Strut rod bushings

I dont know, but I had rubber ones and they didn't last long at all, I now have poly ones, they work great.

That popping noise sure is scary the first time you hear it though isn't it?

 

Hell yes it is. And annoying to track down. I kept looking for a bad ball joint until I finally saw visible wear on the strut rod bushings, and I'm glad I now have an explanation for the weird pulling that happens sometimes when I brake hard.

 

ive had the broken strut rod thing happen to me once. a good friend of my had it happen to him once and it sent his car spining off the freeway in to the iceplant on the side of the road. luckly no damage. they dont brake the strut rod instanty. if you car is at stock ride hight then you may get away with them but facelessnumbers car is far from the stock hight.

 

Interesting you mention that... I would have thought a car with reduced suspension travel would be less prone to breaking strut rods, because they'd move less. What is it about lowered suspension that puts more stress on those rods?

 

yeah I wanna hear more because mine is lowered as much as facelesses.

 

When I rebuilt my front end in 2000, I used the Urethane stuff, and it rode like a truck, make lots of noise, and the strut rods popped all the time. I got a kit from PST with rubber bushings all around, even out back, and it has been fine since, with no problems with the strut rods. Go with stock stuff on the strut rods, you will like it a lot better.

 

the holes in the frame that the bushings sandwich are aimed where the strut rod will be at ride hight. so when you lower it you are preloading the bushings against the strut rod and that is was causes them to fail

 

Makes sense. Thanks.

 

Well my bushings arrived yesterday... Sorta. Who knew a "set" of the Raybestos bushings would only be for one side?

So, ordered another "set", waiting on it. On a positive note, I am now pretty convinced these are repackaged Moog bushings due to the design, so they should be good.

I wonder if Raybestos sells their brake pads in pairs instead of four...

 

Got them installed, finally. I'll post pics of the old ones tomorrow... Yeah, they were on backwards, but only on one side. They were also not nearly tight enough. There is a NIGHT AND DAY difference in how my front end feels now! Thanks for all the help, guys.

 

Nice, isn't it? First pic is exactly how these things were installed, too...

 

I love it when something like that works as planned/ hoped.