GBMUD Posted November 30, 2006 Share Posted November 30, 2006 About 6 months ago - perhaps a little longer - I replaced the rubber bushes in my hockey sticks with blue Polybushes (note the capital P). Now I seem to be finding an increased amount of rotational movement in the front axle so I assume that the bushes have reached the end of their life. Is this likely to be my fault? Did I fit them wrong? I used a little silicon grease to ease the bushes into the hockey sticks and to help the inner tubes into the bushes. Has anyone else found that the bushes did not last long in this application? I have not even been off-road excessivly although I have done 8000 miles or so on the road. Anyway, assuming that it was not any error in my fitting of them, what should I replace them with? I want something flexible that will allow the axle to articulate easily but ideally something long lasting. I have found in the past that even fitting genuine ones is no guarantee of longevity. Is there something else on the market that I could try? Cheers Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbeaumont Posted November 30, 2006 Share Posted November 30, 2006 The Polybushes (also capital P) on my Range Rover, mix of red and blue but blue in the hockey sticks, have been in there for nearly two years and somewhere around 15k of mostly road miles, and they're still fine. My truck isn't lifted or anything though, so stresses on them are 'normal' - can't remember if your truck has any modifications in this area? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBMUD Posted November 30, 2006 Author Share Posted November 30, 2006 can't remember if your truck has any modifications in this area? 2" lift but that should not make a vast difference, IMHO. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatboy Posted November 30, 2006 Share Posted November 30, 2006 The Polybushes (also capital P) on my Range Rover, mix of red and blue but blue in the hockey sticks, have been in there for nearly two years and somewhere around 15k of mostly road miles, and they're still fine. Geoff, Has your truck actually moved in the past two years.... Sorry - pitter... patter... pitter... ***click*** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David_LLAMA4x4 Posted November 30, 2006 Share Posted November 30, 2006 About 6 months ago - perhaps a little longer - I replaced the rubber bushes in my hockey sticks with blue Polybushes (note the capital P). Now I seem to be finding an increased amount of rotational movement in the front axle so I assume that the bushes have reached the end of their life. Is this likely to be my fault? Did I fit them wrong? I used a little silicon grease to ease the bushes into the hockey sticks and to help the inner tubes into the bushes. Has anyone else found that the bushes did not last long in this application? I have not even been off-road excessivly although I have done 8000 miles or so on the road.Anyway, assuming that it was not any error in my fitting of them, what should I replace them with? I want something flexible that will allow the axle to articulate easily but ideally something long lasting. I have found in the past that even fitting genuine ones is no guarantee of longevity. Is there something else on the market that I could try? Cheers Chris Chris, If I had £1 for every person that I have had to advise to bin the Poly ( or poly ) bushes and put OEM ones back in then I would be very happy to be writing this post front the Pyrenees somewhere!! IMHO they are all carp and only work short term if you only use your vehicle for tiny axle articulations every so often! Long term damage may also be that the Ppolybushes have survived intact but worn the holes in the hockey sticks so much that you'lll never press a proper bush back in again - they will just wobble into place. The only place worse than the hockey sticjs to use them is at the chassis end of the rear arms where they fall aprt the minute you start to use them for anything other than road use! David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dollythelw Posted November 30, 2006 Share Posted November 30, 2006 OEM every time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul64 Posted November 30, 2006 Share Posted November 30, 2006 OEM every time What is OEM? Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbeaumont Posted November 30, 2006 Share Posted November 30, 2006 Geoff,Has your truck actually moved in the past two years.... Sorry - pitter... patter... pitter... ***click*** Jez, could I borrow your rambler hound for a couple of hours? It is fair to say the mileage should have been more like 50k (although thinking about it it's probably done more like 30k, not 15k in the last two years). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBMUD Posted November 30, 2006 Author Share Posted November 30, 2006 OEM is Original Equipment Manufacture, ie Genuine but not always in a posh Landrover box and often direct from the manufacturer. Having tried genuine (in a Landrover box) ones I was not impressed. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul64 Posted November 30, 2006 Share Posted November 30, 2006 OEM is Original Equipment Manufacture, ie Genuine but not always in a posh Landrover box and often direct from the manufacturer.Having tried genuine (in a Landrover box) ones I was not impressed. Chris I would have thought original was from Land Rover. So do you mean original as in designed specifically for a vehicle? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBMUD Posted November 30, 2006 Author Share Posted November 30, 2006 I would have thought original was from Land Rover. So do you mean original as in designed specifically for a vehicle? Landrover, despite being a large company actally make almost nothing. They buy all the bits from different companies and then assemble the cars from bits in their factory - all manufactureres do it. The people they buy their parts from also sell to independant dealers and parts suppliers, therby bypassing Landrover and their expensive packaging dept. Lemforder, for example, make the track rod ends. Lucas make some electrical parts. I cannot think of any other off the top of my head... Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRecklessEngineer Posted November 30, 2006 Share Posted November 30, 2006 Hella make the entire cruise control system for Rangies and Disco 1's. Also exactly the same system fitted to Jaguars, Saabs, and Volvos! My quest for cruise in the disco for under £20 is nearing an end...and no, I haven't found a brick! I think they also make various light parts too.... And relays? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dollythelw Posted November 30, 2006 Share Posted November 30, 2006 Ive always found they last pretty well Chris, although mine tend not to come in a green oval box Geoff - you're welcome, saves me feeding him for 20minutes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted November 30, 2006 Share Posted November 30, 2006 Interesting as I'm about* to fit a Paddocks polybush (note the small "P") kit to the RR, although that never goes off-road in the twisty flexy sense, purely for spectating and towing Petal to events Also Dad's RR is due a suspension upgrade (probably just police spec springs) at some point. OEM Manufacturers off the top of my head: Lucas / Bosch / Hella make most of the electrics, or did. Ducellier make dizzies Weber, SU and Zenith have made carbs for most vehicles Metalastic make bushes for LR among others Dayco I believe make belts SKF and Timken make bearings (I have no idea if they're OEM but they're as good as or better than OEM quality and miles better than anything in a Britpart or Allmakes box) Magnetti Marelli make starters Technically Powertrain make most of the engines (or did) I think the manual gearboxes have been in-house (Rover / Leyland / LR) but Autos have been ZF and Dodge Chrysler Borg Warner made the viscous transfer case that replaced the LT230 in late RR's Salisbury (Dana) of course make axles GKN have made a lot of bits including Range Rover alloys (it's stamped on them) AP Lockheed and Girling make a lot of brakes for a lot of people, new RR/Sport has Brembo ones Borg & Beck make clutches Quinton Hazel make hoses, steering bits and all sorts under other names. Adwest make the PAS boxes / racks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darthdicky Posted November 30, 2006 Share Posted November 30, 2006 I've noticed my front axle rotating and wobbling a little bit when off road in low range Chris, but it doesn't seem to get any worse than that. Polybushes have been in well over a year now and other than that they seem fine. It doesn't cause problems on the road and there are no strange noises so they're staying as they are. Might just be because they are fairly soft? Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Top90 Posted November 30, 2006 Share Posted November 30, 2006 I've had the same full set of (orange) polybushes in my red 90 since I got it..... three and a half years ago. It's still fine and has no play anywhere dispite having lots of axle travel and it gets used offroad regularly, including trialling nearly every month. So maybe blue are just too soft? Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LR90 Posted November 30, 2006 Share Posted November 30, 2006 I'm another satisfied customer with blue in the chassis ends of both radius and trailing arms for a good while. Did remove the reds from the axle end of the radius arms though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted November 30, 2006 Share Posted November 30, 2006 I've heard the hard ones (red?) can do damage, as apparently do the "Ironman" ones as they're so damn hard they wear away the metal they're mounted in but was pleased with the orange (Deflex) ones I had on the 109 (new set going on during rebuild) and have a similar set from paddocks for the RR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freeagent Posted November 30, 2006 Share Posted November 30, 2006 i had a set of Britpart polybushes in my old 110.. they were black and cost around £65 for the set, now normally i wouldn't touch Britpart stuff with a bargepole (nearly all utter, utter rubbish) but i took a chance with one of their sets of bushes, and was well impressed, they were still tight and in good nick 18 months later when i sold the truck... these days i'm more of an OEM man though, the bushes in my disco have lasted 10 years and 115k, so i think i'll use the same again when the time comes...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul64 Posted December 1, 2006 Share Posted December 1, 2006 these days i'm more of an OEM man though, the bushes in my disco have lasted 10 years and 115k, so i think i'll use the same again when the time comes...... When you buy OEM do you get yours direct from manufacturer, or do you use companies such as Rimmer? When buying on line there is a part number and part description, but how do you know if it OEM? Cheers, Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Henson Posted December 1, 2006 Share Posted December 1, 2006 When I fitted parabolics to the original catflap (109, s3), blue poly bushes came with them (Bearmach). The springs are still fine, but the bushes lasted just over a year and they were totally knackered. I fitted them as per instructions that came with them, so I don't think that fitting them badly is the likely cause. I've fitted the parabolics to the current catflap and have gone back to OE bushes. In my experience, the only good thing about poly bushes is that they are easy to replace. Les. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBMUD Posted December 1, 2006 Author Share Posted December 1, 2006 When you buy OEM do you get yours direct from manufacturer, or do you use companies such as Rimmer? When buying on line there is a part number and part description, but how do you know if it OEM?Cheers, Paul Often you have to ask, it can be a minefield though. Some companies add an extra letter after the part number to ID an item as OEM. Other companies tell you what you want to hear, regardless of the part's origin. If you are looking for an honest company offering a good deal on OEM stuff for export then try www.autopost.co.uk. They do cheap pattern, OEM and some genuine parts and export stuff daily. I have no connection but am a satisfied customer. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBMUD Posted December 1, 2006 Author Share Posted December 1, 2006 I do not think that the problem is simply that the blue bushes are too soft. They were OK when I first fitted them but seem to have gone down hill fast in the recent past. I guess that in the absence of any more appealing/bling option I will get some more OEM ones. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
will_warne Posted December 1, 2006 Share Posted December 1, 2006 Chris, my 90 had polybushes on when I bought it and although it handled well to begin with they went down hill suprisingly quickly when driven off road. I've now got OE spec bushes from Allmakes all round which aren't expensive and seem to last fairly well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David_LLAMA4x4 Posted December 1, 2006 Share Posted December 1, 2006 Chris, my 90 had polybushes on when I bought it and although it handled well to begin with they went down hill suprisingly quickly when driven off road. I've now got OE spec bushes from Allmakes all round which aren't expensive and seem to last fairly well. Will, I think you have hit the nail on the head when you say 'driven offroad'.... Any bush fitted to a car that only does 4k a year and that is pleasnat day out / shopping trolley will last for ages. Obvious. Where bushes start to wear out quickly is where they are constantly articulated to their extremes. Again obvious. In this scenario you can kill any bushes in a day! BUT one day in the Cevenol Trophy killed about 6 different poly bushes on the rear arms of one of our crowd's 90. The poly was just flexing so much on the rocky terrain that it was breaking up and leving just the middle plate of the donut bolted to the chassis and 2 washers rattling around either side of it with no bushing material in sight! After the supplu ( nicking spares off other competitors ) had dried up the only option was to purchase a Genuine pair and fit them. The vehicle then finished the evnt and spent another week on holiday in the Sth of France before driving home!. The Poly ( poly ) bushes simply could not cope with ethe constant flexing. I have also seen vehicle suffer the same failings at UK fundays - one had to drive home with ring spanners making up the gap left by the missing bush!!! They were blue ones IIRC. The Frencj mishaps were all colours / makes / styles - none of them could cope. Then, all of you who are happy at the moment, wait till it fails the MOT on the axle end of rear arms being wobbly - then try pinching up the bolt to find they are still loose. Then take the bolt out and look at the slots you have where you should have round holes..... weld a washer on to the bracket and you have a round hole again - or just bin the cack bushes now before it is too late. Can you tell I don't like poly bushes??? David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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