TR6 Nylatron trailing arm bushings.

[tomshobby]

Just in case you might think that nylatron bushings last forever. These are about 4 years old.

 

[TR3driver]

Wow.

The Nylatron bushings I have in the front of my TR3 held up much better than that, but they also look quite a bit different. Most obvious, the steel sleeve in the center is much larger, so the bushing is correspondingly thinner. They also appear to have been originally machined from extruded billet, while yours look to have been cast to shape. Not sure what difference any of that makes.

I can't quite recall how old they are at this point; seems like I installed them around 1995 or so in my previous TR3A. Then after it got wrecked, I checked them for wear and distortion before moving them to the current TR3. They did show some wear, but nothing like what shows in your photos.

 

[mallard]

How did the car handle, or feel with them worn like that, any of the dreaded clunking sound going on?

 

[tomshobby]

Hi Randall, I am disappointed in them but to be fair they do have a lot of miles. They have been coast to coast through many states and into western Canada. The original rubber ones had many more years service and looked as good when I replaced them. I am wondering what to replace them with.

Keith, there was a faint clunk sound and it may have been from them but I have not dropped the diff yet.

 

[glemon]

I had one polyurethane bushing fail on my TR250, the results were quite pronounced, it deformed under pressure when I was autocrossing and the handling got quite squirrely for a short time, I informed the vendor (BPNW) of the problem, and they sent more of same, I was skeptical, but it was free, and installation isn't too hard, so I put the replacement on and have had no trouble since, About 4 years of use, not as many miles probably as you put on. When I had the problem my next choice was to try the extra hard rubber ones from the roadster factory, but since the polyurethanes have been OK, I haven't pursued it.

P.S. I thought the bushings didn't move relative to the arm, and any friction/wear was supposed to be between the retaining bolt and the metal sleeve in the bushing.

 

[tomshobby]

Hi glemon, I have been thinking about the graphite impregnated polyurethane bushings from BPNW but those harder rubber ones from TRF that you mention interest me.

 

[tdskip]

Yikes - thanks for posting Tom (and good to hear that at least the were put to good use with all of your trips, but still...)

 

[KVH]

I'm not able to see they're all that worn, at least from what I know, but here's my main question: Isn't is a hassle to replace those bushings due to the necessity to assure that the rear wheel is then properly aligned? I have an alignment bar from Moss that I use on the front wheels but how to you align the rear after removing and replacing the trailing arms?

 

[Tybalt]

.... but how to you align the rear after removing and replacing the trailing arms?

I assume that you are talking about a gauge for checking the toe in/out. You can use the same piece of kit and then add or subtract shims at the trailing arm pivot brackets to adjust toe. If you kept track of the shims and reinstall same as before disassembly you should be at a good starting point for toe adjustment. Another option would be to use the "String method" discussed here:

https://www.britishcarforum.com/bcf/showthread.php?99484-Shims

Adjusting camber is another matter. Here there are two approaches. One is playing mix and match with the pivot brackets (one, two and three notch) and orienting them up or down accordingly to add or subtract camber, all in all a royal pain that is somewhat removed from the neck (I have first hand data on this). The other is to contact Richard Good ( https://goodparts.com/shop/index.php?categoryID=13 ) and get a set of his adjustable rear trailing arm brackets, your life (or the life of whoever is doing your alignment) will be much easier.

Here's a link that explains the rear camber adjustment using the bracket mix and match method:

https://buckeyetriumphs.org/technical/Suspension/AdjRS/AdjRS.htm

 

[tomshobby]

When I did the toe-in on my Midget I used this tool that I purchased from Jeg's. It was easy to use and having driven a few hundred miles since it seems to have done a fine job. BTW - toe-in of the front wheels is the only wheel alignment adjustment that a Midget has.

When I do my trailing arms on the TR6 I will also use the "string" method to check the alignment of the rear wheels with the front wheels.

 

[glemon]

That Jegs tool looks interesting, is there anything that holds it up on the side not shown or holds it snug to the wheel? Looks like something a guy could make pretty easily, the little slits or notches for the tape to go through are a clever touch. Greg

 

[tomshobby]

The pieces are about 1/8" thick with about a 1 inch lip at a 45 degree angle on the top and bottom. It keeps the piece flat and makes it lean against the tire.