• Hey Guest!
    British Car Forum has been supporting enthusiasts for over 25 years by providing a great place to share our love for British cars. You can support our efforts by upgrading your membership for less than the dues of most car clubs. There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Upgraded members don't see this banner, nor will you see the Google ads that appear on the site.)
Tips
Tips

TR4/4A any major vendor differences in replacement suspension bushes?

Share this page

D

Dash

Senior Member
Offline
After having my tr4 chassis sandblasted it's almost ready to start sticking stuff back on it and my first order of business is to refurbish the suspension with new bushings etc..i've checked the 3 biggies (Moss,TRF, BPNW) for kits. BPNW is by far the cheapest but out of stock so that leaves TRF and Moss. I was sort of leaning toward Moss and using the solid polyurethane upper wishbone bushes which are solid one piece instead of the 2 standard rubber ones and would be an add on to the kit..but then I noticed TRF has a bush set already comprised of urethane in one of their kits..Now I'm thinking that is the way to go and less cost than Moss.
So my question is: if just using the basic standard kits for comparison, does anyone have any quality or fitting issues experienced from one vendor or the other? I would assume all would be exactly the same but then every now and then I get burned from that idea..
Thanks
 
Either vendor would be fine. I have urethane on the upper wishbones, and definitely advice you at least do that. I used rubber once and they were all cracked in two years. I believe other materials like prothane are out there, but the prices seem crazy and I've wondered if they really are any better than polyurethane, and whether they might be too rough or noisy. I have never heard about a "one piece" for the uppers, but I guess OK.
 
KVH said:
..... I have urethane on the upper wishbones, and definitely advice you at least do that. I used rubber once and they were all cracked in two years. .......
Click to expand...

I recall many years ago a friend joking that the stock rubber lower suspension arm bushings on the MGA and MGB were the second worse suspension bushings in the world. He then went on to say that the worst suspension bushings in the world were the stock rubber upper suspension arm bushing on the TRs. I agree that you should give some consideration to urethane bushings for the top. Whether you use them anywhere else on the car boils down to what your limits and definition of "comfort" relative to your TR happen to be.
 
As has been said, I'd never ever put rubber ones back in. BPNW ones are fine, I've used them for years. I've not had any harshness issues related to using these bushings, shocks and springs are what to worry about rather than bushings related to ride hardness. Just make sure to lubricate then well.
 
Although I doubt there is much difference between vendors, I ordered a urethane set from TRF simply because I could order everything with one part number (Suspension Magic Kit) and had all the bits for the front suspension in one box. (RFK1330 for the TR4A)
 
I used the graphite impregnated poly bushings from BPNW in my Bugeye and MGB and they came with extra grease if needed...no squeaks!
Rut
 
Back
Top