New Griff suspension Bush
Discussion
Thought I had better warn any body else who brought a set of a certain type of suspension bushes at the recent
Griff growl:
I recently fitted a new set of front suspension bushes whilst also fitting new shocks, anybody who has done this job will know that its a real B*****d. Three days later whilst making a tightness check I find that 4 of the 8 new bushes had broken down.
Phoned the supplier who arranged for me to visit the manufacturer (top class response ). Arrived at the Manufacturers & whilst my car was under inspection on a ramp they confirmed that the new range of bushes had been re-designed incorrectly. Apparently the designer had not accounted for chassis location edges at the back of the Griff wishbones.
They did agree to resolve the incorrect bush issue early next week, however looks like I will have to refit them myself :furious:, I use my Griff daily & my weekends are precious. Trust my luck to become a designers test rig :driving:.
Steve.
Griff growl:
I recently fitted a new set of front suspension bushes whilst also fitting new shocks, anybody who has done this job will know that its a real B*****d. Three days later whilst making a tightness check I find that 4 of the 8 new bushes had broken down.
Phoned the supplier who arranged for me to visit the manufacturer (top class response ). Arrived at the Manufacturers & whilst my car was under inspection on a ramp they confirmed that the new range of bushes had been re-designed incorrectly. Apparently the designer had not accounted for chassis location edges at the back of the Griff wishbones.
They did agree to resolve the incorrect bush issue early next week, however looks like I will have to refit them myself :furious:, I use my Griff daily & my weekends are precious. Trust my luck to become a designers test rig :driving:.
Steve.
As the supplier I am appalled by the above post, I arranged for the inspection by the manufacturer and am waiting for the report before recalling the recently sold bushes, I have stopped other orders being delivered however.
I have informed Jools at Trackcar Solutions of the potential problem and suggested that he also put deliveries on hold whilst the report is prepared.
I take great exception the results being posted, when I was only informed of the possible manufacturing fault 48 hours ago and immediately arranged for the inspection, only to find the results on this forum, before Powerflex have informed me of the findings.
>> Edited by bugsy on Saturday 27th August 20:48
I have informed Jools at Trackcar Solutions of the potential problem and suggested that he also put deliveries on hold whilst the report is prepared.
I take great exception the results being posted, when I was only informed of the possible manufacturing fault 48 hours ago and immediately arranged for the inspection, only to find the results on this forum, before Powerflex have informed me of the findings.
>> Edited by bugsy on Saturday 27th August 20:48
bugsy said:
As the supplier I am appalled by the above post, I arranged for the inspection by the manufacturer and am waiting for the report before recalling the recenty sold bushes, I have stopped other orders being delivered however.
I have informed Jools at Trackcar Solutions of the potential problem and suggested that he also put deliveries on hold whilst the report is prepared.
I take great exception the results being posted, when I was only informed of the possible manufacturing fault 48 hours ago and immediately arranged for the inspection, only to find the results on this forum, before Powerflex have informed me of the findings.
No need to jump down the blokes neck.........he said he Phoned the supplier who arranged for me to visit the manufacturer (top class response)
You did the right thing
now the way i read it,you supplied the bushes,he fitted them correctly,he has found out the bushes are faulty,and is a little pissed he will have to spend another weekend fitting the correct bushes.It is the blokes only car,least you can do is lend him a car and sort the problem out. Maybe this has upset you posting on here,but think how the bloke feels.
I'm sure you will sort this problem out and prove to all the TVR owners out there how good you are.
I realise that Steve is frustrated but we could not have reacted faster on this potential problem and I am dissapointed that this is up for discussion on this forum before I have even had a chance to discuss the findings with the manufacturer.
I would remind Steve that the problem was identified and inspection has taken place since last Thursday the 25/8/05, not festered for weeks and if Steve is patient, he will be recompensed for his inconvieniance.
I would remind Steve that the problem was identified and inspection has taken place since last Thursday the 25/8/05, not festered for weeks and if Steve is patient, he will be recompensed for his inconvieniance.
I understand what you are saying Bugsy,the way i read it from Steve's post is he is very happy you have reacted so quick.He is just a little bit cheesed off over it all.
Maybe Steve should have waited a few more days until the problem is fully sorted out.
I hope things get sorted out for everyone
Maybe Steve should have waited a few more days until the problem is fully sorted out.
I hope things get sorted out for everyone
Bugsy
I was surprised & I apologise if my post upset you, I do find it strange that you have missed the main point of my post, it was basically to warn any body else who had brought a set before fitting them.
I was not out to bad mouth you or the manufacturer, hopefully you have phoned those who may be at potential risk of damaging themselves, their cars or wasteing their time.
Shit that happens doesnt wait for bank hol breaks, reports from manufacturers & resolutions obviously do.
Steve.
I was surprised & I apologise if my post upset you, I do find it strange that you have missed the main point of my post, it was basically to warn any body else who had brought a set before fitting them.
I was not out to bad mouth you or the manufacturer, hopefully you have phoned those who may be at potential risk of damaging themselves, their cars or wasteing their time.
Shit that happens doesnt wait for bank hol breaks, reports from manufacturers & resolutions obviously do.
Steve.
SteveGRF said:
Bugsy
I was surprised & I apologise if my post upset you, I do find it strange that you have missed the main point of my post, it was basically to warn any body else who had brought a set before fitting them.
I was not out to bad mouth you or the manufacturer, hopefully you have phoned those who may be at potential risk of damaging themselves, their cars or wasteing their time.
Shit that happens doesnt wait for bank hol breaks, reports from manufacturers & resolutions obviously do.
Steve.
Steve
You are the first person to find fault with these bushes and I have either stopped delivery, or made contact with the other purchasers to stop them fitting them while the investigation is completed.
It would appear that most people bought the bushes for fitting later and I will recall and replace them, once I am made aware of Powerflex's findings and proposals.
The only reason I am upset is because I assured you that whilst we investigate this problem, nobody would suffer the same problem as you and it would appear that you did not trust my word.
To be fair to powerflex, the external dimensions of the bushes are identical to the old superflex versions .. there's no reason to suggest they shouldn't work at least as well as those bushes as the basic method of operation is the same .. I'm surprised they've failed but fail they evidently have.
Derek seems to have his end well under control (fnaar fnaar) and has acted professionally and very quickly.
I can see why you might be frustrated though steveGRF but i'm sure Derek is trying his best to make this as painless as possible.
A bit of background info : I approached powerflex over 6 months ago to make some bushes as the bushes i had been using are made in australia and i was keen to work with a uk supplier.
Powerflex said they could make bushes for me, and had this lovely bush they'd just developed for a small volume sports car manufacturer .. double internal sleeving, teflon lined and very low rotational friction qualities. It looked ideal and this is the bush now offered for aftermarket fit to TVR.
SetevGRF, looks like your car is the first one to have any of them fitted though and have hit upon a snag right away .. unfortunately that's part of having one of the first of any type of product .. as a TVR owner you may well sympathise with this scenario.
Powerflex are one of the all-too rare good-guy outfits though and they will have a solution as soon as possible, I'm confident of that.
Even though you're not my customer may i say thanks for your patience and understanding in the meantime though
best wishes
Joo
Derek seems to have his end well under control (fnaar fnaar) and has acted professionally and very quickly.
I can see why you might be frustrated though steveGRF but i'm sure Derek is trying his best to make this as painless as possible.
A bit of background info : I approached powerflex over 6 months ago to make some bushes as the bushes i had been using are made in australia and i was keen to work with a uk supplier.
Powerflex said they could make bushes for me, and had this lovely bush they'd just developed for a small volume sports car manufacturer .. double internal sleeving, teflon lined and very low rotational friction qualities. It looked ideal and this is the bush now offered for aftermarket fit to TVR.
SetevGRF, looks like your car is the first one to have any of them fitted though and have hit upon a snag right away .. unfortunately that's part of having one of the first of any type of product .. as a TVR owner you may well sympathise with this scenario.
Powerflex are one of the all-too rare good-guy outfits though and they will have a solution as soon as possible, I'm confident of that.
Even though you're not my customer may i say thanks for your patience and understanding in the meantime though
best wishes
Joo
mickypee said:
I have purchased some of these bushes for my car, but as yet haven't fitted them. Are they the Teflon bearing units? If so, perhaps I should get them to change them. I haven't read the whole posting, are they just the wrong size? Can they be machined?
Hang fire Mickey, I'm going to Uxbridge first thing Tuesday to find out exactly what the problem is and what the manufacturer proposes to overcome the apparant problem, I will mail everbody concerned, once I have the answers.
I am glad Steve posted his experience. The bully tactics and gag order implied by the professional supplies and service providers should cease. This forum is an area to inform fellow enthusiasts of our experience as owners and share useful information where possible. I am a potential customer and look forward to seeing if Steve is compensated for his lost time and the potential danger he and his family might have been in. These are quick and fast cars, therefore this information is important to all of us.
It would appear that some are more interested in their image rather than Steve and others' safety.
Thank you Steve
It would appear that some are more interested in their image rather than Steve and others' safety.
Thank you Steve
Derek,
Thank you for the warning. Do you think you could telephone or email me on Tuesday with your findings.
The car is now finished, and am keen to fit the bearings as the ones on the rear suspension arms really do need changing.
I am curious that the bush should break in use, was it the urethane part or the bearing? They look pretty indestructable to me.
Thank you for the warning. Do you think you could telephone or email me on Tuesday with your findings.
The car is now finished, and am keen to fit the bearings as the ones on the rear suspension arms really do need changing.
I am curious that the bush should break in use, was it the urethane part or the bearing? They look pretty indestructable to me.
mickypee said:
Derek,
Thank you for the warning. Do you think you could telephone or email me on Tuesday with your findings.
The car is now finished, and am keen to fit the bearings as the ones on the rear suspension arms really do need changing.
I am curious that the bush should break in use, was it the urethane part or the bearing? They look pretty indestructable to me.
I'm sorry Mickey, I can't answer that question until the full report by Powerflex on Tuesday.
At this stage we only have Steves side of the story and we don't know what the manufacturer will recomend.
I agree with you precat that things should be all out in the open .. but even people striving for openness and honesty get gagged .. the law works to protect those who can use it best to their advantage .. how many times have you seen me trying to get to the bottom of lies, deceit and bully tactics only to have threads closed, deleted and be threatened off-site by bigger names in the industry.
It frustrates the bollox out of me.
especially when you get to hear so much in the industry that backs up your argument but yo're not allowed to pass the information on ..
In this instance though I think Derek is right not to jump the gun though (and i have no direct interest in backing him, he's a direct competitor benefitting from my involvement with powerflex ...), after all he's not even seen the car or the failed bush yet. Also we know from expereince and the design of the bush that even if a bush fails you get LESS movement than in the purple superflex bush when the superflex version is fully operational such is the tiny amount of polyurethane in the powerflex version.
Had more than one car set been fitted, and the other owners hadn't recognised early signs of failure then I'm sure Derek would have clamped down on the situation by informing all customers directly asap .. as it is I know he's been phoning around both his trade and private customers already warning about the apparent failure so i don't really see how much more he could have done.
Have you yourself bought some bushes? if not you didn't need informing anyway ... if you had then Derek would have got in touch to say hold off fitting them until the investigation had been carried out.
Even though as a layman a failing bush may be viewed as a serious safety issue, if you realise how the powerflex bushes work then you'd know that it isn't quite so safety-critical, however I fully back your desire for open chat on these issues, after all I've based my entire business on open chat for a great many years and a great number of very good reasons.
It frustrates the bollox out of me.
especially when you get to hear so much in the industry that backs up your argument but yo're not allowed to pass the information on .. In this instance though I think Derek is right not to jump the gun though (and i have no direct interest in backing him, he's a direct competitor benefitting from my involvement with powerflex ...), after all he's not even seen the car or the failed bush yet. Also we know from expereince and the design of the bush that even if a bush fails you get LESS movement than in the purple superflex bush when the superflex version is fully operational such is the tiny amount of polyurethane in the powerflex version.
Had more than one car set been fitted, and the other owners hadn't recognised early signs of failure then I'm sure Derek would have clamped down on the situation by informing all customers directly asap .. as it is I know he's been phoning around both his trade and private customers already warning about the apparent failure so i don't really see how much more he could have done.
Have you yourself bought some bushes? if not you didn't need informing anyway ... if you had then Derek would have got in touch to say hold off fitting them until the investigation had been carried out.
Even though as a layman a failing bush may be viewed as a serious safety issue, if you realise how the powerflex bushes work then you'd know that it isn't quite so safety-critical, however I fully back your desire for open chat on these issues, after all I've based my entire business on open chat for a great many years and a great number of very good reasons.
I welcome debate and there have been times that I wanted to name and shame myself but I also like to see fairness and as the word implies, debate is a two sided afair and in this instance it has been rather a one sided debate, with evidence from only one source.
>> Edited by bugsy on Monday 29th August 10:43
>> Edited by bugsy on Monday 29th August 10:43
trackcar said:
there have been times that I wanted to name and shame myself
wow Derek, that's very fair of you ..
(just trying to lighten the mood a little)
I'm not laughing Jools, I'm taking this episode extremely seriously and will be camping out on the manufacturer's doorstep tomorrow morning and giving them the opportunity to put their side of the story before I take action.
If Steve is correct I'm going to be throwing a few F
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