Solid Axle Question

[11ride4life]

What bushing are you solid swap guys running on the pumpkin side of the upper control arms? I just bought a set of UPR adjustable spherical uppers and realized that the bushings on the axle side are totally destroyedoke: I can pick the last few pieces of rubber off of what used to be my stock bushing.

Thanks,

 

[11ride4life]

Any one?

 

[99riocobra]

i got the upr polyurethane ones. they were like $50. they also make a sperical replacement too, but i'm not sure how much they cost.

 

[19COBRA93]

+1 on anything poly. A lot of guys run the spherical one in that spot and polys everywhere else. Either way, they're better than the crappy stock one.

 

[11ride4life]

i got the upr polyurethane ones. they were like $50. they also make a sperical replacement too, but i'm not sure how much they cost.

How bad was the install? Also how hard was it to get all of the old bushing out?

I just ordered these Wolfe Race Craft - Detail

 

[11ride4life]

i got the upr polyurethane ones. they were like $50. they also make a sperical replacement too, but i'm not sure how much they cost.

How bad was the install? Also how hard was it to get all of the old bushing out?

I just ordered these Wolfe Race Craft - Detail

 

[SVT10TH#1721]

Not Bad With the proper tools I got a kit that MMS makes but I dont know if it will work with those Bushings GL.

 

[RealBadDude]

i would recommend either

hard rubber or a spherical bearing

i would NOT recommend polly. Polly doesn;t allow for proper suspension articulation on uneven road surfaces. it is fine if your drag racing in a straight line, but if you drive it on the street, either get the ford racing hard rubber, or a spherical bearing.
on uneven surfaces the axle is not parralel with the chassis of the car. what allows this articulation to occue is the flex in these bushings as they actually need to rotate on their axis a small amount.

if you remove this rubber and replace it with polly you remove this required flex. this can cause torque box damage, excessive twisting of your upper control arms, and also places excessive pressure on your rear end housing.

maximum motorposrts recommends only factory hard rubber on the upper control arms, as do other major after market part makers including ford racing.

if you need further assurances of this, you can seek imput from the road race guys with solids. they usually run a torque arm and a pan hard bar, but some run a 4-link and i am sure will concur that polly in the uppers is a bad idea.

the uppers only control lateral movement of the axle left and right during cornering. it is the lower control arms that transfer power from the axle to the chassis. this is where you want your polly or spherical bearings. not in the upper control arm. i would just run ford racing upper control arms and buy the ford racing diff bushing kit which comes with bushings, friction modifier and new c-clips.

for the lowers i would recommend getting your polly or spherical bearing here. look too maximum motorsports as they make some of the best.

 

[19COBRA93]

i would recommend either

hard rubber or a spherical bearing

ithe uppers only control lateral movement of the axle left and right during cornering. it is the lower control arms that transfer power from the axle to the chassis. .

LOL, that axle doesn't just push forward. With no torque arm in place, the uppers handle 50% of the stress on a launch or acceleration. On acceleration that axle rotates, a lot, pulling on the uppers, and pushing on the lowers. The uppers also control side to side motion. A poly bushing does a good job of helping to control axle rotation or wind up.

The hard rubber isn't a bad idea, but it wears out fast as there's a LOT of stress at that point on a hard launch. That's why poly is used. Poly still flexes and moves enough to relieve stress under big suspension movements, but is also hard enough that it doesn't split over time.

If you ever get a chance, remove your rear springs and shocks. With the car on jack stands, jack up the rear end to about the maximum of mormal suspension movement. You'll see that it does bind, but not enough to even come close to stressing the housing, and it has no effect on the torque boxes as the small amount of bind there is, is all in the uppers. The poly will flex enough to absorb that small amount.

Most cobras are lowered and rear suspension movement is limited to about 2 inches. No poly bushing in the world will have a negative effect with that amount (lack) of movement.

Also, most torque box damage is caused from too much movement from the axle housing and stressing those mount points, and the sudden thrust forward of the control arm on a launch.

I'd say spherical would be the most ideal.

 

[RealBadDude]

LOL, that axle doesn't just push forward. With no torque arm in place, the uppers handle 50% of the stress on a launch or acceleration. On acceleration that axle rotates, a lot, pulling on the uppers, and pushing on the lowers. The uppers also control side to side motion. A poly bushing does a good job of helping to control axle rotation or wind up.

The hard rubber isn't a bad idea, but it wears out fast as there's a LOT of stress at that point on a hard launch. That's why poly is used. Poly still flexes and moves enough to relieve stress under big suspension movements, but is also hard enough that it doesn't split over time.

If you ever get a chance, remove your rear springs and shocks. With the car on jack stands, jack up the rear end to about the maximum of mormal suspension movement. You'll see that it does bind, but not enough to even come close to stressing the housing, and it has no effect on the torque boxes as the small amount of bind there is, is all in the uppers. The poly will flex enough to absorb that small amount.

Most cobras are lowered and rear suspension movement is limited to about 2 inches. No poly bushing in the world will have a negative effect with that amount (lack) of movement.

Also, most torque box damage is caused from too much movement from the axle housing and stressing those mount points, and the sudden thrust forward of the control arm on a launch.

I'd say spherical would be the most ideal.

i personally would not use polly in the upper control arms. that may be an opinion not shared by some, or many. but at the same time i do not claim to know more then the engineers at ford racing, or maximum motorsports, both of which claim it is harmful.
i have never seen under a car with polly and a jack under one side of the axle. But i know it will bind, as you said. now you figure you have a 3700 pound car on top of that hitting a bump. how much force is absorbed there. something is going to get tweaked over time.
i agree spherical bearings are best. they allow proper articulation while at the same time have no defelction. they make for an extremely harsh ride though.

i have had ford racing upper control arms and have had no trouble with the rubber breaking down or failing. Given it hasen;t been long in the car. I used to have a 91 fox body w/ a vortech that had rubber in the upper control arms and it lasted years with some lakewood lower control arms. i wouldn't have any fear.

to each their own i guess