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I did some thread searching but did not find the answer to this specific question: Replacing some worn out front suspension bushings: The TRW poly bushings I've installed on the radius arm rear mounts are of course far stiffer than the rubber ones I removed. The oem fastener scheme is a castellated nut and cotter pin so the nut has to be torqued down to a certain spot to align with the cotter pin hole in the arm. It "seems" that now if I torque the castellated nut down anywhere near the amount it takes to line up the hole and nut I will be over-compressing the poly bushings and killing them in no time. Anyone have experience with this? The bushings came with only general instructions- "follow vehicle manufacturers recommendations" etc.
What are you using for the cupped washers and how do you have them oriented? Some of the kits contain new washers that are stamped for other applications leading you (and me the first time) to install them backwards and over-compress the bushings.
Thank you- here is a pic. I need a couple more threads to get to the cotter pin hole. The bushings are just slightly bulged here. No idea how far I can go with them and I assume the factory torque spec for rubber bushings is not applicable for poly. The oem washers are similar but thinner material . I could replace the rear washer with an oem one. Alternatively in lieu of the cotter I could go with a jamnut or lockwasher or Loctite scheme and see if over time the bushings compress with use to get the nut farther on. Whatever I do, getting the front side cup & bushing installed involves quite a bit of front suspension disassembly so I am loath to take them off... TRW Poly Radius Arm Bushings
I think later years used a locking type nut and ditched the pins. It looks pretty good as it. Wonder if they make thinner castle nuts but I would just ditch them. I wouldn't make any changes to the bushings themselves. Who makes the bushings? I torqued mine to 90 (I think the range is 80 to 120) with the locking nut. Leave them relatively loose until you get it fully on the ground. Torque them when it is sitting level. After a few miles, check it with the torque wrench again.
I'd suggest deformed thread or elliptical nuts where they squeeze the threads on one end. I think they will be a higher grade than hardware store nylocks. However, you can use your castle nuts to wrap up the install and then put the new nuts on it when you get it all back on the ground.
When I put poly bushings on my 70 f250, I guess I was lucky I had zero issues. It was 4 or 5 years ago and I cannot remember what brand I had used. I definitely had a lot more thread on the end with the castle nut.
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