Rear spring rubbers

[rustbuster]

Hi all,

At my Last MOT I had advisories to replace the bushes in the rear leaf springs and thier hangers.

Are the bushes still available? and do I need special tools like a hydraulic press to get them in/out? and can it be done in situ or do I have to remove the springs/axle completely?

Thanks

[>>CHOP<<]

the rear ones are quite difficult....but the front ones are quite simple...the hangers can be made quite easily

still available...delboy or tim could maybe sort you out

[J J 007]

I thought they were easy when i did mine i have got the part no.got mine from a suzuki dealer not cheap,there is a section on here with the part no.

[spacehopper]

I've done it twice and have to say they are sods to get out - both times I had to cut them off.
The shackle bolt tends to seize to the inner metal sleeve of the bush so you may need to cut the bolt on both sides of the spring in between the spring and hanger. You need a hacksaw as its too narrow to get a grinder disc in. Once the spring is off the vehicle you will probably need to burn the rubber out of the spring eye with a blowtorch. Then with a hacksaw cut through the outer sleeve of the bush and prise/whack it out.

Getting the new one in is easy enough though - bang the tip of a chisel into the open end of the spring eye to open it up slightly.

[rustbuster]

Thanks chaps,

That last reply from Spacehopper was probably what I was imagining, hence why I've been putting it off for a few months 

Will order the parts and give it a go, I know where to come if I get stuck! 

[Dell Boy]

Its probably only the rear shackle rubbers that need changing. The front ones extremely rarely fail.
Do Not drive a chisel into the front spring eye to spread it. I did & it came flying out at a million miles an hour, hit my mate in the face very close to an eye & cut him badly. If it had gone in his eye it would have destroyed it.
I can supply new front spring bushes at £50.00 a pair, rear ones are £24.00 for a full set of eight replacement rubbers.

Derek.

[>>CHOP<<]

WHEN using a chisel set...always wear PPE..goggles & gloves in this case

[spacehopper]

Its probably only the rear shackle rubbers that need changing. The front ones extremely rarely fail.
Do Not drive a chisel into the front spring eye to spread it. I did & it came flying out at a million miles an hour, hit my mate in the face very close to an eye & cut him badly. If it had gone in his eye it would have destroyed it.
I can supply new front spring bushes at £50.00 a pair, rear ones are £24.00 for a full set of eight replacement rubbers.

Derek.

Fair point Del, totally right of course. I did it because I was idle and it did make the bush go in easier!! I have to say that I had the spring in a vice, I was aware of what I was doing and I was positioned so I would not get hit by a flying chisel! But of course never say never, Del is right - don't do it!  Many people advise against burning out the rubbers too as the rubbers have air pockets which can expand and send burning rubber flying. Always wear face protection and gloves when doing this. Am I forgiven now?

I'll also mention that I've never changed the bushes because they were worn but because I have snapped a rear spring twice in 11 years of Rascalling. There was nothing wrong with the front bushes - there was just no way of getting the old shackle bolts out without destroying them.

[J J 007]

if you were local could have given you a hand no problem,unless you want to take a ride to my place

[Rascalvan10]

We use a press to press the front ones out and new ones in.
Rear ones don't cause a problem, but the shackle assembly is at the rear of the spring, and these don't have a metal sleeve inside, just rubber.
The front of the rear spring has a void bush, and usually the bolt going through it corrodes into the metal sleeve running through the bush, these can be a pain to get out, we usually cut the bolt with a 1mm cutting disc, takes only a couple minutes  to cut through, but we only cut about 2 thirds through and then shear the rest of using a socket and bar.
Regards Tim