Lower swivel pin rubber bushes

[David Morris]

Hi there,

Have you had a similar experience to me with the lower swivel pin rubber bushes on the later front rubber-bushed front suspension, fitted to later Javelins and Jupiters?

I have found that replacement rubber bushes that fit either side of the bottom of the swivel pin don't seem to last very long. These are the ones that fit onto the steel pin that goes into the end of the lower spring arm. In service, they quickly get 'chewed-up' and seem a bit too soft for the job. My MOT inspector didn't like them when they were new!

To solve this, I have tried using polyurethane bushes from a company called 'SuperFlex', which are made in Australia. These are available locally in the UK ( Frontline Spridget Ltd. 01225-852777 ). The type number I have used is SPF 282, at a cost now of £7.95 a pair. I believe they are originally the lower inner wishbone bushes on an MGB.

The results have been very satisfactory. The bushes are reasonably firm and seem to stand up to the rotational movement well. They have been on our Javelin now for a couple of years and I believe I had to fit 'penny' washers either side of the bushes, to prevent scrubbing. The bushes have not worn appreciably and have pleased the MOT inspector, who commented that they were 'nice and tight'. They also seem to resist the grease that comes out from the bottom of the swivel pin rather better than the rubber bushes.

These bushes would probably also fit the top of the wishbones, where they fit either side of the inner bracket. However, the rotational movement here would be lower and the rubber ones would possibly do as well as the polyurethane ones.

I thought that this might be useful to others, who may well have been experiencing the problems we had with the rubber bushes.

All the best,

David

[Forumadmin]

I have not had to replace my bushes for at least 10 years of rallying. When fitting the bushes I covered them in silicone gel; that may have helped as it stops ingress of oil and oxidisation and allows movement against the metal.

Of course, you must tighten them up with normal load on the car, not when in full drop position, otherwise they will screw up.

Using harder poyurethane should be better for road holding, only wish I could have sourced these parts 10 years ago!

[David Morris]

Hi there,

Thanks for your reply. You may have been using an older stock of bushes? The problems I found were with the later and what seemed to be considerably softer rubber replacement bushes. The original ones I took out were much harder.

All the points you make about the installation of the bushes are totally correct and using silicone gel sounds a very good idea, whatever type of bush you are using.

Many thanks,

David Morris