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Poly bushings for AMX strut rods ? |
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george w 
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Joined: Jan/27/2013 Location: New Jersey Status: Offline Points: 2899 |
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 Topic: Poly bushings for AMX strut rods ?Posted: Oct/27/2014 at 5:59pm |
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Anyone have experience using the two piece poly bushings for the strut rods ? The newer OEM type one piece rubber bushings on my 69 AMX just don't seem to hold up very well. The OEM originals held up a very long time but eventually they developed cracks around the perimeter. The newer ones that I've used just seem to come apart. I bought a set of the two piece poly bushings but they seem much harder than the rubber type and I'm wondering if they would be too harsh.
How about the two piece rubber type that was used in the later years, will these work on the earlier models like my 69 ? |
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Long time AMC fan. Ambassador 343, AMX 390, Hornet 360, Spirit 304 and Javelin 390. All but javelin bought new.
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Chisam
AMC Nut 
Joined: Jun/14/2010 Location: PA. - Europe Status: Offline Points: 347 |
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Posted: Oct/28/2014 at 2:53am |
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I have the two piece poly bushings on my 68 AMX and I haven't had any problems, about 3500 miles. When I got my AMX it had the Goodyear polyglass tires on it and took them off and put radials on it. Some will say the poly bushings are to hard and will make the car ride hard and so on, but I don't drive my AMX on back roads and the poly bushings don't make the car ride as hard as the polyglass tires did. My 69 Ambassador does have the 2 piece rubber bushings and they are about the same size as the poly bushings and may be a better option.
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1968 AMX 390 4SP
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farna
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Moderator Lost Dealership Project Joined: Jul/08/2007 Location: South Carolina Status: Offline Points: 19675 |
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Posted: Oct/28/2014 at 7:39am |
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I used poly bushings and found that they jar the car pretty hard when you hit a pothole or something. Stay on good roads and there is no issue... almost. The harder bushings stiffen the action of the suspension -- it doesn't react as quickly and range is restricted a bit more. You can use the 1980s two piece rubber bushings. I always use the Moog part. For handling, you can use the front half poly and the rear half rubber. You still get a hard jar when hitting a pothole, but suspension action is less restricted. The harder bushing means the alignment is more stable (doesn't change on acceleration since the bushing doesn't deform as much), the softer in rear lets the suspension move more freely than with two hard ones. Who cares about slight alignment changes when backing?!!
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Frank Swygert
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White70JavelinSST
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Posted: Oct/28/2014 at 10:32am |
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I have had poly bushings on the strut rods for several years and probably 6000 miles. I don't use the car for a daily driver, so therefore I can avoid potholes, although when I was using it for a daily driver I didn't blast across potholes anyway. One thing that the other posters didn't mention is the extra care needed when raising the car. I lift the car with a block of wood under the lower control arm and support the car under the lower control arm as close as possible to the balljoint to keep the stiffer bushing from over acting on the strut rod. When the car is elevated on jackstands, I remove the front shocks and install homemade droop limiters.
Harshness isn't an issue for me, the car gets taken care of not abused, I don't go on crappy road sunless forced to, and then I just compensate by driving slower. Integrity of the suspension is an issue. Lately I haven't heard anything good about the quality of rubber components. In my experience the alignment issues with AMCs isn't caused by the strut rod bushings unless they are completely gone. Camber is where I have seen the biggest variable and that's more controlled by the eccentric in the lower arm. Armand Edited by White70JavelinSST - Oct/28/2014 at 10:39am |
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70 Javelin SST, second owner, purchased 1972
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george w
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Joined: Jan/27/2013 Location: New Jersey Status: Offline Points: 2899 |
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Posted: Nov/01/2014 at 4:27pm |
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Since the left rubber bushing had come apart ( oddly the right side looked new ) and the fact that I had ordered a set of the poly bushings years ago, I put the poly bushings on both sides. Logic told me that I had to orient the cupped washers with the convex side out in order to get everything to fit up correctly. The poly bushings are a lot bigger than the rubber type so the adjusting nuts on the strut rods had to be threaded way back to get everything to fit, but it all went in. I know I'll need to get the alignment reset but I'll be curious to see what differences I feel when I'm on the road. I'd assume that having the caster set to the high limit (+ 1-1/2)would be best for steering feel.
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Long time AMC fan. Ambassador 343, AMX 390, Hornet 360, Spirit 304 and Javelin 390. All but javelin bought new.
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FSJunkie
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Joined: Jan/09/2011 Location: Flagstaff, AZ Status: Offline Points: 4742 |
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Posted: Nov/02/2014 at 11:26pm |
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Hitting a pothole with rubber bushings: "poof...what was that?"
Hitting a pothole with poly bushings: "BAM!..OW, I HIT MY HEAD!" |
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1955 Packard
1966 Marlin 1972 Wagoneer 1973 Ambassador 1977 Hornet 1982 Concord D/L 1984 Eagle Limited |
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Wrambler
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Joined: Jul/02/2007 Location: West Virginia Status: Offline Points: 4199 |
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Posted: Nov/03/2014 at 10:05am |
It's not quite that bad, unless you have 18"s and then you're going to bend a rim anyway.... |
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Wrambler
69 AMC Rambler 4.0L, 5 speed 2015 Grand Cherokee Limited 2019 Chrysler 300 |
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farna
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Posted: Nov/03/2014 at 10:13am |
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No, not quite that bad. I could feel every jar through the floor in my 63 Classic with poly bushings though. Can hardly feel a thing now that I have rubber.
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Frank Swygert
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amxdreamer
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Joined: Jul/30/2008 Location: Vancouver, BC Status: Offline Points: 8508 |
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Posted: Nov/03/2014 at 11:43am |
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I have full poly in my AMX and other then Kenosha where the roads were HORRIBLE I have no issue with the stiffness of the car. It handles great and is fun to drive. Then again, it's not a daily driver and I don't drive through potholes at 70mph.
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Tony
Vancouver, BC 1970 AMX 1972 Badassador AMO#10333 |
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FSJunkie wrote: