Life time of suspension bushes

[Wryka]

I guess the title says it all really.
I've got an eight year old 500 and was wondering how long the suspension bushes can be expected to last. The mileage on mine is about 21k - it feels ok but it is very difficult to tell if they are wearing out unless you can drive a car that has been newly fitted with replacements. I realise that the topic of bushes has probably been posted before regarding which ones to fit but a recap wouldn't hurt would it ?

Wryka

[jeffsy]

Good post - you are right its been done before but I too could do with an update as Im looking to replace all the rubbers with poly this summer. I think the Poly bushs are done by Powerflex but could do with an update - contact details, prices etc....

[the gazman]

Surprisingly the original bushes do last quite a while, I would get them checked out before replacing.
You can get them from me or Track Car Solutions in Chesterfield.

[esdavey]

I also have a '98 Griff and was thinking the same. Poly Bushes are £250ish with fitting an extra £1000 from a TVR dealer plus suspension realignment when done. Not sure my spanner skills are that good so waiting for my numbers to come up !

[seasider]

esdavey said:

Not sure my spanner skills are that good so waiting for my numbers to come up !

Not that diffucult, just that some can be a P.I.T.A to get out. Also hows your math

[steve-v8s]

A quick visual inspection may reveal their condition. The wishbones should be fairly central in their mounts if the bushes are shot they can move and you may find a tell tale marks where the wishbone has been rubbing on the chassis, mine were. There is nothing technical about re bushing, (other than aligning it afterwards) but as said before some of the bolts can be troublesome both coming out and going back in. The big benefit of doing it yourself is taking the opportunity to do lots of cleaning up and painting while it is apart. If they have not been replaced yet then at least one of your front wishbones will probably be rotten. If doing it yourself a quick albeit more expensive fix is simply to replace all the wishbones for new as they come ready bushed.

Did mine and it took about a weekend per corner.

[trackcar]

As gazman says they last a while .. it's the front bushes that get the hardest time as the angle the front wishbones travel through is greater than the rear, and also the top bushes at the front are exposed to the exhaust heat from the manifolds.

[dnb]

There's still a couple of original bushes in mine. After 97,000 miles.

The replacements are sat in the kitchen, where they've been for the past 6 months...

[FlipFlopGriff]

Had the wishbones shotblasted and painted with POR15 while they were off. Front top wishbones had to be replaced as they were pretty shot. Also had a support piece added to the rear top wishbone to strengthen it.
Work done by Adrian Venn in Coventry - very thorough and well chuffed.
The fronts were done 18 months ago and the paint is still perfect.
FFG

[Wryka]

Thanks for all the replies.

It had and MOT and 18k service about 6 weeks ago and I guess that if there were any problems they would have been high-lighted then. While were in the same area - what is the life expectancy of the shocks ? and is it a worth while upgrade for just general use with the odd fast road blast - not me constable !!

[jeffsy]

FlipFlopGriff said:

Had the wishbones shotblasted and painted with POR15 while they were off. Front top wishbones had to be replaced as they were pretty shot. Also had a support piece added to the rear top wishbone to strengthen it. Work done by Adrian Venn in Coventry - very thorough and well chuffed. The fronts were done 18 months ago and the paint is still perfect. FFG

Paul - where did you get the poly bushes and how much were they mate?

ta

[FlipFlopGriff]

Powerflex - but I had front and rear done seperately and the rear was done with diff bushes too. Got the rears off Derek at the Growl. Cost - can't remember.
FFG

[jeffsy]

Have you had the Diff done as well??

[FlipFlopGriff]

jeffsy said:

Have you had the Diff done as well??

Yes, and new engine and gearbox mounts. They will all likley be the same age so as the bushes and engine mounts were shot seemed a good time to change them.
FFG