I have a plan for conquering the dreaded Neatrix install
 

After discovering what everyone else already knew last night about the factory cover bolts being too short to use the spring plate cover as a press I came up with an idea.

1-using hand soap (used w/ success in front w/ elephant rubber bushings) on the o/d of bushing and a rubber mallet pound a bushing into the tube.

2-liberally hand soap the o/d of the inner tube on the spring plate

3-use the spring plate cover (still haven't installed the outer bushing) and longer bolts to press the hand soaped spring plate into the already seated inner bushing and set the angle at that time.

4-press outer bushing into spring plate cover (no lube)

5-hand soap the o/d of the outer tube AND the i/d of the outer bushing

6-use longer bolts to press on the spring plate cover.

7-Done!



Will test this tonight and see if it goes as easy as i think it will.

What i noticed was that if you are pressing the spring plate on with a lot of effort it's got to be tough to know when the splines are about to engage and get them lined up right.

Everything came apart so nicely i thought i'd just sneak into the garage for a 1/2 hr last night and get it all back together but it was not to be. I can almost press the bushing completely into the tube on its own but when it's on the spring plate it obviously has to compress too tightly for hand pressure alone. that's when i realized i had completely forgotten about the longer bolt solution.

After much reading i am opting not to use any grease on the bushings. The hand soap is used when installing Elephant's front rubber bushings because it lubricates during install but dries up shortly after thus allowing the bushings to function as designed (twist vs. spin). Considering that both i/d and o/d surfaces that the front bushings ride on/in are super smooth and considering that the rear bushings function in exactly the same manner i believe the same installation technique should serve well.

One last comment for information sake; my inner bushings looked fine, but the outer bushings were so deformed i had tube/cover contact.

Not sure if that's been the experience with others but it brings up the possibility of only replacing the outer bushing IF you agree that the OE stuff is best left on.

Adjustable Carrera arms, using the "spring angle calculator", and test fitting for the angle w/o bushings makes for a one time install.

Using longer bolts to pull the arm in first w/o the outer bushing yet installed seems to work well. (I did use a small amount of dish soap, right or wrong.)

Rear rubber bushings should be supper glued back on the arm to keep the inner surface from slipping. ER has has agreed with this. If not, squeaking with larger suspension angle variances and early ware may result.

:)

chuck agrees with the super glue? this would definitely change my plan.

am swapping from my oe plates to SC plates with the height adjuster bolt on them. have it centered so i can move either way if need be.

Why not start the bushing cover with 4 long bolts, tighten evenly, remove one at a time and replace with the correct ones and finish tightening?

Oh, I guess that was already mentioned.

Yes, I think both the inner and outer surfaces of the bushing are to be glued. Back in the early 2000's, this didn't seem to be the favored way. Things have changed.

FWIW, I installed my rear Neatrix on my '71 with polyurethane caulking on the exterior because the seat was rather pitted from rust. I left the unsprung arm in normal ride height position for a few days to let the poly harden at the proper angle. The caulk will act as a lube during installation. Pity the guy that has to remove those bushings.

must've not been paying attention during my searches.

darnit.

i know it was pretty clearly determined that the super glue included is a waste of time.

it's curious that the front bushings work so differently yet are essentially the same design.

I coated mine with silicon grease. I don't personally believe all that hooey about "stiction" and the importance of gluing so the rubber deflects. BS, I say. Lube them with silicon grease and push them in. I can sometimes get excited about politics or religion, but not bushings.

ER has there own rear rubber bushings which I might choose over the Neatrix if I was doing it today.

I did not glue mine but wish I had. With my stock springs, when I go over a driveway entrance at an angle I can hear the rear bushings squeak as they rotate on the arm. That squeak is wear. I do not know if it could be significant in 10k or 100k miles.

It is good enough validation for me that the factory bound there rear rubber bushings. Reading the Chuck agreed this is the proper method this was just conformation. However, it might be that if one has stiffer springs the reduced suspension travel may limit this or keep the arm from twisting enough so that the bushings do not slip, reducing this as a potential issue.

It might be worth noting that the rubber bushings if working correctly contribute to the overall spring rate. Lube them and the spring rate will be less or will oscillate as the rubber binds, then slips.

If anyone has not seen the ER vid on there front rubber bushings it is a must see. http://www.elephantracing.com/suspension/rubberbushings/controlarmrubberbushingkitcomparison-video.htm

I could be wrong but that is what I believe for what it is worth.

Best of luck. :)

that video is what convinced me to spend $160 more (or whatever it was) on Chuck's product.

it's also what has me thinking about the function of the rear bushings and the use of a lubricant.