Gonna put a new set in my son's 245 this weekend and I can't remember which way the "holes" in the bushing are supposed to line up. IIRC - 9 and 3 o'clock (?)

Thanks

Hi there,

All of mine have holes at 3 and 9, but they may vary by manufacture. It's possible to put them in upside down with that cue. Those I've installed are clearly marked with arrows and the word "NEDAT", indicating the bottom of the bushing. Apparently this means "down" or "downward" in Swedish and not New England Drug and Alcohol Testing. Don't tighten the bolt until the weight of the car is on the axle.

HTH
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Art Benstein near Baltimore

Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.

Hi Art:

Why is it not good practice to only tighten the bolts when the wt. of hte car is on the axle?

I did a set on my '91 245 with use of a friends lift and tightened the bolts to the TABs when up on the lift but I had a stand jack under the differential lifting it up supporting it. Was that OK or did the wt. of the car need to be full on?

Thanks

Al

Hi Al,

Why is it not good practice to only tighten the bolts when the wt. of hte car is on the axle?

You meant "why should the bolts be tightened with the weight of the car on the axle," right?

With the rubber bushings (not poly) the rubber could be broken if twisted out of its range. You'd be centering its twist range with normal load, meaning the springs are extended close to where they normally ride. Certainly some of the wailing about aftermarket parts quality may be attributed to install mistakes like this. If you supported the axle to the point the car just about came loose from the lift at the jacking points, you've put it in the right spot. It could be tricky to do this safely, on a lift supporting the car under its body. This is all moot with poly bushings that slide in and over their sleeves.
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Art Benstein near Baltimore

Why does a round pizza come in a square box?

Art:

Yes my question was "why should the bolts be tightened with the weight of the car on the axle?"

I did use rubber not poly and pushed out the old ones including sleeves with a TAB tool. It was my understanding as I oriented the new TAB's with the down arrow pointing down that the trailing arms pivot on the bolts that go through the TAB bushings. It seems that the TAB's rubber which surrounds the center steel bushing that the bolts pass through and are affixed to the trailing arms only cushion aka flex with rotational movement of the trailing arms as the rear end travels up and down and is damped by the rear springs and rear shocks.

So I guess what I am saying is that the TAB's are not the main wt. load carry point only a part of the torsional damping system. Since the TAB bolts which are attached to the trailing arms and pass throuh the TABS with somewhat snug fit it seems that this would not be an issue.

However, since I am not sure I will get under the car and check the TABs to try to determine if there has been any misalignment or distortion in the rubber. I have only put on maybe 500 miles since the change out.


Thanks as always for your expertise.

Best regards,

Al

I think you are correct, the weight on the TAB is not the issue. As the inner sleeve is locked to the trailing arm, and the outer sleeve is locked to the axle, there is a torsional range corresponding to the extremes of the axle on its spring and shock. When you lock the inner sleeve to the arm by tightening that bolt, you want it in the center of that range, not at one extreme end, as it would be if you tightened it with the axle hanging. I believe the same principle applies to varying degrees at each suspension bushing with a bolt through its inner sleeve, front and rear.

I've no experience with damaged bushings. Just seen pictures posted here attributing replacement bushing failure to shoddy construction, which is one explanation.
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Art Benstein near Baltimore

The short fortune-teller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.

ART When I was a kid we didn't have Nintendo... DOB-1942

Dennis, by the time you were Nintendo-playing age, I was sitting on frayed electrical cords in my wet diaper.
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Art Benstein near Baltimore

Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground?