subframe bushing inquiry

[SuperHO]

pricing out parts has me pondering a few things. first off, not being my car, i'm not gonna dive in and commit to aluminum just yet. my wife daily drives the beast, so in reality, it's her opinion that matters, and i'm not so sure she'd appreciate the extra love from the mighty V8 being transferred to the chassis. so i got to thinkin that i'm probably just gonna replace the front two bushings with the rear style...which leads me to wonder whether i should order a pair from the ford dealer or head down to the boneyard and find a set of good ones. question is, how can i tell if they're good or not? i've never dealt with stock bushings before, so i'm not really sure what i'm going for here. however, being on a budget and with my wife's comfort in mind, i'd like to examine all of my options before committing the $150 plus shipping for a set of ALSFBs and a pair of recall kits. thoughts?

 

[stephen newberg]

For what it is worth, I did not find that the aluminum SFBs really made the ride much more harsh, but that feel could have been reduced because of all the other suspension changes which had already hardened things up a bit.

pax, smn

 

[Izzmo]

You can "feel" the road a little more, but it's not anything bad.. at all.

In regards to your question, when I pulled mine off, they completely fell apart, so I think as long as they are intact and the rubber looks good and not flaky, they should be fine.

 

[SuperHO]

wild random thought of the day...how about a pair of hockey pucks in place of the top bushings as a temporary fix?

 

[Izzmo]

lol... interesting.. they do have cushion...

Would you just drill a hole through them?

My only concern is they might move around a little bit.

 

[1995mtxsho]

If the metal washers aren't rusted out and the rubber is still solidly attached, they are good. Seriously though, all I did was walk out in LKQ's yard, found a gen 3 that someone yanked the engine from, removed the bushings from the subframe by hand, payed $10 for them and left.

It's not hard to find one ripped apart already.

 

[93rev2sev]

www.rockauto.com -20.89 per rear corner includes one top and one lower bushing and one shiney new subframe bolt.
DORMAN Part # 924012 {OE Solutions}
Rear
* Non-stock item--shipping delayed up to 21 business days

The fronts are also available (and IN STOCK)

DORMAN Part # 924000 {OE Solutions #F6DZ-5400155-A}
Front Lower $22.99

 

[SuperHO]

well, I don't wanna replace fronts with fronts, since I have a tendency to upgrade should I have to replace a part. So it's either gonna be rears or aluminum...but if what james says works, i'll just do that since I'll be in K-zoo tommorrow to see my kids.

 

[1995mtxsho]

Hmm I could use a few gen 3 parts myself.. What time do you think you will be going to the yard?

 

[SuperHO]

i'm outta work at 2, which means i'm gonna stumble home, take a shower, then head out by 3ish...probably be to the yard by 4.

 

[1995mtxsho]

Doh, bummer, I have an apt. At 6.

 

[firebat45]

Get the aluminum bushings. You should be doing a recall kit regardless of which new bushings you put in, and the aluminum are usually cheaper, better performing, and will last forever.

If you've got a welder and an hour or so, you can just go buy your own nuts + bolts, and weld a couple tabs on each bolt. I got 4 bolts, 4 nuts, and 8 washers for something like $6.

 

[SuperHO]

you do realize you just posted that in the V8 section, right?

 

[Izzmo]

How come you want to replace the fronts with rears? I would think it would be the other way around myself. The fronts [to me] look like a better overall design (for cushion).

 

[SuperHO]

cuz the rears consist of two rubber pieces whereas the fronts only have one...so the fronts fall apart easier.

 

[Izzmo]

Ah, I see. You do make a good point, my front ones (when I replaced them with ASFB's) feel apart as I dislocated them.

 

[operdot]

Speaking from an engineering point of view ALSBs are a bad idea. This is because there is and increased stress being transferred to the unibody which it was not designed to handle. They also add to stress corrosion cracking of the subframe itself. This is for two reasons (1)dissimilar metals have an increased rate of corrosion (2) you have raised the stresses being transferred. Then you get into vibrations… if you do not suppress the vibration cycles as much as possible you begin to rack up fatigue life and that leads to crack formation and growth. There have been more then a few members with broken subframes as a result of ALSB.

2 years ago SHOBill and me came up with this mod for the subframe, basically you use 2 hockeypucks and put a band around them, 3/8" tall 3" ID exhaust pipe makes for a good band (just make sure its ID not OD). The band is a crucial part of the mod because it redirects the preload forces of the bolt into clamping the frame instead of deforming the hockeypuck. Between the subframe and each hockeypuck you need place a thin but wide washer preferable 3" OD and 13mm ID. What this washer will do is give a better clamp up are and distribute the loads. On my frame I reinforced this area and welded in a permanent washer.

Here are some pix, these are not what i have in my car but they will give you a good idea. What’s missing is the band around the hockeypuck and I put a 1/2" metal spacer in the front to lower the engine a little.

 

[Izzmo]

Wow, so a hockey puck was actually a viable idea? I thought that just came out of no where.

 

[frosho]

Bizzy has used hockey pucks, I think SHOBill may have too...

 

[Izzmo]

What is the likelihood of your subframe cracking due to using ASFB's?