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Holy Failed Bushings Batman!

2K views 27 replies 20 participants last post by  Finallygotit 
#1 ·
So I haven't driven the car in a week or so but remember a bit of a 'clunk' coming into the driveway last time (didn't check it at the time of course :001_rolleyes: ). Yesterday I rolled the car out of the shop to do some cleaning and when I went to roll it back in I gave the wheel a little turn....clunk....WTH? Turn it the other way....clunk...WTF?

After wheeling it back in I popped the hood and give it another turn so I could see the steering shaft, etc and as soon as I turned the wheel I saw the entire pass. side of the rack move as I did. The bushing is completely wasted away.

The car has @18K on it and I swapped in this manual rack maybe 10K back. I dug around and found a couple more bushings but find it odd that they would get used up so quickly. Just a good reminder to regularly check stuff on these things.
 
#4 ·
Bill, it sounds like he is talking about the bushings that mount the rack itself which is a bit scary to me, I wouldn't expect a great deal of wear there.

Scott
 
#6 ·
Bill, it sounds like he is talking about the bushings that mount the rack itself which is a bit scary to me, I wouldn't expect a great deal of wear there.

Yep...and yep!
 
#8 ·
Offset bushings?

Were they standard or offset bushings? I've been wondering... What keeps the offset bushings from orbiting the bolts? Maybe that's a stupid question, but it's been in the back of my mind as I plan my build.

Kyle
 
#9 ·
Pictures please! I can't see why those bushings would ever wear out.
 
#12 ·
What are the bushings made of? The stock style rubber bushing or polyurethane?

Is it possible that something like brake fluid, PS fluid or oil came in contact with the bushing and caused the damage? As others have mentioned, there is no reason for wear to occur at this point, which leads me to beleive the bushing came in contact with something that ate it or softened the material.
 
#14 ·
No pics yet, haven't had time to get to it. Pretty sure they were poly and offset but it's been a while. My replacements are regular non-offsets.

No goo anywhere, it's all very clean. Fair amount of play in the driver's side so I'm guessing it's in bad shape too.
I check the upper A-arms and brakes pretty regularly but never saw this coming.
 
#15 ·
Mike, get the aluminum ones from Breeze. I did about 7 yrs ago and never a problem.

John O
 
#17 ·
That was my initial thought.... its the only way I would expect them to wear out.

Mike
 
#18 ·
Strange

This is not the kind of thing that should wear out fast. Lack of metal sleeves is a possible cause.

To eliminate all preoccupations go with solid aluminum. They will last forever and there is no downside.
 
#19 ·
Still haven't gotten under it but the other, non-offset bushings I have don't have metal sleeves in them. Isn't that something that would have come with the new rack/bushings?
 
#20 ·
I would hope so, as they are crucial..perhaps you used them for the off-set bushing install?

This is the first case I have ever heard of those bushings failing on an FFR. Something must be off... Wrong size bushings for the rack/frame, no bolt sleeve used, chemical contamination of the rubber? :confused1: I hate the Chinese crap they sell these days, but how could even they, screw up such a simple bushing..:sad:
 
#21 ·
Weeeeeellll, guess what I found in the parts bin....Yep, a sleeve.

Sadly only one and I'm pretty sure the other one isn't under the car. :001_rolleyes:
No idea how I managed to do that in the first place and it's been way too long since I did it to remember WHY I didn't think they were needed.
Most likely they got pulled when I did the initial tear-down, put in the parts bin and never thought of again. Frankly it's amazing I even have the one after all this time.

Guess I'll have to hit the junkyard this weekend. Thanks for all the help folks.
 
#23 ·
Much appreciated Don but I already had a guy pull one for me ($10) and I can pick it up tomorrow.
 
#25 ·
Just a note Mark, your description says Mk3-3.1-4. Will these still work with the earlier cars?
 
#26 ·
I had Mark's offset bushings on my MK1.5 (FFR3154). The steering on the car was great. No bump steer and I didn't have a bump steer kit on the rack.

You do have more road vibrations that come through to the wheel (if you're using the wood steering wheel), but it's worth the trade off.
 
#27 ·
Update: I finally got around to replacing them yesterday and......they both had bushings. They were solid, not split like the stock ones so I think they came with the bushings/rack when I installed it (there's no way anyone could install the bushings without the inserts BTW, the rack would have nearly 1/4" of free play with just rubber). No contamination other than normal road grime. They were simply baked hard and crumbled when I removed 'em.
 
#28 ·
They were simply baked hard and crumbled when I removed 'em.
OK now that's just plain strange. There isn't enough heat in that area to bake those. I'm guessing bad bushing material or chemical attack.

Glad you got it sorted out.
 
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