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Any good leaf spring bushings?

Jeepguy03

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Connecticut
I put 1" upcountry springs on my Jeep about 1 year ago from Quadratec. I used leaf spring bushings from Quadratec as well. This Jeep sees 99% pavement, with a little towing.

After 1 year I started hearing a creak from the passenger side leaf spring. The bushings are already shot. Does anyone make decent leaf spring bushings?
 
If the upcountry springs have the stock size spring-eyes, use the factory/OEM bushings. They're made with a higher durometer rubber then most aftermarket bushings and last longer.

If they're not stock size, see if they're YJ Wrangler size.( it's a common change spring manufacturers use to save money) If so use OEM YJ bushings.

Don't use polyurethane anything.
 
Go with Clevite bushings. MOOG and O'Reilly's Master Pro are often Clevite.

Skip the Chinese stuff.
 
Good to know you can still source the Mopar ones. I'll try to hunt some down.
 
One year old factory bushings on OME leafs. I'm trying to figure out how this happened.

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Damn. Wonder if they switched suppliers to China.
 
Make sure you do the final torque while the jeep is on the ground and the suspension is at relaxed stance. When you torque it down you're actually locking the center sleeve into place, which lets the outer part move by stretching the rubber and returning to rest. If you torque it in the air, the rubber will always be under load and won't last very long.
 
Make sure you do the final torque while the jeep is on the ground and the suspension is at relaxed stance. When you torque it down you're actually locking the center sleeve into place, which lets the outer part move by stretching the rubber and returning to rest. If you torque it in the air, the rubber will always be under load and won't last very long.

Very important. Mine was torqued on the ground, so I'm still trying to figure out it's issues. I'm going with factory again so we'll see if I was just a fluke.
 
Chrysler is sourcing some factory parts from China. Why not use the Clevite bushings? Your dealer bushings should be under warranty so check into that and get them to replace them for free.
 
Yes, Clevite would be best but how do you identify these? It appears Tenneco purchased Clevite but this does not offer us much in the way of useful information.

I think there are two factors with these bushings:

1 - Quality of the elastomer.

2 - Thickness of the metal surrounding the bushing.

Yes, urethane will last a long time but is usually regarded as being too hard for leaf spring bushings on the Xj. Control arm bushings and sway bars are the applications for urethane.

I do not know how we can ensure we purchase good parts without seeing them in our hand. I need a set of new bushings, have a set of poor quality ones here at the house so I would appreciate any information regarding good choices to pursue.
 
If it's Clevite it will have CLEVITE letters marked into the bushing material - should be easily identified by opening the box at the store.
 
May I know where's the best place to get Clevite bushings?

MOOG (locally from Advance Auto or O'Reilly's, or online) is typically Clevite.

O'Reilly's house brand Master Pro may be Clevite depending on what your buying and is usually cheaper than MOOG. For example, the Master Pro front axle bushings were Clevite but I think they get their control arms from China with the typical Chinese bushings.

You'd just need to open the box and inspect them at the store and go from there.
 
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Adding a data point to the database. I decided to try urethane bushing for the rear eyelets in my leaf springs because they are easy to install, and I wanted to see if there really are any issues with them.

First thing I did after inserting the bushings and sleeve was to stick a big screwdriver into the sleeve and try torquing it at a strong angle. I easily torqued the sleeve to a 10 degree angle, so that tends to suggest that there is no issue with articulation when using urethane bushings.

The other metric that interested me was whether NVH was increased. I just finished my first short road trip, and no obvious increase in NVH at all.

Overall, I'd say the concern about lack of flex in urethane bushings is likely to be overstated.
 
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