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Bushings on both link ends. How durable?

18K views 27 replies 16 participants last post by  thejeepjeepkid 
#1 ·
Hello,
I've been going through many old threads on three and four link suspensions, and it seems to me that most people here use heims, or a combination of heims and bushings. It would seem to me that bushings are not as forgiving as heims when it comes to non-radial loading. Those of you running bushings on both sides of the links, how durable are they? Would you recommend using them?
Thanks,
Mikel
 
#2 ·
On my last rig I had three links front and rear with bushings(44044) and they shreadded in short order.Bought them by the case and replaced them every couple runs.This was under very abusive conditions(UROC,Calroc,Idiot driver) the geometry was pretty good(proper loading of the bushing) but they would still split apart and shread.HTH
 
#3 ·
Guy in my club runs energy suspension bushings on every end of his rear 4-link just cuz it's cheap as hell. They're all worn now but he's been wheelin Tellico on a regular basis (at least 1-2 times a month) for a year and still on the same bushings. BTW, his rig has Dana 60s and 40 TSLs in case that matters.
 
#4 ·
I'm running spherical joints on one end & OEM style bushings on the other on my new links. I wanted the shock absorption qualities of the rubber on at least one end. I only have a couple of runs on them at this point but so far so good. :D
 
#8 ·
Interesting... What size bushings are those? I'm assuming that large diameter and narrow bushing will do much better dealing with sideways twisting... Also, the longer the arms, the less they need to "twist" in order to achieve the same articulation, so that probably helps extend the bushing's life.
Thanks.
Mikel
 
#12 ·
I run XJ Lower bushings on both ends with Sunray Engineering "Twisty's" in the middle.

The Twisty's are machined pieces with a Bolt and O-Rings to keep the gease in and to keep the whole unit quiet. They have 360* rotation ability and 2-3" of adjustability.

Minimal rear steer.

Also, I think the rubber ends on the links are more forgiving to sharp blows versus having stiff hiems on each end that have no give in them.
 

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#17 · (Edited)
I ran ORD's BA200 bushings at both ends of all my rear links, with not twisty mechanism, for several years. It works fine in my rig that weighs 6000 lbs trail ready. I never had to replace a single bushing, but I did replace 2 or 3 just because I had the links out for one reason or another and had found mild damage to the flanges.

Im not going around telling everyone to do their suspensions this way, but I sure wont discourage anyone from trying it for their application. I just cant make myself spend 1000 dollars on heims, tube adapters, and misalignment spacers. (I would if I could justify it, because I think they would ultimately perform better overall)

Edit: Sorry for the poser pic, but it shows that the bushings allow plenty of movement. This pic shows the suspension with bushings at both ends of the links (no twisting mechanism of any kind), the springs retained at both ends, and the shocks being the limiting factor.
 

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#18 ·
bgreen said:
I ran ORD's BA200 bushings at both ends of all my rear links, with not twisty mechanism, for several years. It works fine in my rig that weighs 6000 lbs trail ready. I never had to replace a single bushing, but I did replace 2 or 3 just because I had the links out for one reason or another and had found mild damage to the flanges.

Im not going around telling everyone to do their suspensions this way, but I sure wont discourage anyone from trying it for their application. I just cant make myself spend 1000 dollars on heims, tube adapters, and misalignment spacers. (I would if I could justify it, because I think they would ultimately perform better overall)

Edit: Sorry for the poser pic, but it shows that the bushings allow plenty of movement. This pic shows the suspension with bushings at both ends of the links (no twisting mechanism of any kind), the springs retained at both ends, and the shocks being the limiting factor.
I was gonna tell you your tires suck.. But then I saw you live in Alaska.. That makes your rig badass.
 
#20 ·
my rig has bushings on both ends, been around for almost 4 years, the only problem is the damage they will cause to the surounding areas of your attachment points. without being able to flex the areas around them start to flex, which over time starts to fatigue the metal and cause cracks, my advise is to use some type of flexy or heim on one end and save some headaches down the road.
 
#21 ·
i have a theory. may be wrong, but it's my guess that bushings need to operate in one direction, meaning mounting them at an angle on anything will crush them more often and wear them out more quickly. this could be why stock vehicles suspension links are almost always very close to parallel with the frame. of course, twisting would cause the same crushing and wearing out, but how often do you get flexed vs. just up and down bouncing down the road? for a DD, bouncing happens more. if you do a triangulated anything with bushings at both ends on a DD, it will crush and wear them out much faster than any way you set them up on a buggy.
 
#24 ·
mj said:
triangulated 4 links with rubber bushings are under 'millions' of cars
yeah, i forgot about chevelles and other cars, but regardless, car suspensions move a LOT less than truck, SUV or Jeep suspensions. i have a suzuki esteem, with no mods, and the thing has maybe 3" of wheel travel at each corner, if that much. and even then- the bushings on the rear suspension are attached in such a way that they only move in one direction and don't get twisted inside the bushing sleeve, which is what i propose is causing the premature wearing out of SOME people's bushings- AND- being mounted at an angle creates this crushing action when the suspension simply moves up and down from road driving. in SUV's there are a lot of very slightly tirangulated 5-links, but they are so slightly triangulated that i doubt they do the damage to bushings that a rock crawler would. having said all that, it's just a theory and i'm no expert.
 
#26 ·
We ran all bushing on the comp buggy (all energy stuff). Had to change them about every other time going out on the front. The rear held up great. The rear has a dual triangulated 4 link with "twisty" links and we never changed a bushing all year long! In the front was horible because it was a 3 link with panhard bar so there were a long more forces on those links then in the rear.
 
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