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Rubber Bushings

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Old 03-10-2021, 05:31 AM
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Rubber Bushings

I want to replace all the bushings on my car. Everywhere I search online only brings up results for polyurethane and variations of that.
I'd much prefer to replace the old rubber ones with new rubber ones.
Can anyone help me out with where I can buy a complete set online?
Thanks.
Old 03-10-2021, 07:01 AM
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Re: Rubber Bushings

I have never seen a kit for rubber only poly but you can buy them individually in rubber

https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...469,suspension
Old 03-10-2021, 05:08 PM
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Re: Rubber Bushings

Originally Posted by midias
I have never seen a kit for rubber only poly but you can buy them individually in rubber

https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...469,suspension
Thanks man, appreciate your help!
Old 03-11-2021, 02:04 AM
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Re: Rubber Bushings

Go poly you will not regret it
Old 03-11-2021, 03:03 PM
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Re: Rubber Bushings

Go poly you will not regret it
I'd use rubber on everything except torque arm and sway-bars...
If I were cruising/weekend driving the car on the street, I'd prefer to have rubber. I can't speak to every bushing front to back, but I noticed the road noise certainly increased with poly. Depends on the intended purpose.
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Old 03-11-2021, 06:39 PM
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Re: Rubber Bushings

The Rock Auto AC Delco packaged rubber bushings all fit well on my ‘84. Everything matched the stock originals.
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Old 03-12-2021, 09:17 PM
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Re: Rubber Bushings

I redid my front suspension with all rubber from rock auto. Car handles great and feels incredibly planted on the road. Went with rubber over poly because I was looking more for a smooth ride than feeling every vibration.

Here is. link I put up after the project. I also did new springs and shocks, certainly part of the handling improvement.

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/susp...uspension.html

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Old 03-12-2021, 09:33 PM
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Re: Rubber Bushings

I agree with it handling well after new rubber bushings. These cars already handle well, with plenty of NVH to boot. Tires probably matter much more than bushing material.

Last edited by Saxondale; 03-15-2021 at 08:44 PM.
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Old 03-14-2021, 10:56 PM
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Re: Rubber Bushings

Originally Posted by thainglo
I redid my front suspension with all rubber from rock auto. Car handles great and feels incredibly planted on the road. Went with rubber over poly because I was looking more for a smooth ride than feeling every vibration.

Here is. link I put up after the project. I also did new springs and shocks, certainly part of the handling improvement.

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/susp...uspension.html
Excellent work, pretty much exactly what I'll be doing over the next month or so.
Old 03-14-2021, 10:57 PM
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Re: Rubber Bushings

Originally Posted by Saxondale
The Rock Auto AC Delco packaged rubber bushings all fit well on my ‘84. Everything matched the stock originals.
I think that's the way I'll go.
Old 03-14-2021, 10:57 PM
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Re: Rubber Bushings

Originally Posted by T.L.
I'd use rubber on everything except torque arm and sway-bars...
What's the advantage with poly for the sway bars and torque arm ?
Old 03-14-2021, 11:34 PM
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Re: Rubber Bushings

Rock auto have the most vague listings, can anyone confirm if their listings for bushings like front and rear control arms come as pairs or are they single bushings ?
Old 03-15-2021, 01:00 AM
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Re: Rubber Bushings

Global West has their del-a-lum a-arm bushings. Good stuff!
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Old 03-15-2021, 08:21 AM
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Re: Rubber Bushings

Originally Posted by KR81
Rock auto have the most vague listings, can anyone confirm if their listings for bushings like front and rear control arms come as pairs or are they single bushings ?
They are sold as a pair. For example, when I ordered bushing for my rear control arms a few months ago, I ordered 2 of PN MK6178. On the front control arms, each arm has two different sizes of bushings.

Hope that helps!
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Old 03-15-2021, 08:04 PM
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Re: Rubber Bushings

Originally Posted by KR81
What's the advantage with poly for the sway bars and torque arm ?
Originally Posted by T.L.
They're stiffer and don't rot, but they don't affect the ride quality in those locations...
I don't think that you'll find rubber bushings for the sway bar, maybe the rear ones, but the factory ones were poly (some were even poly reinforced with a fiber cloth inside them), I believe factory end link bushings were poly also, and later they went to some hard plastic that looked a bit like nylon but I never confirmed what it really was.

Poly bushings (with lube) change how the suspension works, factory rubber bushings actually stick in their pockets and when things like control arms move up and down they twist rather than pivot- the rubber adds to the spring rate and somewhat to the shock dampening. Poly is stiffer and can stick or slip, making it inconsistent unless you lube all of it and just make sure all of it slips/pivots. In theory, the rubber bushings add a bit of a variable spring rate to the suspension that poly does not. Of course in practice, poly will last longer and be more consistent when installed correctly in most applications. I say most because recently I've run across a few different brands of poly end link bushings that fall apart and disintegrate MUCH faster than anything that I've seen before.
Old 03-15-2021, 09:33 PM
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Re: Rubber Bushings

Originally Posted by 83 Crossfire TA
the factory ones were poly (some were even poly reinforced with a fiber cloth inside them)
That looks exactly like what I have up front, I can see frayed edges of the fibre cloth, I was wondering what that was.
Thanks for the rest of the info, much appreciated.
Old 03-15-2021, 09:34 PM
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Re: Rubber Bushings

Originally Posted by thainglo
They are sold as a pair. For example, when I ordered bushing for my rear control arms a few months ago, I ordered 2 of PN MK6178. On the front control arms, each arm has two different sizes of bushings.

Hope that helps!
Thanks for the clarification! I'm in Australia so I can't afford to make mistakes when ordering from the US.
Old 03-16-2021, 12:37 AM
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Re: Rubber Bushings

It is hard to out-engineer the vehicle manufacturers. Good quality rubber everywhere, except anti-sway bar END LINKS. Just like OE.
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