Neatrix install question
 

I'm in the middle of installing Neatrix rear bushings. The outer diameter of the bushing is approx. .050 larger than the I.D if the torsion bar tube and the cover. How do you get those babies in there? Do you have to reduce the O.D. of the bushing or lube it up and wail away with a BFH or.....????

I've searched on this, but couldn't find any info.


P.S. Getting the old rubber bushings off is a PITA, as you know. The first trailing arm took me 1-1/2 days, cutting, peeling, than burning, wire wheeling, sanding etc.

The second side took me about two hours. I heated up the inside of the trailing arm until the bushing delaminated and slid my knife between the bushing and the tube, cut a slit in it and peeled it right off. Almost easy, but way easier than the first approach.

Use long bolts and the TB cover to press the bushings in. Then remove the long bolts and replace with the correct length. Worked like a charm for me.

That is an excellent idea. thanks. Back out to the garage I go.

zoanas,
That worked great. Thanks

Al

Glad I could help. You'll like the Neatrix's.

I don't know if my method is approved or not, but I actually reduced the O.D. of the bushings when I recently installed mine. Not by much, just enough to let them slide in a tad easier w/some lube and some mild pounding. I tried to get them in w/out grinding them down, but it would have been the battle of the century for me - plus, any re-indexing that had to happen to adjust ride height, would've seen a repeat battle. So I chose to make it a little easier and ground them down a hair.
Tom

Use caution with the torsion cover bolts. Note that the 'nut' end is just a welded stump. These are low torque. Do them gradually & use a cross-tightening pattern.

But it is the only way to easily do it . . .

Ian

zoanas install method works great. I was truly stuck. It didn't seem as if there was any way this was going to go on. I took everything back off and measured approx .050 interference fit and then hit the BBS. After Zoanas tip and a quick trip to the hardware store, I'm back in biz. I used 4 longer bolts and tightened them in a crosswise fashion. It went on easy. No chance of stripping the bosses. I took care to ensure that I was threaded in 5 or 6 threads before using the bolts as jack screws. If a lot of force was required i would have stopped, but it was very easy. I love it when the DIY tools/tips work so well.

I went through the same process, and found the same advice from another poster here. I was close to removing material from the brand new bushings, but I refused to believe that such a drastic step was required. I'm very happy with the results and that the bushings went in without modification.

Tip of the hat to Zonas...this is what makes this board special. :)

Hi, are you installing the bushings with any glue or adhesive? I have a 77 also-- how did your original bushings look? I plan to do the same thing this winter and use Neatrix. Any other tips? Thanks jerry

I sprayed mine with silicon spray, but that was it. There's really no reason for the bushings to remain in place. I've had no issues since installation. I was half expecting to hear the famous "squeaks", but nothing yet, and the ride is markedly better than before.

Have you got any feedback how long neatrix bushings should last. Also did you do your fronts and what did you use if so, Thanks

Not sure about the lifespan, but they seem tougher than the OE bushings that lasted 17 years. I didn't do the fronts. Those are a bit more difficult.

I used super glue to bond the Neatrix bushing to the traing arm and lots of the lube supplied with the Neatrix kit on the outer diameter of the bushings themselves. Seemed appropriate due to the factory bushings being vulcanized to the trailing arm.

GMR911 - The bushings on my 77 looked surprisingly good. But i was in there so off they came. If you are going to do this, use a propane torch to heat up the inside of the trailing arm and the factory bushings will delaminate fairly easily. Then burn off the remains, wire wheel, sand and refinish. Works great.

Am I missing something? Is there a need for the bushing to remain fixed to the torsion bar? I can't see how it has any benefit.

Zoanas,

I thought about that, as well, and I really don't see the benefit of bonding the bushings either. However, I didn't think about it until after I bonded them. It seems to me that if they are free to rotate, and/or if the trailing arm were free to rotate within them, it would be better. If I were to do it again i'd just lube them inside and out.

Anybody out there know why the factory bushings are bonded and why the Neatrix come with super glue for bonding?

They will fit. Take a wire wheel drill bit to the ID of the torsion tube, to make sure all the old rubber is gone. With mine there was considerable rubber stuck to it.

The other thing you need to do is to grease the bushing with silicon grease, like Dow Corning 111 or 112. This stuff is so slippery, you will have no trouble

The reason they're bonded as OEM...IMHO... is that a "rotating" rubber piece makes a poor bushing or bearing. So..the rubber is bonded onto the male pilot shaft of the spring plate. It also means that the "twist" of the rubber contributes to spring rate.

So...if you lube...you lose the spring rate ( no big deal..IMO)...but you may not have the long life-span of the original if not bonded, since now there is a sliding friction..no matter how well you greased 'em up. No way to re-grease once installed, either...

Wil

Now you tell me..... ;) I broke one off and blamed it on the zinc plating I had done. I had suspected that the plater did NOT reheat them after the plating and have read here that is a must. So off the to hardware I went too, and got some 10.8 bolts for the covers. Now those I don't have to worry about and torqued them the same as the same size on the front suspension (which I have looked up for others and posted here, but can't ever remember what it is).

Now, hearing this, and if it's true, I reccommend getting new bolts for both the covers and the front suspension where the same size is used. You really don't want to break one of these off, even if it breaks at the head and leaves some thread to grab with ViceGrips. It's still a PITA.

Lastly, do you have to radius the outer end of the Neatrix bushings? I did on the harder red polyurethane ones I used supplied with the Weltmeister adjsutable spring plates. This enabled them to slide further into the covers and not bind as much due to pinching as the cover was tighened down and the bushing was forced into the radius.

Now, AFA gluing, I don't really see how the Neatrix or poly bushings are designed to rotate within the cover. The cover is not a machined suraface and was not originally designed for that type of operation, IMHO. The OEM rubber bushings were bonded to the spring plate shaft and compressed into the cover and remain static under compression. They deformed on rotation, the same as the fronts and provided some resistance as noted above. Later on in the car's life, they broke free and rotated within the cover. That's when replacement is in order, once again, IMHO.

As I will ALWAYS say, if I and others had used Elephant bushings, none of this would take place. ;) But, some have justified why they don't want those and I accept that.