This is the second reference to Energy Suspension bushings. I will go that route. My “new” upper arms have a +5 caster, so I’ll attempt to install new bushings in them.
I installed Energy Suspension bushings in an OT car some years ago; they went over 200k being subjected to the Maine roads and conditions we have.
I had some poly front 4/bar bushings not last to the first oil change. (they just crumbled & fell a part) Replaced with P&J brand & have no other problems. You can not put a price on good quality... Jerry from N.C.
Like others have said, the only good urethane bushing is Energy Suspension. I've used them in almost every vehicle I've owned, my '60 elco has suspension bushings front and rear in it and they look new (I installed them in the mid 90's). I've used suspension bushings, motor and trans mounts, the latest install was the motor/trans mounts in the '41. I've never really noticed a great difference in vibration or had bad road manners (or squeaking for that matter). The reasons was simple for me, rubber products suck now, they're unharmed by oil, they don't compress like rubber over time and laugh at ozone deterioration. Plus the company is super close to me, you used to be able to walk into the "show room" and see products being made.
I also used energy suspension bushings in my o/t Malibu front to back, work great but they do squeak a bit. 20 some years in service
Reading all this is part in why I made the decision to go the way I did ordering a Roadster Shop frame and solving everything to do with frame/suspension/steering all in one shot. Obviously more costly but I know what I am getting quality wise and of course with my 56 being in the family for 50 years we are never selling so it's the investment thing. During my coupe build I dealt with several top brand name parts broke or with issues out of the box. Minimal pride in build quality anymore boys. Just reality
UPDATE: Today I received a call from CPP saying they are very concerned with my issue and wanted more details and pictures, which I provided. They are now trying to determine if my problem is an isolated incident or a "product line issue". More to follow..
A quality source for performance bushings and arms is Global West Suspension in San Bernardino. USA made, no-compromise designs and certainly not cheap. They have been making their delrin and aluminum bushings for close to 40 years. The upper bushing set for a tri five is $180 and comes with studs that weld into the shaft ends because you adjust these bushings like wheel bearings. A pair of upper arms ready to run is $600 and they are nice. I bought their power steering conversion and "no bump steer" kit for my 61 and I am very happy with it as I save my dimes for the a-arms.
They just might be. The ones on my '59 were dried out but intact. One of my "new" lower arm bushings is already failing.
Just had a bad experience with CPP. Ordered disc brake conversion on 1/15. Called yesterday for order update. I was told rotors are on back order. I asked why I wasn't notified. He said oh, we didn't have your e mail address. BS. Luckily, I bought it on Ebay. I got an email this morning and saying I got a refund.
Is it wise to buy NOS rubber anything? "O" stands for "Old." I bought a suspension & steering rebuild kit on ebay. I took the upper & lower control arms to a reputable shop to have the new bushings installed. They were too big. Thinking that the shop could have been mistaken, I took the control arms and bushings to a restorer for installation. He said the same thing. I returned the kit for a full refund, and the restorer bought the correct rubber bushings from Napa Auto Parts. My car is a 55 Tbird.
From what I've been told - rubber from Taiwan is about equal to good 'ol USA rubber from days back, but most things are being made in China now... dang it, anyone got a time machine?? Another option is Mid Canada Suspension located in Winnipeg. Norm has NOS stuff and is a 1 man show but knows his stuff. This is where I'm getting my parts from when I can.
Yeah it does prevent the squeaks, but the way I understand it, is with the lack of give in the polyurethane, they require it on assembly. But I truly have no idea. I'm a cheap bastard and usually just buy what I can find lol. My old cars tend to handle like, well, an old car lol
Contrary to what some might believe, there are some pretty good tires coming from the Far East, and where do you think the rubber comes from? Ever hear of Yokohama?
The Global West Delrin bushings are the real deal. The bushings on a pair of their upper control arms saw daily duty for 10 years and were still tight when I sold the car. The bushings were greaseable by the way. Global West DIDN'T recommend urethane bushings for street use because they transmit shock loads more than rubber. The urethane bushings that came with the sway bar for that car failed regularly and broke the bar end links a few times before I swapped them out for rubber.
FYI Energy Suspension also has a line of outstanding urethane engine and transmission crossmember mounts.
If any is needed during install Energy supplies a little tube, I've never hear a peep from any of mine. Also at the time Energy bushings were barely more the stock rubber from the parts store and the rears on the elco I had to re use the metal shell, so I had fun burning them out.
I'm with Lloyd and the others recommending lube. As Ioldtimer states, Energy kits come with silicone lube. I think in the fine print somewhere it may even mention disassembling the bushes and re-greasing after a period of time. Re the argument on poly bushes being harder and transmitting road noise etc, I'm not saying you're wrong but no-one ever seems to mention the thousands of vehicles out there with metal suspension bushes (early Falcon, pre '55 Chevy, Pontiac through '62 etc, etc)? It is only a pivot point after all.
I have had Energy Suspension bushings on the drag coupe for years, no issue what so ever. I just installed one of their trans mounts on my new racing trans a couple of weeks ago. Back in the 90,s I ran them on my lifted 4X4 that saw tons of action, they worked great.
I also have had great luck with Energy Systems poly bushings in a couple cars, and never a failure. I don't notice any excessive ground noise transfer, but my cars are usually obnoxious enough I might not hear it anyway.
UPDATE #2: CPP is pi55ing me off. I’m getting nothing but concern and ZERO action. They sent the issue to engineering, then sent it to management… So in essence, they’re all concerned about their product line, but don’t care enough about their customer to actually DO SOMETHING. I’ve requested new control arms, with known good bushings, preferably red bushings so I know they’re not just the same crap. The answer is…. Zzzzzzzzzzzz