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Leaf Spring Bushings

johnd

Donation Time
I'm considering replacing the leaf spring bushings on my SII but am concerned that the "juice may not be worth the squeeze" - removing the old bushings looks like it will be a real pain. The car rides OK now but things can always improve. The SII has Doug's rear shock conversion with new KYB shocks and a recently rebuilt SV front end. What has been the general experience from those who have replaced the bushings? Thanks
 

Mike O'D

Gold Level Sponsor
John,

Pretty tough to replace - arbor press with special drivers. If there is no clunking/banging that would indicate the rubber has deteriorated, I would let them be. I replaced mine, but the originals actually looked ok.

Mike
 

Bill Blue

Platinum Level Sponsor
My front bushings were pretty bad, the rears okay. I found that if you open up the spring eye, the bushing will come out without much anguish. I opened up the eye by driving a cold chisel into the gap. No press required. One will be needed to reclose the eye. But everything else becomes very easy.

While the spring is out, disassemble the spring and give it a good look. The spring ends like to form grooves into the mating spring, effectively locking the springs together in a single unit. The grooves have to be relived so the leafs can slide against each other. I installed full length spring liners, so it is now metal against plastic. I did all of this to keep the car from leaning on curves. It also civilized the ride.

Bill
 
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