A Neatrix Bushings Tale . . .
Project: Install new Neatrix bushings in the rear spring plate.
I followed the typical spring plate removal process. See Pelican Tech Article A breeze. They popped right out And were looking pretty nasty:
Only 62K miles on those. The spring plates were rust free but also pretty nasty:
After sifting through multiple posts on the subject & reading all of the advice: glue them, don't glue them, lube them, don't lube them; I decided to glue the bushings to the spring plates. I wire-brushed them clean, carefully masked the contact areas & painted the remainder (rattle can).
Not too shabby for a cheap job. I bought a big vial of brush-on crazy glue & the next day I glued on the rubber bushings. That was the first mistake. The outer side I left plain - no glue, no lubricant. Second mistake.
Didn't pop for Elephant Racing PolyBronze (wanted to stay stock). Third mistake.
Anyway . . . assembly went smoothly with careful measurement & re-indexing of the torsion bars (static angle around 29.5 degrees using Will's calculator for 2750lbs (light-optioned 87 cab so who knows?) with 15" wheels = lower than Euro). So I re-indexed & greased the torsion bar. Hey, aside from peeling the old nasty bushings, this job is easy. I used the large, medium & stock progressive bolt-in method on the covers & wrapped it up. Looking good.
I drove it to settle & started playing with ride height to get a rough balance pre-alignment. I fueled ¾ full & weighted the driver's seat with my approximate weight in paving stones (on blankets & wood to protect & even it out). Precise ground to fender measurements on a level surface (tire-sized wood platforms leveled in garage). The driver rear needed to come up - the maximum extension the eccentric allowed. Pass rear came down a smidge & I equaled the front. Looking good & driving better than it had - all pre-alignment. Slight pull to the left.
Well, at this point I should have left it alone, but the max adjustment on the driver's spring plate got me thinking. It was tensioning the driver's side at an extreme adjustment - wouldn't it be better to re-index to the middle of the spring plate? Of course, says I. Off it all came, well . . . maybe . . .
Disassembly was tough. The covers had to be pried off & proved that the crazy glue was absolutely useless. The bushing came off with the cover & the body bushing stayed in the torsion tube. Oh, this is great. To get it off, I had to pull the whole assembly - torsion bar & all. Still leaving the bushing wedged into the body. I decided it was not coming out short of big ass tools, bleeding (me) & a ruined bushing. The bushing on the cover slid off with great effort & some dish soap lubricant. What a pita. To reassemble, I had to slide the end of the cover into the bushing in the body - using liberal applications of soap. It didn't budge as I slid (well, actually rammed & wormed) the end into it. Someday, I will have to get it out. But not today.
Thankfully, my re-index was spot on. Smoother & quieter ride. The alignment should dial it in nicely.
Moral of the story:
Don't bother gluing the bushings. The glue was toast from a few short drives. And lube the outer side of the bushings or they will weld to the body.
