Trailing arm bushes

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

I've no experience of fitting these to a Triumph but have done a couple of sets on Range Rovers albeit the split bush type. I found they were a bugger to fit too. They seemed to get air trapped between the two halves of the bush when trying to push in with the sleeve at the same time, as normally recommended by the manf which always just pushed them back out a bit. A couple almost popped back out entirely.

Not the method recommended by the manf but I had to fit both poly halves completely, which allows them to sit nicely, and then get the tube down the centre, which once started seemed to tap in ok. I'm assuming the steel tube down the centre is correct length etc.

[owen1183]

Did my dads with the split bush type from Rimmer Bros and mine with one piece bushes, from polybush. (I used a threaded bar, big washers and nuts as a home made puller. Oh and some bush grease / lube that came in a little sachet with the polybush brand bushes)

Both sets went in no problem, no adjustment of the shackles required sit nice and square........... 30 mins per side

Wonder if you got a bad set of bushes & tubes?

[stuart490]

The third picture is telling me that the tube is too long as tony has suggested. Certainly the way it looks is not right and you should not have had to open the shackle up to the extent you have. The tube appears to be longer than the bush and this definitely not right. It's easy for me to say, but I would not drive it with the shackles like that. I have dug out from my spares stash a NOS original type metalastic bush (may not be stanpart - it says on it HCW Ltd and SAB1013) and the CW Superflex kit (bought 3 or 4 years ago, but not fitted yet - still trying to find the time and the courage to do it!). The metalastic bush measured 2.502" long. A SS tube from the CW kit measured 2.505" and the polyurethane bush measured 2.497". These dimensions are sufficiently close to be identical in this context. Also the raised part at each end is the same distance from the end between the two types of bush, although the profile is different. I would say that the CW bushes/tubes should fit within the shackles OK with perhaps a little easing to slide them in. Tightening the bolts would then nip things up.
Whilst others have said they have fitted the Superflex bushes with relative ease, I see nothing wrong with cutting the bushes in two and fitting from each side of the trailing arm housing. After all Clifford has found you can still buy them like that albeit not from CW.
However painful or frustrating it may be, I would recommend that you remove one of the trailing arms and measure the tubes. They must be too long. Have you discussed your troubles with CW?
Hope this helps in getting to the bottom of the problem.
Regards,
Stuart

[Mike Stevens]

I can't quite see in the 3rd picture if the bit between the shackle and bush is threaded or not. If not then it's the tube and too long. If threaded then I assume the tube is inside the bush and perhaps not too long.

It would have been interesting to see if the tube fitted inside the shackle OK - before fitting. Yeah, OK, a bit late now!

Cheers,
Mike.

[Forkie]

Thanks for the continuing input guys.

Just to clarify Steve, after cutting in half they slid in fine,made sure that the 'cut' lined up on the inside and I fitted the tube AFTER the bushes,again went fine. Did this using the same home made threaded bar/sockets/washer set up that I removed the old ones with.

Mike - the bit you can see in the picture is the threaded bolt. I made sure all the pins were central in the bushes. It appears to me that it has had to be opened up that much just to allow the 'inner portion' of the poly bush to sit back far enough to line up the holes - if that makes sense.
I have not contacted C.W. yet - I thought i'd make enquiries here first.

I've got a day off today so i'm going to drop the nearside arm back off and have a closer comparison with the old bush / measure the tubes etc but they do seem to check out the same so far.

[Clifford Pope]

I'd have thought the tube ought to be the same length as the gap between the shackles, but the bush ought to be slightly wider so that when it is squeezed in it is gripped tightly, and so is forced to flex as the suspension moves?
If the whole bush simply rotates about the tube then it would quickly wear out - just like an ordinary bush when the rubber/tube bonding fails.

[Clifford Pope]

I've just measured my spare set of trailing arms with the yellow bushes fitted, and also the shackle spacing on a spare chassis arm.
The gap is 2 1/2", as is the pin, and the bush is 2 5/8" wide. The bush therefore has to be squeezed a bit to get it started, but then simply compresses lenghthways as you jack the trailing arm up into alignment.

[Forkie]

Ok well I've dropped the N/S arm back off - only held in with the bolt -the O/S has the new spring and damper fitted now.

The old bush tube,new bush tube and both bushes overall measure 63.5mm - 2.5" in Triumph money - measurements made with a digital Vernier caliper. So all that checks out. the ONLY thing I can see different is the camber to the 'fitting side' of the bushes i.e. - the original part has a continuous camber away from the center pin - the new ones are mainly flat. Hence my original theory that these black poly items are unforgiving in movement - so there is no 'slack' to allow for fitting in. Pics to follow... This is obviously holding me up so i'd like to get to the bottom of it all

[Clifford Pope]

I don't really get that. If the tube and the bush are both 2.5", and the shackle spacing is the same, then it should be an easy fit without any need to bend the shackle sides?

But what grips the bush if it is only 2.5" long? The old-style bush doesn't have to be gripped because it is bonded to the tube, which is gripped by the bolt. As I keep saying, the poly bush, which is not bonded to the tube, has to be a bit wider than the space so that it is squeezed, and twists in action.

If a hard bush simply rotates on the centre tube then it's not really doing very much - you might just as well have a bronze bush and a grease nipple

[tony]

I don't really get that. If the tube and the bush are both 2.5", and the shackle spacing is the same, then it should be an easy fit without any need to bend the shackle sides

If a hard bush simply rotates on the centre tube then it's not really doing very much - you might just as well have a bronze bush and a grease nipple

Agree with Clifford.
Tony.