Polybushing a Ltwt chassis (not!)

[DEANO3528]

Hi all, Not been on here for a while.

Been fitting some stuff to the boy's ground up Ltwt resto.

Couldn't get the original type bushes into the front chassis as the Galv seems to reduce the size fractionally, but enough to make the new bush swell and so baulk.

So two LR bushes later I decided we'd PB he lot. Back ones went in a breeze but the front chassis ones are still causing problems. Basically they are a beautiful fit until I get the insert halfway in. Then the other side pushes out a couple of mil and this is enough to make them ride up over the shackle plate which will screw them in a very short time I reckon.

Anyone got any ideas to get these damn things in so we can tick the box for that job.

BTW I did put a slight chamfer on the insert and have tried washing up liquid and grease as a lube all with the same result.

Cheers

[andyb]

Get a reamer and ream out the bush holes to remove the excess galv. Was the only way I managed it on a Series chassis swap I did

[Timmy511]

drill a hole the same size as a shackle bolt in a piece of plate (make the plate big enough to cover the bush and the side of the chassis),

place bolt through bush centre,

place plate on the opposite side of the chassis,

place a nut on the bolt and wind it up a little so theres some tension holding it all together,

G clamp the plate to the chassis so that it holds the bush tight into the chassis,

tighten the bolt, pressing the centre into the bush.

if it is too tight itll push the bush out at the other side as the bush swells then you will need to ream the chassis.

[DEANO3528]

Cheers guys, that rather reinforces my fears about the holes being too small due to the galvanising process.

I did try a similar way to that described by Timmy so i guess it's reamer time.

Christ on a bike! Where in hell will I get a borrow of one of them, I wonder?

[white90]

Flap wheel on a drill?

or die grinder and some care.

[Gazzar]

Flap wheel on a drill?

or die grinder and some care.

ebay, hand reamer.

That's where I got mine to repair a shackle bush hole.

G.

[Snagger]

I had the same problem fitting Polybushes to my speings - the bush would squeeze out when the steel insert was 3/4 of the way in. In the end, the only way I could fit them properly was to cut 2-3mm off the inboard end of each bush piece, and that worked well.

[DEANO3528]

Well thanks all.

TC, I didn't realise you could get such small flap wheels!

Gazzer, I took a quick peep on eBay and I have to say hand reamers aren't as expensive as I expected them to be.

I reckoned approx 29mm was the bush size after i'd extracted the part fitted one so if i bought a 27 to 30, that ought to do it?

[Gazzar]

Well thanks all.

TC, I didn't realise you could get such small flap wheels!

Gazzer, I took a quick peep on eBay and I have to say hand reamers aren't as expensive as I expected them to be.

I reckoned approx 29mm was the bush size after i'd extracted the part fitted one so if i bought a 27 to 30, that ought to do it?

I got the two, H12 and H13, but I think I used the larger one, judging by the use marks on the bit you grip.

They are a pain to use as it is difficult to get a grip on the "handle". A visegrips works, but it does eat into the metal.

G.

[tony109]

You need to hold the bushes firmly in the chassis and then press the center pins in..

Poly bushes prevent the need to ream the bush eyes in the chassis to remove the galvanise.. You'd need to remove most of the galvanize from the chassis bush eyes in order to fit the standard bonded rubber bushes.. An option I would not advise

[tony109]

The galvanise coating becomes sacrifical when steel corrodes.. If rust starts the galvanise depletion will spread