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Killing leaf spring bushings...

Ba-Riedo

Ba-Riedo

has frame envy
Location
redmond/bellingham, wa
So last July I replaced my leaf spring bushings because the Rusty's bushings wore out after about a year. Now my springs squeak really bad so today my buddy and I pulled them off and the bushings are shot, again. The inner metal sleeve on the front mount of the leaf spring is crushed on the passenger side, and basically fell out in my hand. The bushing is pretty destroyed too.

Is there any reason my springs are destroying the bushings at this rate? I used bushings from a spring shop that was recommend to me last July and I thought they were a quality unit.(n)

-Alex
 
Well I looked at my bushings again and the ones on the frame rail end are toast again, the bolt is pretty much riding on the bottom of the spring pack. Is their any reason for this or just bad bushings? I am going to probably buy a new set of leaf packs from RE and hopefully those will last longer.

-Alex
 
Rustys bushings suck!!! Cheap made in Mexico crap! I just bought another replacement set from them (my last set lasted almost a whole 9 months, 3 of which it was underconstruction) and the new ones came stock with a crack. If I lived closer Id express them back to Rusty right through his window.
The way to go is just go to your local spring guy and buy some quality ones, or measure them your self and order them.
 
99xj4x4 said:
Rustys bushings suck!!! Cheap made in Mexico crap! I just bought another replacement set from them (my last set lasted almost a whole 9 months, 3 of which it was underconstruction) and the new ones came stock with a crack. If I lived closer Id express them back to Rusty right through his window.
The way to go is just go to your local spring guy and buy some quality ones, or measure them your self and order them.
Click to expand...
Got news for you all the oem bushings, even from dealers are made in mexico lol.so are most of the american car parts..ordered my last set from eaton spring, guess what made in mexico.. go to poly and keep it greased lol.
 
Mine are about 1.5 years old and shot also. Omix Ada - made in Mexico I believe. I don't think it's a Mexico issue. As the previous poster mentioned, tons of parts are made in Mexico, including many that come in the blue mopar box. I'd like a longer lasting solution that doesn't require poly.

Anybody run greaseable leaf bolts?

Greasablebolt.jpg
 
99xj4x4 said:
Rustys bushings suck!!! Cheap made in Mexico crap! I just bought another replacement set from them (my last set lasted almost a whole 9 months, 3 of which it was underconstruction) and the new ones came stock with a crack. If I lived closer Id express them back to Rusty right through his window.
The way to go is just go to your local spring guy and buy some quality ones, or measure them your self and order them.
Click to expand...

My last 2 sets have come from a local spring guy that was highly recommended to me. It costs $60 per set of bushings to do all 4 in the leafs.

I am willing to buy some RE leaves if they have bushings that last longer.

-Alex
 
Most of the Omix-Ada and Crown replacement parts I have purchased have been low quality and had a short lifespan.

Purchase OE Jeep parts, Moog or AC Delco replacement parts if you want them to last.
 
Hey guys I ran a thread a couple months back in regards to Rusty;'s, and the Great Rubicon express. It seems both companies, are getting their springs from the same vendor. The eyes are undersized, and basically substandard, from waht the factory springs have. the front eye is a 1/2"in diameter smaller, and rear is about 3/8" smaller diameter. The other issue you may be having is how you tighten your bolts up, when the new bushing were put in. I spoke witha technician here at the Jeep dealer I work at, and he said the springs have to tightened up to spec when the vehicle is resting on its own weight. The bushing will have a tendency to spin and tear if you don't tighten your bushings this way, I put my new set in 2 months ago, and so far so good. LOL, all the bushing your spring shop wants to sell you,a nd how great they are probably come from the same vendor. The bushings are a RB-121, and RB-71. I purchased my last set from Stengel brothers online for only 30 for all 4 bushings and another 12 to ship them to me. I did a lot of research into this matter, so i feel I am pretty accurate on what the issue is, and it seems to be a market wide issue, NOT a RUSTY'S issue. There was only one spring company using the right size eyes, when I was searching around, I can't remeber who it was right now, but I will post it when I remember. I also have found out Rusty's newer springs have now switched to the 2 1/2" front eye, jsut liek the factory I guess they had enopugh complaints about them...
 
xjnuttier said:
Hey guys I ran a thread a couple months back in regards to Rusty;'s, and the Great Rubicon express. It seems both companies, are getting their springs from the same vendor. The eyes are undersized, and basically substandard, from waht the factory springs have. the front eye is a 1/2"in diameter smaller, and rear is about 3/8" smaller diameter. The other issue you may be having is how you tighten your bolts up, when the new bushing were put in. I spoke witha technician here at the Jeep dealer I work at, and he said the springs have to tightened up to spec when the vehicle is resting on its own weight. The bushing will have a tendency to spin and tear if you don't tighten your bushings this way, I put my new set in 2 months ago, and so far so good. LOL, all the bushing your spring shop wants to sell you,a nd how great they are probably come from the same vendor. The bushings are a RB-121, and RB-71. I purchased my last set from Stengel brothers online for only 30 for all 4 bushings and another 12 to ship them to me. I did a lot of research into this matter, so i feel I am pretty accurate on what the issue is, and it seems to be a market wide issue, NOT a RUSTY'S issue. There was only one spring company using the right size eyes, when I was searching around, I can't remeber who it was right now, but I will post it when I remember. I also have found out Rusty's newer springs have now switched to the 2 1/2" front eye, jsut liek the factory I guess they had enopugh complaints about them...
Click to expand...

x2 if your using the stock type rubber bushings, you shouldn't torque down the bolts until the jeeps weight is on the ground. Tightening the bolt sandwiches the metal sleeve inside the mount. A greasable bolt wont help anything with a stock type bushing.
 
I'm having this same issue.

My solution will be 8 hard link joints, and 2 coil overs though.
 
Ba-Riedo said:
:sure:

Says the guy ditching his chero-car.:D

-Alex
Click to expand...

all iron is for sale all the time...

tow rig, trailer, jeep...

Just seeing what my options are... and no one is jumping out to buy it, so a rear 4 link is likely the next best option... :wierd:
 
I bought RE replacement bushings for my Rusty's leafs and guess what, they say made in Mexico too.

The greasable bolt won't really help the bushing issue....that's more for poly bushings with the grease channels built in. Perhaps a greasable bushing would stop the sleeve from seizing to the bolt though....anti seize or a regular grease applied to the stock bolt would do the same though.
 
So my leafs are S shaped, time for new ones and a traction bar, and longer bumpstops. I have the DPG plates in the rear so I am going to pick up a set of the Daystar extended rear bumpstops. I am thinking that I will go with the RE 3.5 inch leafs? Anyone have problems with these?

-Alex
 
I can tell you for almost positive. Rusty's and RE are using the same vendor for their springs. The issue is like I stated earlier, trust me, I have done a ton of research, and I work at a Jeep dealer. The tech I was speaking with told me about the bushing issue when you tighten them without the weight on the ground, and the rest of the deal about the undersized bushings has to do with a way to save a penny. There is no good reason to make the bushing eye smaller, other than "deesigned to fail".
 
2001XJ-32 said:
Any reccomendations on a local spring guy in southern california?
Click to expand...
Hello, I am from PA, but the spring shop I dealt with, I found online. I bought the bushings from a company in Whitehell, PA, the name of the company is Stengel brothers. The bushings you need to order are the RB-121 and the RB-71, I paid $42.00 bucks to my door for all the bushings S&H, to the door. They were the cheapest I found, and it seems like anywhere you get these RB style bushings the quality and the manufacturer are all the same. Hope this helps.
 
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