Bushings
The hassle factor of changing all the bushings I suspect prevents many people from doing it.
I just wondered what people's experience with doing it had been.
I don't think I have any symptoms to worry about (I'm vibration free and handling is good), but my truck is on it original bushings (28 yrs old) and it occured to me today that much like my experience with tracking it's possible that I would change them to find that actually I was missing out on better handling still.
There is then the debate of rubber vs poly...
I have no experience about the G-Wagen bushes to speak from, but the "Landy" boys opt for the poly bushes for the L/Rover as the original ones do not last long and secondly, they are sturdier than the originals.
Generally, G-Wagen bushes have good reputation for serviceability; should you consider replacing with poly bushes, these are almost the same price as the M/Benz ones plus packaging and postage costs.
The only supplier I know of is ORC in Germany, can provide url address if needed.
The bushes are not that bad for renewal save for the fact you do need a press to do the job. One can always take the control rods off and take these to a garage equiped with a press and let them press them in for you - MARK the control rod as to which side you removed it from so it goes back to the same place.
Heat will also cause the rubber to flow and fail.. so if going to hot remote places it is definitely a nice to have fresh ones.
Poly I would stay away from. My experiance has been on a monocot open topped car where it is unrigid enough that the increased forces transmitted by the polyurethane will "beat up" on the body and weaken the spot welds etc, They also allow more noise/vibration etc. The G having a seperate chassis will make the noise less relevant but then the question is what extra stresses do you then put into things mounted onto the chassis (the bodyshell being isolated by it's own bushes). That sort of loading again does not bode well for remote places with washboard roads. So fine for a bit more control on the black top.. but not a good idea for washboard roads.
Meantime my 25 year old rubber bushes actually carried me for the first time in 2 years.. expect no real snow for the rest of the year if it gets a MOT tonight!
Years ago, when the world was young and the club had just started, I asked Polybush if they would do some sets for club members, hoping to get improved bushes at a discounted rate. They looked at some of the original bushes we sent them and then told me that they could not improve on the quality of the original bushes. Things might have changed over the years in terms of polyurethane bushes, there are certainly more manufacturers than there were, but I think the quality of the original bushes is as good as it was, and might be hard to beat.
A late response on this, but given I have had mine done by the guys who have serviced the car throughout my ownership and are very experienced Landrover Defender guys, I thought I would share..
My G is an 1985 SWB. The bushes have been replaced when needed so far this has been the front trailing arms, the rear panhard rod and shortly all the front steering related ones.
The Panhard ones were no problem. The front involved eventually burning the rubber out with a torch - These guys have access to some serious presses! so beware.
Quality wise their view was the merc ones are substantially better than anything they have seen for LR including any of the poly bush offerings.
Ta
Hi fcp,
I had mine done last year. You'll need a serious press. I had them done at a garage: I opted for the 'softer' poly bushes. They are as flexible as rubber, but last much much longer. We usually carry a lot of weight and this is why I opted for the longer wearing potential. Car was much better after the job was complete. There are several companies in Germany that can sell you the poly bush sets, not just ORC. If you're really interested, I can fish out a few names/websites for you to give you an idea of what is on offer.
An end note. Before my G I had several LRs whose bushes would need replacing every two years or so. The softer polybush sets I found gav identical handling to the original rubber sets, but lasted much longer. I never considered the harder ones, for more 'extreme' use I supopse, so can't offer any advice.
Good luck,
Ph
Hi Ph
would you mind posting those other names etc for me as I have just posted a thread in the suspension section on this subject
Thanks
Andy
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That's pretty conclusive I'd say thanks for the input.