Subframe bushing types

[chrism3784]

Im continuing my showagon project. Took the subframe down from the 88 wagon and noticed the rear bushings are different. One my 90 sho the bushings are the same types front and rear. The one with 4 bolts on top. The rear of the 88 wagon (3.8) subframe, look like a hockey puck. Searched online a bit and found they are different of course.

Question, what would be the best bushing to use on the rear subframe of my 88 wagon when I put the sho subrame in it, the one that has 4 bolts on top thats used in the front, or the hockey puck looking one that used in the rear of the 3.8l subframe.

 

[K-Dawg]

Get 4 of the rear Gen 3 bushings. Or aluminum, because I think the Gen 3 bushings have increased in price quite a bit.

 

[FOMOCOTOSHO]

I bought a set of aluminum ones for my '95 ATX daily driver that I really liked though it did cause the ride to be a little bit harsher but not bad. However the handling difference was night & day! The car turns on rails compared to the stock bushings.

I recently bought an '89 and decided to swap the aluminum SFB's over to that one and I bought a set of Gen 3 SFB's and I have to say they are my favorite. They feel about 75% as strong as the aluminum ones without the harsh impact & vibrations felt thru the suspension when going over cracks & potholes, etc. Definitely I think the preferred option unless you need ******** handling for road course racing.

 

[chrism3784]

Not doing aluminum, don't want the harsh ride. Just getting regular aftermarket dorman ones. I have new ones on the sho rears, they were fine, handled fine. Guess ill just leave it alone, cause I dropped subframe on the 90 sho and the front were actually in decent shape.

 

[zach44102]

dont listen to him!!!!! i have alsfb and i love them so dearly..... they are worth every penny... no harsh ride (to me) and the car handles so gooooood

 

[oneqwicksho]

dont listen to him!!!!! i have alsfb and i love them so dearly..... they are worth every penny... no harsh ride (to me) and the car handles so gooooood

You must be numb all the time to not feel the harshness of ALSFB in a SHO. Imao I would recommend gen 3 SFB they feel like your riding on rails without the harshness of the ALSFB. Id say they are one of the best suspension upgrades for our cars

 

[firebat45]

You must be numb all the time to not feel the harshness of ALSFB in a SHO. Imao I would recommend gen 3 SFB they feel like your riding on rails without the harshness of the ALSFB. Id say they are one of the best suspension upgrades for our cars

I didn't notice any extra harshness when I did mine either. Granted, my old SFBs were falling apart, but ALSFBs are not as harsh as everyone makes them out to be.

The one difference I noticed in NVH was a teeny bit of vibration during hard accel that I could feel with my foot if it was against the dead pedal. Noisewise no difference.

Much improved shifting and turning feel, but then again, my old bushings were falling apart. I wouldn't bother installing anything else on any SHO of mine.

Who knows, maybe I got squishy aluminum...

 

[hawkeye18]

dont listen to him!!!!! i have alsfb and i love them so dearly..... they are worth every penny... no harsh ride (to me) and the car handles so gooooood

You should never tell somebody to discount somebody else's opinion for your own; your opinion, based on the fact that it is an opinion, is no better than his. Unless he is presenting facts and you know your facts are more accurate than his, his opinion is every bit as valid as yours.

IMHO, get the ALSFBs if you want to be able to feel the beard on Lincoln as you drive over him on the road. If you would rather not, I'd go with the Gen 3 SFBs.

 

[SHOtime2511]

ALSB's are awesome so long as your motor mounts are good and not welded solid.

 

[FastAndFurious]

ALSB's are awesome so long as your motor mounts are good and not welded solid.

What if motor mounts are welded? Too much NVH?

 

[SHOtime2511]

yeah,lots of vibration.
I'd go with gen 3 mounts in your case.

 

[zach44102]

i got alsfb and i need new motor mounts....

 

[pitaSHO]

I have ALSFB with solid motor mounts on my 91. So far so good.

CK

 

[operdot]

So far so good.

CK

Good luck on that one. ASFB + 1/8" rusted/cracked steel + 400lb mass = shoboom.

ALSB were never analyzed to be used on a taurus, at least i've never seen a report on it. Which lacks to answer the question of just how much the concentrated load and dissimiliar metal corrosion will decrease the life of the subframe.

SHOBill and myself have developed and successuflly tested a number of modified subframes(including one of Beth's shos) to suit hockey pucks. From a performance to cost ratio the hockeypucks outperform any other solution.

 

[zak]

Regarding hockey pucks, I would be concerned about compression set creep loosening the load on the subframe bolts.

 

[oneqwicksho]

I didn't notice any extra harshness when I did mine either. Granted, my old SFBs were falling apart, but ALSFBs are not as harsh as everyone makes them out to be.

The one difference I noticed in NVH was a teeny bit of vibration during hard accel that I could feel with my foot if it was against the dead pedal. Noisewise no difference.

Much improved shifting and turning feel, but then again, my old bushings were falling apart. I wouldn't bother installing anything else on any SHO of mine.

Who knows, maybe I got squishy aluminum...

I did forget to mention that the sho's I rode in did have solid motor mounts with ALSFB.

 

[operdot]

Regarding hockey pucks, I would be concerned about compression set creep loosening the load on the subframe bolts.

The torque creep was accounted for by constraining the ammount the buishing can compress. The constraint was steel ring that fit snug on an unloaded bushing. Over the past 4 years I have checked the torque on the bolt repeatedly with no decrease in torque.


The good part of using the hockeypuck, is the load is distributed better on the subframe, versus a concentrated load that you get with the stock design.

 

[K-Dawg]

Good luck on that one. ASFB + 1/8" rusted/cracked steel + 400lb mass = shoboom.

ALSB were never analyzed to be used on a taurus, at least i've never seen a report on it. Which lacks to answer the question of just how much the concentrated load and dissimiliar metal corrosion will decrease the life of the subframe.

SHOBill and myself have developed and successuflly tested a number of modified subframes(including one of Beth's shos) to suit hockey pucks. From a performance to cost ratio the hockeypucks outperform any other solution.

Hockey pucks were never analyzed to be used on a Taurus. At least I've never seen a report on it.

Aluminum subframe bushings have been around for what? Like 15 years or more? Proper aluminum bushings work just fine, and provide the same "support" that your hockey pucks do, if not better.

 

[K-Dawg]

Also, I don't understand the people who say that aluminum subframe bushings affect ride quality. Doesn't make sense to me.

 

[zach44102]

i swear the only thing i notice with the alsfb is better handeling. no harsh ride at all