Suspension bushing material??

Any suggestions for a material to make four bar bushings out of? Teflon? something else? And suggestions on where to get it?

Thanks Cody

 

I replaced the vulcanized rubber bushing in the front end of my studebaker with "durlin" bushings and they work well, but I think they might crack if used in a 4-bar setup. A lot of 4-bar bushings are made from polyeruthane...the same material as most skateboard wheels.

 

I believe you mean Delrin, which is a material from Dupont. It is good stuff, but I'm not sure if it is the best for a 4-bar.

 

Delrin is pretty stiff for suspension bushings. Its the stuff screwdriver handles are made of.

Polyurethane is good stuff for suspension work if you don't like rubber.

Teflon is a poor choice. It is expensive, it doesn't wear well, and it will creep. Its a really funny material, in that it will almost crawl away when stressed. Due to the absence of "van der-waals force" in the flurocarbon, it will creep continuously. Might not be a problem in the short term, but eventually the bushings will loosen up and start to hammer themselves apart.

Ultra-high-molecular-weight-polyetheylene is an ok choice, but also somewhat stiff.

All in all, it might just be best to buy some commerically availabe bushings and use them. By the time you are done buying the material and machining it might be more expensive to do it yourself.

 

I've seen spherical bearings mentioned before. What exactly is that?

 

check here.
http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/GSDRVSM?PACACHE=000000088052662

 

Oh I see. So how would you get those to stay in place? Press fit with a groove for a snap ring on each side?

 

I have seen them used in various combinations, you might check out the watts link, or panhard bar/rod in the tech section to see a complete suspension setup. The spherical rod end, will offer some movement to prevent binding, usually in a twisting of the rear suspension for example.
I'd check up on single vs double shear of fasteners if you need to, to understand some of the considerations/issues.
A spherical mount will allow a bushing or bearing, to swivel, if the axis is slightly mis-aligned.
Spherical bearing isn't exactly the term I am familiar with.

 

So would that be much different than using a tie rod end (like when you split wishbones?) I would assume you wouldn't want to use those for all suspension parts as the ride might be pretty harsh no?

 

I used UHMW for bushings in an OT GMC once, it rode fine and didn't squeak (I used anti-sieze when I put it together) but after about 2-3 years it started cracking and chiping out. I have Delrin in another OT vehicle, it's been fine for about 8 years. I really like the Johnny joints, its like a heim but has replaceable urethane linings.