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Strut Rod Bushings - More Evidence Against Moog

8K views 37 replies 12 participants last post by  MaddMartigan 
#1 ·
So, I attended another autocross event with the bird today. I managed to make a single run and when I went back to get in line for the next run I got out of the car and noticed a pretty big "UH OH". Both front tires seemed noticeably closer to the back side of the fender. A quick peak under the car showed me that the strut rod bushings were pretty much destroyed. Granted, the car is under a lot more stress than a normal stock car but these bushings didn't last 200 miles. I've attached a few pictures of the carnage. I guess I'm off to find OEM bushings and very expensive/fancy stainless steel sleeves.

Final warning: Don't buy thermoplastic strut rod bushings.
 

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#4 ·
Yeah, it's obviously like Preston pointed out years ago and many people have reinforced. Anything beyond rubber runs the risk of being squished so hard that all it can do is tear apart. Oh well, TBSCShop sells the stainless steel sleeves, bushings and washers for $180 so that's on it's way. I have scheduled to run a track day on May 1st at Mid Ohio Sports Car Course so I have to get this ironed out before then.
 
#6 ·
#13 ·
Thanks..... I was about to order some cheap poly ones from rock auto for the lca side..... I already have a new set of stock ones from rock auto for the frame side.....my last ones lasted years, I mostly go in a straight line...... Lol
 
#16 ·
Failed under braking clearly, other side looks mint. The stock rubber bushings have a metal cup on the front sandwiched between the k member and rubber(not sure if this piece is impregnated into the bushing or not) which presumably prevents the bushing from squishing outward in diameterunder load, and none of aftermarket ones have that, bet that plays into the demise of these things.
 
#17 ·
I absolutely agree. In fact, I'm willing to bet that the thermoplastic bushings might actually last if you put a washer on the inside of each side to keep them from getting extruded through the frame rail. Nice sleeves would help too but I'm willing to bet the extra washer would allow them to compress instead of getting shredded.

Oh well, I have OEM versions now.
 
#19 ·
The main marks against spherical bearings is the necessary fab/modification of thestrut rods and frame mounts, which = and I only am willing to spend $$ on certain things :tongue: and the geometry is slightly altered. The strut rod and LCA as assembled are a virtual A arm with pivot points parallel to the frame, with spherical bearings the pivots would end up diagonal.
 
#20 · (Edited)
The main marks against spherical bearings is the necessary fab/modification of thestrut rods and frame mounts, which = and I only am willing to spend $$ on certain things :tongue: and the geometry is slightly altered. The strut rod and LCA as assembled are a virtual A arm with pivot points parallel to the frame, with spherical bearings the pivots would end up diagonal.
I'm not seeing this; wouldn't the ... Oh, I get it. You'd need different control arms, and the geometry would be whack.

Force vectors can be tricky. :)
 
#23 · (Edited)
I posted these pics in another thread, but they kind of belong here too. I just changed a set of these out on a 94SC, that doesn't get driven much, and never gets beat on. I think a major contributing factor to their failure is the cheap split sleeves. As you can see from the pics, the sleeves deform on either end from the normal movement of the suspension. The bushings then start to deform in the area where the sleeves bend, and it weakens them. If someone is interesting in experimenting, I would like to know how these bushings would hold up if you used a set of Jay's stainless steel sleeves with them.

 
#25 ·
I posted these pics in another thread, but they kind of belong here too. I just changed a set of these out on a 94SC, that doesn't get driven much, and never gets beat on. I think a major contributing factor to their failure is the cheap split sleeves. As you can see from the pics, the sleeves deform on either end from the normal movement of the suspension. The bushings then start to deform in the area where the sleeves bend, and it weakens them. If someone is interesting in experimenting, I would like to know how these bushings would hold up if you used a set of Jay's stainless steel sleeves with them.
So you're proposing someone use a set of Jay's SS sleeves and thermoplastic bushings to see how they hold up?
 
#27 ·
I think that if you used a solid tube instead of a split (btw, you'll notice the tubes in my pic weren't split tubes) and put another washer on the inside of the front side bushing with a bigger hole for the bushings to still slide inside each other then I think the thermoplastic ones could last quite a while.
 
#28 ·
This seems a bit overpriced for what they are.
Front Strut Rod Stainless Steel Sleeves Kit - WWW.TBSCSHOP.COM


If you have the dimensions of the original one (ID/OD/length of space between endcaps, diameter of endcaps), it might be nice to document as you could probably fabricate these fairly easily with a lathe.

I'm not even sure you need the endcaps -- which would make this a 3 step operation (lathe rod to right OD, drill inside out to correct ID, cut to length)

-g
 
#29 ·
I think that we're haggling over pennies in the end. If you've had these fail on you at the wrong time then you're going to be in deep **** (see my evidence). The stainless steel sleeves are intended to keep you from having to ever replace them again. If you want to experiment with all of the variations then you have the tools and opportunity to do it. The two alignments that had to be done for the car already cost more than these parts. I'm tired of paying for services that I don't need to cover because of replacing parts so frequently.
 
#34 ·
Or go this route-

This also lets you go with a Coyote when you are tired of playing with engines designed in 1992. :grin2:
 

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