hello,

I noticed something hanging from the rear suspension / passenger side, and took a look.

two pieces of some rubber / neoprene-looking stuff were hanging, it seems they are part of some rubber spring "isolator" at the top of the spring??

is this "isolator" a replaceable part? I've been hearing a noise at the rear and now I know where it is coming from. Here's a picture of what fell off:

 

most of the rear suspension bushings are NLA from FoMoCo. or aftermarket manuf.s

make your own, I did for my rear arm last year. remove all the old rubber and pour new so that it adheres to the metal. clean throughly all the metal that contacts urathane/rubber with acetone. cast at 70d F+ for good adhesion. use the old metal part as pouring form or make a reverse cast image pouring form that sizes the urathane bushing slightly larger to be tight in the metal arm/part.

http://www.crankshaftcoalition.com/w...ubber_bushings

making DIY rubber bushings - Hot Rod Forum : Hotrodders Bulletin Board

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show....php?t=2041914

also a part 2

 

thank you 96_4wdr but I don't think this is a bushing, it is a "damper" kind of thing at the top of the rear spring, I don't know what the part name is.

 

Just a guess here: Is it a rubber tube-like thing that slips over the last coil of the spring? That would be a coil damper. It usually breaks apart like that if the spring is very weak and the coils bound, cutting into the rubber. If that's the case, you may need to replace your springs.

Is the one on the other side still intact? You may have to try to find a replacemnet in the salvage yard. But, it may not have to be from an Aerostar; anything that fits should work. In theory, Ford tunes the stiffness of the rubber to the suspension, but I doubt you will notice it.

 

EnergySuspension.com sells universal Coil Spring Isolators.

 

that's it! an "isolator", goes between the top of the spring and the spring "locator". Thanks! Now I have to figure out the right size for my Extended
Aerostar.

 

yes, that's what it is, the opposite side is fine, it's the rear passenger side. I'm also going to check the local yard to see if I see one and a spring too. Thanks!

 

Yeah, the rear has one upper isolator, while the front has both an upper and a lower isolator.

I'm not sure why companies sell coil springs without replacement isolators.

It's like selling an oil filter without the rubber gasket.

 

I think that parts manufacturers discovered that by separating the parts, they can make more profit. Parts that were $1.99 at AutoZone, are now $6.99, totally inconsistent with the rate of inflation. It all started with the oil price hikes.

 

The value of all world currencies is currently interdependent on the physiological world reserve currency, which is coined and electronically signed by the US "Federal" Reserve System, also known as a Private Banking System.

The current imaginary inflation rate, which used to be based on the price of a loaf of bread, or on an once of Gold or Silver, is now based on the predicated cost of crude oil (see also: petrol dollar).

The Chinese are not at fault for this conundrum. As we know and see, American automotive companies are flooding into China to build low cost labor intensive manufacturing (slave) factories.

The current false inflation rate in North America is being subsidized by low cost Chinese imported products.