silicone or polyurethane mounts
 

hey all, so my boss got me a full kit of polyurethane body mounts for my 2012 super duty. i have yet to have them put on and am now wondering should i get silicone mounts. or rubber? i have looked online and most are way more than he spent, but i want a smooth ride for the 6 mos. that i plan to keep it till i upgrade. i Was hoping for some input on the ride difference. also, the rubber and silicone kits do not include the hardware. they sell the bolts separate and then the bushing washers are also separate. has anyone had either recently put on? thanks for listening to me brain sizzle.

Pretty surevS&B comes with the hardware. They are a pay once, cry once purchase though.

thanks Dan. so i was just thinking i could possibly use the hardware that came with the aftermarket kit that i have, and just purchase the bushings? i have the "disk" like washers. i know the originals are more like a dish shape for the top but i have not seen that shape even in the hardware kits that are out there.

I think S&B is the only silicon product on the market...could be wrong though. I installed Daystar...before S&B brought their mounts to market....the fit of the Daystar leaves a bit to be desired.

I couldn’t bring myself to pay the outrageous price S&B wants for their mounts.

I replaced mine once with Dorman stock replacement units, those lasted about two years or so. Then I replaced them again with Energy Suspension polyurethane bushings.

IMHO the Energy Suspension polyurethane bushings are the way to go. There was no noticeable difference in ride quality between stock and the polyurethane bushings ( now this particular truck is a DRW 4x4 truck.
, that rides like a one ton DRW truck to start with, so not exactly a plush ride even new).

If I had to do it all over again, I’d go with the Energy Suspensions from the start.
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Are the existing mounts in that bad of condition? Seems like a lot of work and expense if you only plan to keep it for 6 more months. That said, I've always heard people have issue with the urethane being squeaky. Maybe that's not the case anymore, though.

I had the S&B’s installed several weeks ago. They are pricey but in my opinion, well worth it. They came with all needed hardware and detailed instructions. They are guaranteed for the life of the vehicle (I believe). The ride is great and the metal on metal clanging is gone.

I’ve heard about the potential squeak before too, but it’s always been in a conversation like this, were someone is saying something they heard somewhere else. I’ve not heard a first hand story of someone saying theirs squeaked.

Im not really sure how they would squeak as there really shouldn’t be any relative motion between the cab mount and bushings ( they’re bolted right together and don’t rotate.

I think this a general carryover concern about polyurethane bushings that’s comes from suspension components, where there is relative motion as the suspension moves.

I know I never had any squeaks with the polyurethane body mounts, but maybe I just got lucky.
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I’ve used the S&B mounts. On my 96, which already has a rough ride. I found they took out the jarring part out of the ride. I’ll be using them on the SD next. Everything you need is in the kit, I recommend them. They will outlive the truck.

Polyurethane will break down like the oem eventually as well. I think there is something to the hardness of the poly contributing to metal fatigue of the mounts as well, there is not a lot of give to them - that’s subjective, I’ve read about that issue, but found cracks on my own truck after running poly mounts as well.

Um, no, absolutely not, polyurethane does not degrade like OEM even "eventually". Polyurethane certainly has other drawbacks, but short longevity simply isn’t one of them. Stuff lasts for freaking multiple decades exposed to the harshest environments.
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Antonm. Yes. They do.

Polyurethane is not impervious. They can and will harden and break down. See pics. Short is relative.

Polyurethane rubber compounds have a calendar life to them. Silicone and polyurethane are both polymers. Eventually, they both break down. in some industries, polyurethane components have a time life to them. There are many factors contributing the degradation of both compounds.

Poly mounts. Hard as a rock, cracking in the upper mounts, lower are crumbling. The upper will crumble should you use a hammer on them. They have absolutely no flex to them whatsoever ever at this point. These were red when new.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...9b2f344c8.jpeg

Example of polyurethane degradation in progress. The one on the RH is from the late 1990’s. The Lh is approximately 10 yrs old. Both were life cycled and replaced. The one on the rh is much harder than the one on the left. A new one, not pictured, would be that much lighter in color again, and that much softer again. I have no way of demonstrating this to you on here. Both are polyurethane blocks, and the same part.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...147789b59.jpeg


OP, my experience was good with the S&B. They are more expensive, but I would not hesitate to use them again. I also like that you get the tools, all new hardware, and plastic shims with them.

Thats impressive, how'd did you get poly anything to deteriorate like that?

I've had the same poly winch hook isolator on a truck for literally three decades now I think, it sits in full Texas sun all year, still looks new, same for the poly sway bar and other suspension bushings on a few different vehicles, they sit, covered in mud and various other leaking fluids from the trucks above them, but wipe them off and they all look like new.

My old dodge Cummins trucks leaks just about every fluid has (kinda an old Cummins trademark, they say its not leaking, its sweating torque) the poly suspension bushings it in have held up great for about 10 years or so now, constantly being covered in oil or some type of goo/ grime.

They should make plastic grocery bags and straws out of whatever those bushings above where made of, then all the environmentalist wouldn’t have anything to scream about because that stuff apparently just degrades into nothing.
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I went with the polyurethane. If I had to do it over I'd go with the SB rubber. The urethane are not as wide as the stock and I will occasionally feel & hear a "bump" or "shift" from them moving. Tightening only led to them getting offset.

so yeah, they are. four have no bottom s and the rest are at 25% gone. it's a 2012 i am told that ford still uses that material whatever it was/is even knowing that they are junk. i suppose that it depends where you live weather wise. and yeah, i plan on selling it to get me a nicer truck. it's got 259,000 and was a company truck for 3 different guys with the concrete company that i work for. I'll be putting shock on also two are rusted bad and the driver rear appears bent. my boss hates fixing or i should say having things fixed. no concept of preventive maintenance. he has actually said to me while i was diagnosing why a plate tamper would not start, "don't fix it, we need it tomorrow" lol. so also, it is in in good shape other than the mounts and shocks he gave it to me so i don't have but a couple hundred in it so I'm ahead of the game. and i won't be trying to sell some brain jarring ride to someone.

Polyurethane only squeaks if it isn't adequately lubed when installed. When I was younger I helped (2) different friends install them as control arm bushings on a 3rd gen and a 4th gen Trans Am, and never had a squeak appear out of them.