Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi,

I'm just back from a 1300 miles trip around the South West of Ireland and little moggy did a sterling job. She hardly used any oil (1/2 l at most), which surprised me as 500 miles were done cruising 60-65mph on the motorway from London to Pembroke and back.

However the suspension took a real battering on the remote Irish country lanes and my bushes have been finished off. The car is squeaking all over and I probably need to replace them all.

Hence the question: should I go for polyurethane bushes as a no brainer or are there issues with them I should be aware of?

I'm not doing a lot a mileage (2-3000 per year) but as taking the suspension apart will probably be a big job I'd rather put in bushes that last a reasonable time.

Regards

As far as I could work out:

Poly vs Rubber:
- Poly last longer both in time and/or use as they wont perrish like rubber will.
- Poly give harsher ride.
- some worry that Poly may transmit more shock to the chassis and cause damage.

I had my front suspension rebushed with poly becuase I wanted it to last, I would not say the ride is too rough at all and it still squeaks!

Poly is only harsher depending on the sort you use.

I too have squeaky bushes (the car anyway!)

I use rubber bushes

Go Poly - but yes they can feed extra forces into the front suspension legs and may lead to fatigue cracking - but it depends what the car is being used for, and how it is driven. Spray with liquid grease (or wd40 if desperate) to stop the squeaks.

bmcecosse wrote:Go Poly - but yes they can feed extra forces into the front suspension legs and may lead to fatigue cracking - but it depends what the car is being used for, and how it is driven. Spray with liquid grease (or wd40 if desperate) to stop the squeaks.

Gotta agree with him though there is more than one grade of bush, companies do a classic and a sport compound. Bushes should be lubricated before fitting (ones on my traveller squeaked horribly ones on the saloon never have). You have to doubt the quality of the replacement rubber types anyway.

I did one car with poly, one with standard rubber, and one with uprated rubber available from some traders. No contest that rubber is quieter and smoother. Uprated rubber lasts longer than standard rubber.

There is no right answer, only perosnal preference.

simmitc wrote:I did one car with poly, one with standard rubber, and one with uprated rubber available from some traders. No contest that rubber is quieter and smoother. Uprated rubber lasts longer than standard rubber.

There is no right answer, only perosnal preference.

Gotta agree with you too personal preference is the thing. I have used uprated rubber bushes on another car and wondered why i had bothered but on a minor where low quality standard bushes are a problem they most likely are a benefit. My choice would be sport bushes on tie bars and torsion bar with road grade on the rest or even your upgraded rubber (i have to admit i did'nt know they were available)

I've got to say I've had poly bushes both on the landrover and all of my moggies. I've never noticed any difference between the two .. Except that on the landrover rubber tends to make the front wheels drift ..