OREO Speedwagon

Excellent prognosis! I found that the lower bushing was there, as was the bolt, but the top one had totally rotted out. It was a bit of a pain trying to get that bolt out, and back in was impossible. So, I put it in upside down. Instead of trying to thread the bold down through the hole (impossible with the driveshaft in the way) I just ran it up through the bottom. It now doesn't clunk going into gear, whine when I lay off the gas, or rattle so bad over bumps.

:)

One question though... How tight should I tighten that dude up? It's a rubber bushing, so I could tighten it all the way and compress the daylights out of it. I didn't think that would be wise, so I just tightened it until it felt snug.

What do you think?

Fevre

:party:

Took me a while to figure it out on mine, was the weirdest feeling when driving it. I don't recall if there is a specific torq setting for it but if I recall right there is supposed to be a metal bushing that runs through the upper and lower rubber bushings to allow compression on them without crushing them. You may not have that in there, again I am not 100% sure on it though. I did use some heavy duty lock tight on the nut, really needs to be a castle nut and cotter pin to make sure it does not back off like mine did.

Bummed me out at the time because it is a relatively quick fix and I lost out on a few cruisng because I did not know what was wrong with it.

OREO Speedwagon

Yeah, I was afraid to drive mine also. I thought there was something wrong with the diff or the posi unit. I'm glad it was only a 20 dollar bushing.

:)

The weird thing is, the washer they give you is maybe about a 3/4 inch in diameter. The bolt hole on the rubber bushing is about a 1/2 inch. So, when you start tightening, the washer wants to shift and go through the hole a bit. So, I opted for a larger washer so it will compress more evenly.

I might tighten it up some more and then use some locktite as well. I didn't notice any kind of metal bushing on mine. It was just two poly rings, one thicker and wider, the other smaller. The thick one went on bottom and the thinner on top.

I'll have to look around. I don't want to compress it too much and maybe end up cracking it in the long run. Then again, I don't want it loosey goosey back there either.

Hmm...

:smash:

Fevre

Here is a good picture:



The washer actually has the metal sleeve built into it (look at the bottom of the bushing and you can see the washer) so when you put it all together is keeps the bushings from being crushed.


[Modified by Fevre, 11:09 AM 3/29/2004]

OREO Speedwagon

Hmm, mine didn't have that. I bought the kit from Zip. Maybe the lower one that was already installed did, because I only replaced the top one.

:confused:

Here's what I ordered and installed:





:skep:

OREO Speedwagon

I think I get it now... That metal piece *was* there, but it was so pressed in that I didn't even notice it. I thought it was a part of the diff. So, I put the rubber bushing on *top* of that metal piece!

:eek:

So, I need to take that all apart, knock that metal piece out, and do it again.

:rolleyes:

Wow. I'm such a dummy.

:D

Scooter70

I think that there is a torque spec in the AIM, but I don't remember what it is offhand. I think that the directions tell you that you have to reuse the old washer/sleeve part and stick it through the new busing. Same thing happened to me a couple of summers ago.

OREO Speedwagon

Right on. I couldn't find any mention of it in my manual, so I winged it. Now that I know what to do, this should be too bad. Getting that old washer out may be a bit of a trick, but I think it's all good now.

Thanks guys!

:smash:

Fevre

:thumbs:

Brettmc

Don't be so hard on yourself, man. Nobody here knows it all and we're all here to learn.

Brett :thumbs:

NHvette

Where can you get the washer/sleeve ?
I looked through all of ZIP.
I'm about to make my own.
I got the poly bushings from ZIP ... just ordered the hardware set above,
but I suspect that I still need the washer/sleeve.

Help !!

Fevre

Dave

I 'borrowed' that pic off Ecklers' site, sounds like it includes the metal washer:

http://www.ecklers.com/product.asp?d...N0SM2EPKLKB0V2

OREO Speedwagon

Did you check to see if yours is still there? Mine is crammed in there so tight that I didn't even realize it was a washer, I thought it was a raised lip and part of the diff!

I'm going to have to pry that mother out of there tonight, and I have a feeling it's not going to be easy.

:smash:

NHvette

Oh yeah - I need a new one. Mine's been out for a while ... very rusted.

I thought the new poly bushings would come with this part ... until I opened the box last night.

Thanks Chris ... I found the pic at Eckler's, too. Looks like I need to:
a - buy another bushing WITH the sleeve.
b - make my own.

:seeya