Date: Wed, 24 Jul 2019 19:02:07 -0500
Reply-To: "Jim. Felder" <jim.felder@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: "Jim. Felder" <jim.felder@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Installing rear poly suspension bushings
In-Reply-To: <BL0PR20MB20982EC7DDEBC2BFEAEE2B90A0C60@BL0PR20MB2098.namprd20.prod.outlook.com>
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Yes, I have the whiteline. My second choice, had the home-made reducer not
worked, was to put all four on the bandsaw and cut them in half. But, given
the difficulty of adjusting the steel sleeves in the mounted bushings I am
glad I used the whole bushings and reducer. Over and done with.
Jim
On Wed, Jul 24, 2019 at 6:58 PM Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@hotmail.com>
wrote:
> Guess you got the Whiteline. The Powerflex are two piece just like the
> front lower control bushings. Worth the difference just for the ease of
> installation. For the rear either choice works well.
>
> Dennis
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf
> Of Jim. Felder
> Sent: Wednesday, July 24, 2019 7:28 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Installing rear poly suspension bushings
>
> I have had a set of T3 Techics poly bushing sitting around for several
> years, and bad wheel bearings gave me the excuse to tear into all that rear
> suspension stuff and thoroughly go through it. Except there is a
> hitch--they don't tell you how impossible it is to do the rears as a home
> mechanic, they let you think you can because the front bushings weren't all
> that bad. That's how they get you. But if you want poly on the rear, read
> on to read the latest Felder Industries triumph of technology.
>
> I tried a press, giant c-clamps, and a 4-wheel drive ball joint tool
> before I sent them to a local VW shop. The shop called today at lunch to
> tell me they had given up on installing my bushings. When I went by to pick
> up my parts, they showed me a $40 GoWesty tool made for the job. One of the
> mechanics who once was in the commercial landscaping business recognized
> the tool, which is essentially a steel pipe that has been drawn into a
> slight funnel shape to connect two different hose sizes, as a landscaping
> product. Whatever the part was actually for, nobody in the shop thought it
> could be purchased locally. With GoWesty I figured it would cost another
> $20 to ship andI wanted to be done this weekend anyway.
>
> So, Felder Industries has a new product, a Poly Rear Bushing Reducer. It
> costs less than $3 in materials at Lowes. It's a steel coupler with
> external threads for 2 inch pipe. It's 3 inches long of pretty heavy
> malleable iron. I put it in the vise and cut 16 slot about 5/8 long into
> one end with a jigsaw, equally spaced apart, doing 4 slots
> north-south-east-west and then bisecting the pipe section between those
> slots several times. I laid it on concrete and beat the slotted end down
> with a hammer until the tabs between the slots touched and would not allow
> any more reduction. Now there is a reduction in the pipe. You slip a poly
> bushing with its steel center installed into the reducer into the reducer
> and pull it into the sleeve in the trailing arm (two per arm) with 3/8 all
> thread and washers until seated. In practice it is helpful to use a sleeve
> from a Harbor Freight front end tool to get the two flanges on the ends of
> the poly centered just right. It is difficult to see what the lips on each
> end are doing when the whole thing is inside the reducer. But that's a fine
> point, the main point is that the onerous poly bushings go right into place.
>
> Anyone wanting a picture of the install setup and tool just ask.I would be
> glad to send this out to people ready to do this job because I doubt I will
> ever need to do it again.
>
> Jim
>
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