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Volcanized bushings

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vping

vping

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I am just getting into more of the suspension on the B. I noticed that one of my "rattles" might be coming from the sway bar. The left bushing is like chewing gum.
I put sway bar bushings on my Midget about a year ago. Well tuns out that I checked Moss and it is the same bushing. Since the Midget is now a rusty tub, I dug them out of the parts bins and will use them. They have a few cracks but overall usable for today.
If I go to the trouble of replacing all of the bushings, is there a way to treat them to prevent cracking and volcanization?
 
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/iagree.gif
 
Yup! Poly is the way to go. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

susp8.jpg


My B’s bushings where much as described above and in a couple of cases almost completely gone, compressed and/or elongated. In fact as I pulled the front suspension apart some of the bushing where actually crumbling in my hands.

That’s why I opted for the polyurethane bushings.
 
Do the kits that Moss sells contain everything needed to replace ALL Front end bushings?
Is there a rear kit?
Do you need any special tools needed?

I had my thoughts about going poly but wanted to see what everyone thought.
 
I got my poly bushings from Victoria British. Their front end kit had everything I needed to replace all the rubber bushings. While you’re at it I’d recommend replacing the lower Fulcrum bolt rubber seals (VB #5-241, 4ea). Also if your steering rack boots need replacement this’d be a great time to change them too.

As for tools? Following the Haynes or Bentley manuals this procedure shouldn’t be any harder to replace the tired old bushings with poly than it would with regular rubber bushings. Most basic hand tools (socket set, common wrenches etc) should work fine. Although I found that it was a much easier process if you have access to a compressor & air tools. Also you might need a breaker bar for some of the more stubborn bolts. About the only issues I had came about during reassembly of the A-Arm Bushings, when the greased bushings kept wanting to work their way out. So I assembled the a-arms with the spring bucket in place but left the mounting hardware loose. Then placed the bushings on the pivot arms of the Fulcrum & I used a ratchet strap to compress the A-arm & bushings in order to thread the pivot nut back into place.

Probably should mention that for safety sake – you should get yourself a proper set of jack stands and a good floor jack if you don’t already have them.
 
I am still a fan of the V8 bushings on thte A arms. The 67 has them and the 73GT has the prothane package and it is much stiffer. I realize it is the whole car package but I really feel the diff when hitting a bump on the front end.
I will qualify the above statement by saying I am not within 2 lightyears of Haps experience, I just feel the diff on two of my MGs. FWIW YMMV
 
I got my poly kit from Moss. It had everything I needed, but I also called in to make sure I got all the bushings to do the entire suspension front and rear. I don't think they had a 'kit' for the rear, but the guy I talked to the phone knew exactly want to place on the order when I told him what I wanted.

There seemed to be a short break-in period when I did my bushings where the suspension seemed super harsh for couple hundred miles. Now, I find the ride seems solid, but not harsh. This is in comparison to how the car rode previously with worn out rubber bushings (and in some cases completely rotted away).

If you go with poly, I doubt you'll wonder if it'd be better if you did it some other way. Myself, like the vast majority of people that switched to poly, I'm extremely satisfied with the change.
 
I recently read in a few places that the ride is really harsh at low speeds than at higher ones. Is this true or as Rob describes it, "There seemed to be a short break-in period".

Now what is the difference between:

Black Poly
Red Poly
Nylatron
Prothane

Moss has these listed and they seem to have some kits.
 
Just my two cents' worth but: If we were looking for a "smooth ride" we'd drive Cadillacs... go with the poly bushes and drive something else for "comfort." /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jester.gif
 
there should be no difference between black poly, red poly, and Prothane. As far as I can tell Prothane is just name brand stuff. Which is what I got from Moss. The only difference between red poly and black poly, should be just coloring pigment. The black stuff ought to make it slightly more difficult for judges to ding you for having poly bushings. If it's all black down there, there's less scrutiny. The red bushings stick out like a sore thumb n stuff... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

I don't know about the Nylatron stuff first hand. My impression from the Moss literature is it'd be even more stiff than poly...
 
[ QUOTE ]
Just my two cents' worth but: If we were looking for a "smooth ride" we'd drive Cadillacs... go with the poly bushes and drive something else for "comfort." /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jester.gif

[/ QUOTE ]
I’m in the same camp as Doc on this one. I’d of never purchased my B if all I wanted was a comfortable ride. I’ve got that with my wife’s ultra Lux-O-Barge SUV. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif

As for a “break in” period? While I did notice an improvement in ride quality and overall stiffness (less lateral leaning & movement in turns) that still seems pretty much unchanged even today. But I truthfully don’t recall if there was a “true” break in period where the ride improved, got smother or less harsh.

But the thing to remember is that the ride was pretty harsh and brutal with the worn out & rotted out bushings before installing poly bushings. In fact is was downright comfy by comparison. Even with all the other suspension upgrades I’d made it was a pleasure to drive.

So I suspect that if you’ll see a drastic improvement no matter what you do once you’ve replaced the old bushings if they’re as bad as you’ve described.

Good luck.
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif
 
hmmm... maybe my break in period was because I lowered my car when I changed to poly bushings, and forgot to relocate my front bump stops. My car was very close to riding the front bump stops after the suspension settled from lowering. Moving the front bump stop spacers gave the suspension 1/2" more travel, and gave it an almost cushy feel by comparison. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif Of course, the ride is certainly far from "cushy" when compared to vehicles that have truely plush rides.

If I were to compare the ride of my B to different cars I've riden in, I'd have to say it's less abrassive than my friend's 3rd Gen RX-7, but I feel more connected to the road than the Corvette LT-1 my mom had in 1992.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I got my poly bushings from Victoria British. Their front end kit had everything I needed to replace all the rubber bushings. While you’re at it I’d recommend replacing the lower Fulcrum bolt rubber seals (VB #5-241, 4ea). Also if your steering rack boots need replacement this’d be a great time to change them too.

[/ QUOTE ]

Did you get the energy kits? part# 5-9951 front, 5-9953 rear?
If so did you also get the 5-9911 bump stop set and 5-9914 cross member mount pad set?

I'm thinking of doing the same thing and I cant decide whether to change the spring sets (front and rear) or not. Also, did you rebuild the shocks?
Thanks.

D.
 
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I got my poly bushings from Victoria British. Their front end kit had everything I needed to replace all the rubber bushings. While you’re at it I’d recommend replacing the lower Fulcrum bolt rubber seals (VB #5-241, 4ea). Also if your steering rack boots need replacement this’d be a great time to change them too.

[/ QUOTE ]

Did you get the energy kits? part# 5-9951 front, 5-9953 rear?
If so did you also get the 5-9911 bump stop set and 5-9914 cross member mount pad set?

I'm thinking of doing the same thing and I cant decide whether to change the spring sets (front and rear) or not. Also, did you rebuild the shocks?
Thanks.

D.

[/ QUOTE ]

I did order both of those Poly kits from VB but I didn’t need all the items that came with the rear set because I replaced the rear springs as well and they came with the front eyelets bushings already pressed in. Removal of the rear eyelet bushings is really difficult so I kept the ones that it came with. So if you’re going to go with new springs I wouldn’t buy the whole kit unless you really want poly bushing eyelets.

As for the bump stops? I didn’t opt for them – figured I’d make the mods first to see if I really needed them. So far I haven’t had any problems. Anyway if you want to save a couple of bucks you can just cut down the rear bump stops and invert the ones in front.

As for the front springs I went with the up-rated 550lb springs. Moss says that these springs should drop a Rubber Bumper B about 2” in front. For the rear – I went with what I was told where 1” lowering leaf springs from Vitoria British, but after installing them – they looked too high. So I re-installed the lowering blocks just to balance things out. Currently I have about a 2” drop in front and a 1.5” drop in the rear.

Regarding the crossmember pads? I didn’t opt for them at the time I did the bushings but today I wish I had. Because the front cross member pads finally failed on me a couple of months ago and I just had them replaced along with some new hardware.

Speaking of hardware. If you’re going to replace the rear leaf springs – drop the extra money for new shackles & mounting hardware. It might not seem necessary but the rear shackles could be bent or out of shape and it might save you some heartache when trying to put it all back together again.

Good luck!
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif
 
Thanks Bret,

I'll probably get Darrin to do the job for me.
Mine is a 72 so I don't know if putting the springs/leaf springs would make any difference in height or not.
 
I think I am going to replace those also. The new Moss catalog has some intersting tidbits of info (to sell their product?) It describes one of the problems I feel when I hit a bump around turns which is a noticable jump and the rear feel like its doing a midair fishtail. I need to check the shackles and FWIW, cheap enough to replace.
 
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