Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi everyone,

Just doing front suspension and have come to replacing the eyebolts etc.
I have a pair of genuine NOS eyebolts ready to fit. The problem (if there is one) is that both rubber eyebolt bushes and top quality (Polybush) poly bushes semm very slack in the eyebolt. Is this normal. When I come to tighten everything up the bushes bulge over the side of the eyebolt.
I have taken it a part a dozen times and still can't get it quite right.
Any comments about the bushes or fitting please?
Ty

just a thought do you have the right bushes.
i replaced mine about 2 weeks ago. with poly bushesand all fitted quite snugly

hmm, the bushes should be a snug fit in the eyebolt What do you mean by 'very slack'? Is there play or just that they are finger tight?

Bushes shouldn't bulge over the side of eyebolt if everything is correct either.

I have ascertained that i have the correct bushes. They slip into the eyebolt probably slightly less than finger tight. The main part of the bush doesn't bulge, it is the lip that comes over the eyebolt. This is mainly on the front side of the lower arm when I tighten it fully home. It is almost as if the lip of the bush is to thick and it has to go somewhere when the front lower arm is tightened to the rear. A bit of a mystery!

It is almost as if the lip of the bush is to thick and it has to go somewhere when the front lower arm is tightened to the rear. A bit of a mystery!

Ah - now that's a bit easier to solve!
There are 3 ways to fix it, depending on what is wrong:

1) Front suspension arm is stuck solid on the torsion bar splines and needs to be a bit further forward - caused by missing C washer at the rear of torsion bar so entire torsion bar is pullled too far back by the nut at the crossmember.
Answer = refit C washer between end of torsion bar and crossmember.

2) Front suspension arm is stuck solid on the torsion bar splines even though torsion bar is correctly fitted up to the crossmember with the C-washer in place.
Answer = dissassemble suspension and use release fluid + big hammer to free up the front arm on the splines. Reassemble with grease on the splines and pull up the eybolt pin on the poly bushes so they are clamped evenly, before applying any suspension load onto the torsion bar.

3) Eyebolt pin is sitting too far back into the cast lower suspension arm. The eyebolt pin is fitted to a round disk which is a tight fit in the cast suspension arm. To correct this you need to 'adjust' the position of the disk so that the eybolt pin sits a bit more to the front of the car. Normally this involves strip down of the suspension to get the front suspension arm off, then drift out the disk and tap back in, but not quite as far as previously.

(listed in order of what to check / probability based on my best guesses)

Thanks Ray
I will have another go at it.
I think that I am not getting the poly bushes spread evenly. Because I was fitting the cast arm first then putting under tension to get the swivel pin on and then the front arm, I was distorting the front eyebolt bush.
Will start again.
Ty

I was fitting the cast arm first then putting under tension to get the swivel pin on and then the front arm, I was distorting the front eyebolt bush.

To be honest - most people will do it that way. If the thick arm is stuck on the splines in the correct place and the torsion bar is pulled up on the C-washer it is less likely to cause a problem.

BUT if the front arm CAN slide on the splines, it can end up too far back as the bushes spread under load. Therefore you need to make sure it is far enough forward before loading the suspension.
You can do that by fitting the eyebolt end of the thin arm and doing up tight, then load the suspension and after that you'll need to undo the nut a little to allow the thin arm enough movement to fit the trunnion pin.
I'm not sure if that's a great explanation - it's easier to explain by pointing at the bits ;-)

Good luck and i hope this helps.

Thanks Ray
What you have said certainly makes sense.
I am having another go this evening.
Cheers

Ray
Things are looking much better.
What I have discovered is the new eyebolt seem slightly larger than the old one, and therefore the bushes are not such a good fit and bulge when tightened right up. I am going to try another eyebolt.

Well I am on the subject of front suspesion I seem to remember reading somewhere about measuring a gap between the top pin and the shocker arm. I don't understand what needs to be done. The pin is tapered, and I assume it is tightened right up and the castle nut aligned for the split pin. Am I assuming that there has to be some gap so that the pin is just free to move in the shocker eyelet. The old one was really tight on the taper.
Am I misunderstanding what this gap is? Help please
Ty

Do it up really tight - no 'gaps'.

Should I use white grease when fitting poly bushes?

I would.

I am coming to the conclusion that the poly bushes i have are not a good fit. Has anyone else had problems with this particular poly bush. Mine are made by Polybush (Wrexham) and are the blue type. The rear suspensions bushes seemed OK. But a different story on the front suspension.
Just as a bit of an exercise I got a couple of eyebolt poly bushes from ESM
They fit very well and are the red type. Does this mean they are a lot stiffer than the blue. I would prefer to be as near the original as poss. Does the fit of the bushes vary according to manufacturer?
Has anyone experience of the firm in Somerset, Polyflex, I think? They don't seem to make blue bushes.
. I am know at a complete loss over these bushes, having spent a fair bit on a blue set that don't seem to fit at all well.
Any comments would be helpful.
Ty

hi
this is the link to superflex poly bushes

http://www.superflex.co.uk/