to tell from the ride. Tom

 

[Got_All_4]

So far all I can find is rubber lowers and urethane for the uppers only. One exception is the Super Pro Urethane kit that says complete front end. Going to call Wednesday to see what is in the kit. Only $30 more and if it's all urethane it's mine.

 

[Got_All_4]

Don did you cut your own inserts and what material are they?

 

[GTP1960]

Don, I thought that squeak was engineered in to let you know the suspension was working. Hard to tell from the ride. Tom

HAHA! ......back in the day, a good salesman could explain that benefit to you with a straight face.

 

[Don Elliott]

Where the Zert fittings are, we drilled through the bushing after we pressed them into place. Then we used a small "V" shaped file to hand score the "V" grooves from the hole where the grease come in. This groove is sufficient to ensure that the grease gets to both outer ends. Then we reamed the bores of the bushings so they were a slide fit with the mating parts.

It's been a while since I did this, but I believe that they are poly bushings.

 

[Don Elliott]

I rechecked the parts I had ordered from Moss in April, 2009 when I did all this. The bushings on the paperwork read "4 only - #661-580 BEARING, NYLON INNER" at $1.25 each.

And the mileage since this was done is not 20,000 miles but only 14,000 miles. I grease these 8 Zerts along when I'm greasing the other standard ones for the front suspension.