Rear Suspension Urethane Bushings

[dhoneycutt]

How did any of you who installed the urethane bushings get the strut assy into the transverse link assy:stupid: My bushings are approximately 1/8 inch to wide. In other words 1/16 inch to thick on the inside bushing front and rear. Please help???

[Bambikiller240]

I took a grinding wheel and put a slight bevel on each side of the cast strut assembly (same orientation on each side) to give a bit of a "ramp" for the bushings to get started as I used a 2 lb sledge to "tap" the transverse link assembly w/ bushings (well greased with silicone grease) into place so that the spindle pins could be installed through the whole thing.

This tip/trick was told to me by Scott Bruning, original owner of ZTherapy and is supposed to be included in the ZTherapy Suspension Video. Worked well for me, and I've had no problems in 4 years of hard street driving.

If you have any questions, send a PM & I can try to explain better.

[dhoneycutt]

Thanks Carl,

I'll try that in the morning. Now all I have to do is get them out so that I can put the "ramp " on them.

[Bambikiller240]

Originally posted by dhoneycutt

Thanks Carl,

I'll try that in the morning. Now all I have to do is get them out so that I can put the "ramp " on them.

Not sure I understand what you mean. "Get them out"?

Pins & old bushings are out? Yes?

New bushings are installed in Transverse link (A-Arm? Yes?

Grind slight bevel on bottom of strut tube where bushings and spindle pins will fit.

[dhoneycutt]

Originally posted by Bambikiller240

Not sure I understand what you mean. "Get them out"?

Pins & old bushings are out? Yes?

New bushings are installed in Transverse link (A-Arm? Yes?

Grind slight bevel on bottom of strut tube where bushings and spindle pins will fit.

Sorry Carl...it's late and I didn't read your post right:stupid:

What your saying is on the bottom of the strut housing casting creat a small ramp by grinding slightly on the lower side so you can tapROFL down to fit it into place so the spindle pins will fit. It all makes sense now.This help is why I frequent this site. Thank you again Carl.

[Bambikiller240]

No Problem David. It's a little hard to explain. And it's the sort of thing you want to get done right the first time.

I'm attaching a diagram with red arrows to show the areas that I put a bevel on. I beveled the back side (inner most, behind the brake backing plate. Imagine the strut (upright) being pushed back into the open sectuion of A-Arm (as shown in diagram).

Looking at the front position (Labeled "A") bevel at about 9 o'clock

Looking at the rear position (Labeled "B") bevel at about 3 o'clock

[dhoneycutt]

Boy after a good nights sleep things just are crystal clear:classic: Thanks again Carl. I just hope I haven't screwed up the new bushings yesterday trying to put it all together. Today will be a better day I can tell all readyROFL

[kinfish]

I just installed Energy Suspension polyurethane bushings on my '71 240Z 6 weeks ago and encountered the same fit problem. The chamfer solution suggested by Carl will work if the fit of the two mating parts is tight but close to line on line. Anything with a tight fit will cause headaches during assembly and distortion of the bushings.

I took detailed measurements to assess how big the problem was. The strut hub housing measured 5.315. The transverse link inside dimension with bushings fully seated checked 5.270. Hence, my assembly had a .045 interference fit. Impossible to assemble. My solution was to remove the two bushings from the link and sand the flange surface to remove about .023 from each. The flange thickness checked about .130 as delivered so there is adequate material remaining to remove some. Best way to remove material is place sheet of sandpaper on flat surface and rotate bushing in circular motion until you achieve desired thickness. Assembly went smooth after this fix.

I did call Energy Suspension in San Clemente, Ca and spoke to Steve Blakely in New Product Development. I questioned whether there was a design problem on flange thickness. He said they do not have access to original prints so they do best effort using scrap parts. His solution to this problem was to sand the face of the bushing.

[beandip]

Carl, why did you want the spindel puller if you are done with the job ???? Gary

[Bambikiller240]

Carl, why did you want the spindel puller if you are done with the job ???? Gary

Hi Gary:

I did this job on my car without a puller (actually, the Machine shop pulled the pins for me with a 30 ton press, a torch and $50 of my money ) about 3 or 4 years ago.

Currently, I have a friend who wants to do this to his car, and I offered to help him. Also, I have a couple of Rear Suspension corners in my garage, and I want to separate the A-Arms from the Strut Tubes so that I can store them easier and in a smaller area.

BTW, The Puller arrived today. Box looks OK. I haven't opened it yet to read the instructions that you mentioned. I'll get to that tomorrow or Sunday and if I have any questions I'll email you. I shouldn't need this tool for longer than a week to 10 days at the most. I'll email you when I ship it back with reimbursement for the shipping cost that you incurred in sending it to me.

Thanks again for lending it to me.

Carl

[beandip]

Carl , in the instructions I wrote you will find information on how to assemble the puller in such a way that it will spread the two halves apart. Take a measuerment first , then spread the halves 1/8'' farther that stock . When the nuts are relaxed it will spring back about 1/16'' and it will allow you to reassemble with out trouble. You should be able to use the old pins using this puller , since you don't need to pound on them. Keep me posted on how things go for you . By the way be sure to lube the all thread before you start . Gary