Bushes: Genuine vs Aftermarket

[greenguzzler]

I need some advice.
I am replacing a few bushes in the rear of my AU Fairlane with IRS and have been told that the genuine Ford bushes are better than the (eg Nolathane) aftermarket ones. Is this true or not. I am specifically talking about rear upper control arm bushes and rear toe rod adjuster bushes as well as any others that look stuffed.
Thanks Pete.

[Mr Hardware]

Well i'm running nolathane ones on my falc, and i reckon they're tops.
Plus they're red, red goes better, right?

[THR347]

I'm using superpro bushes and couldn't recommend them highly enough. I wouldn't say one is better than the other because it depends what you're looking for in terms of ride quality i.e. comfort or a sportier, stiffer feel. Some people say that the standard ford bushes are fine - comfortable yet controlled, whereas nolathane bushes are far too stiff, especially paired with lowered springs and aftermarket shocks. Superpro polyurethane bushes are somewhere in between. I've found that by replacing the sway-bar D bushes front and rear and the front sway bar link bushes (AU S1), they have made my car a lot more "pointier" through hard corners, effectively helping to reduce bodyroll. It also costs buckleys and is an easy D.I.Y job. I'm guessing with a fairlane you're more inclined toward comfort? It's your say, I don't think prices vary too greatly???

I've yet to do my rear toe rod adjuster. I too, have been recommended to replace the bushes but when I had a look I can't seem to see a bush? Looks like its just a dust boot that's cracking up... Let me know if you find a bush that suits!

[AuV8Fairlane]

I replaced nearly every bush in my fairlane with nolathane a few months ago and wrote up a list a while back with part numbers. I found the ride definitely got harsher with more road noise and vibration coming through, but definitely made the steering a lot more communicative and precise.

I had adjustable Koni's front and rear and king SL springs on the lane before I did the bushes and normally had the Koni's set at 3/4 firm (front and rear) for a good sporty type ride but after the bushes were installed the whole ride became extremely stiff heading toward being unreasonable for everyday use, so i backed off to halfway front and rear and it now handles brilliantly for a big car without being too crazy.

As for genuine ford bushes being better than aftermarket for IRS, depends on what you define as better... Less road noise/vibration or more precise handling. There will always be a trade off between the two. I would guess that firmer poly bushes would be a bit harder on the IRS componentry but if you've had a look at it you'll see it's very well engineered probably over-engineered for its application. THR347 the bush on the tie rod adjuster is on the inner end towards the diff, the outer end with the dust boot is the ball joint that ford wants about $700 a side when i asked. You can get them aftermarket for around $100 a side.

Matt.

[THR347]

Originally Posted by AuV8Fairlane

THR347 the bush on the tie rod adjuster is on the inner end towards the diff, the outer end with the dust boot is the ball joint that ford wants about $700 a side when i asked. You can get them aftermarket for around $100 a side.

Matt.

Thanks Matt, greatly appreciated!

[T3man]

Matt's assessment is pretty spot on.

In addition to what he has said just be aware that the urethane bushes are prone to splitting and need to be inspected closely at every service.

My own opinion is that you must be very prudent in the places where you use urethane - they have their purposes and for me that is mostly in sway bar mounts. Because their service life is far less than the OE rubber bushes I won't use them in places like upper control arm bushes. I don't mind using them on the lower arms though. This is the trade off between good axle location and on the other hand not transferring all the shock loads directly into the chassis.

[AuV8Fairlane]

Very True T3Man.

I had SuperPro bushes all round on my DA LTD and had to keep an eye on them as within a year the watts link bushes had started to disintegrate to the point where enough movement was allowed that it actually broke open one of the steel ends on the watts link that the bushing was pressed into. Having used both Nolathane and SuperPro i've found that SuperPro are a little bit softer than Nolathane but have seen problems with both. Nolathane being stiffer will split if deformed heavily and some SuperPro bushes have become chalky and started to come apart. But I do think they are both good products, just a bit more maintenance required like anything thats "High Performance" i guess.

A bit more info on the IRS tie rods for everyone. The rod has 2 halves which are joined by the adjuster and 2 adjuster locking nuts (this adjuster is used to set IRS toe in/out). There is the inner side (shorter) with the rubber bush at the end and the outer side (about 300mm long) with the ball joint welded at the end. This ball joint ends up getting a lot of movement in it when it gets older and can affect IRS toe in/out settings and create vibration which is a great way to wear out rear tyres.

[THR347]

Originally Posted by AuV8Fairlane

A bit more info on the IRS tie rods for everyone. The rod has 2 halves which are joined by the adjuster and 2 adjuster locking nuts (this adjuster is used to set IRS toe in/out). There is the inner side (shorter) with the rubber bush at the end and the outer side (about 300mm long) with the ball joint welded at the end. This ball joint ends up getting a lot of movement in it when it gets older and can affect IRS toe in/out settings and create vibration which is a great way to wear out rear tyres.

Great info there AuV8Fairlane. Lucikly I haven't had any camber issues effecting uneven rear tyre wear, but the dust boots on the inner side of the tie rods are all split and exposing the ball joint to dirt etc. which (after reading your advice) will surely promote wear. Looks like new rods and the bushes are due!

[greenguzzler]

Hey guys,
I got a price to replace the IRS tie rods or toe links. About $1900. Who makes a aftermarket set and what is the contact number?
Thanks Pete.

[scrivens]

Haven't had to do the AU yet but I had the entire lot replaced with Nolathane on my NC2 V8 Fairlane. That had the standard suspension on it at the time and the bushes were magic; tightened it up nicely and not harsh at all. I later replaced the air suspension with standard Monroes and stiffer springs and they were OK with them as well. Still no apparent wear on any of them when I sold the NC 120,000km later. Standard suspension is a lot softer than sports though, so take on board those warnings about the stiffness - not much give in Nolathane. (Front and rear were about $850 all up, but that's around 7 years back.)

[AuV8Fairlane]

Whoa, $1900 for the 2 IRS tie rods including fitting???!! Sounds like they're either ripping you severely or sourcing their parts from ford (about $700 a side!). Mine where about $100 each side for the parts. Fitting shouldn't be overly expensive as it's not a hard task, also a wheel alignment is required when the jobs done.

Now from the searches i've done it seems a lot of people don't realise there is an alternative other than the ford original parts. I don't remember the part-no but should be able to find it..... but the company that makes the aftermarket IRS tie rods is Tran-Steer Inc. http://www.tran-steer.com would just be a matter of finding someone who stocks them.

Matt.

[fairlanesports]

I just went into a local exhaust shop and they did the toe adjustment rods for about $85 a side fitted where ford wanted $1100 dollars each or something like that.