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Strut rod, did I do something wrong?

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JohnRyd View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JohnRyd Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Strut rod, did I do something wrong?
    Posted: Aug/14/2022 at 9:28am
Installed new rubber strut rod bushings (2 piece type) on the 1972 Ambassador. The one on the driver's side failed after only about 10 miles. I'm replacing with urethane type, but a little concerned with the hardness. I read where on some Ford Mustangs, the strut rod itself actually failed because of the hardness of the bushings. Has this happened to anyone on their AMC  cars???

I checked and the sequence was per the service bulletin Bill Dickerson posted some years back (also per the 1972 TSM). For now I will assume I got a bad bushing, unless the experience of forum members indicates otherwise.

Thanks for any input







Adolph John Rydzewski
Newark, Delaware
1972 Ambassador 4dr Brougham, 360/2BBL/727 purchased new
1968 AMX 390/Auto
1957 Hudson Hollywood 327/Auto
1975 Cadillac Eldorado
1992 Lumina Z34 5 speed
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LakesideRamblin View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote LakesideRamblin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Aug/14/2022 at 10:12am
John, I used polyurethane on all my front suspension parts on my 69 Rambler about 4 years ago.  Have a few thousand miles on her now.  My strut rods are fine.  Obviously, my car is much lighter than your Ambo so that may or may not make a difference with strut rod "load."  As your passenger side looks good, perhaps the rubber was bad on your driver's side as you suggested.

Edited by LakesideRamblin - Aug/14/2022 at 10:15am
LakesideRamblin
69 Rambler 360
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote AMXRWB Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Aug/14/2022 at 10:39am
Where can i buy those in rubber material for a 65 Rambler American?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mopar_guy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Aug/14/2022 at 10:41am
I agree that you probably got a bad bushing. I would not use an all poly bushing set for the simple reason that they're to stiff so the rod will bend instead of the rubber flexing. It's been the topic of many threads on here with a number of rods being bent or broken. I found the middle ground of rubber on the front side and poly on the rear worked well for me. I think that part of the equation is how bad the roads are and how much the car is driven. Even if the car is driven for a few thousand miles, but over the coarse of 5 years, is not a true indication of what may be considered a good idea.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Heavy 488 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Aug/14/2022 at 11:00am
Id go with an old stock bad bushing.  I replaced mine 4 years ago and still look like new. All my suspension bushings are urethane except for the struts on a large body.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote nickleone Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Aug/14/2022 at 12:21pm
I have poly bushings in my 62 Classic SW sinced 2012 with about 15k miles on them, good still.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Bruce Clarkson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Aug/14/2022 at 1:44pm
I have a 67 and a 68 Ambassador.  I've had serious problems with these.  I got a bunch of these from Rare Parts that came apart.  I got some two-piece ones from, I believe, Kennedy's several years and many miles ago for the 67 and they stopped the problem.

I had trouble with the 68 and could not get the rubber two piece bushings from the normal sources.  I got some one-piece ones from, I believe, Centrix (spelling?) and they have been fine.  I just got back from a trip from New Bern to Kenosha to Maine and back to New Bern with no problems with these bushings.

As others have alluded to, it seems to make a difference how old the rubber is and maybe who made them.

I think the two-piece design is probably better but I want to run rubber bushings and could not find them for the 68.

Good Lock,
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tomj Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Aug/14/2022 at 1:51pm
The photo of the passenger side bushing is already failing. There's a visible crack in the rubber.

I say this a lot: old rubber is bad rubber, new or old. Many of the replacement parts of any brand bought today were made in the 1980s. That's too old to put into service. They simply won't last. Sometimes they do, but they're inherently unreliable. Storage conditions matter, but even sealed airtight in a bag in cool temperatures they internally degrade. It's made from organic petroleum stuff.

Strut bushings are also a particularly high-stress component. I/we were battling this same problem in the early 2000's.

I don't know about the life of urethane, maybe it lasts longer. It's also probably more recently made. I make early American front suspension bushings at home out of a particular soft part I get from Ridetech, that's worked out great, and so far, only one (of four cars done) has one squeak.

Maybe later-model Ford parts are made more recently?


In my '63 Classic I used a mixture of urethane and rubber, that worked out really well.





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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote LakesideRamblin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Aug/14/2022 at 6:59pm
Originally posted by AMXRWB AMXRWB wrote:

Where can i buy those in rubber material for a 65 Rambler American?

Nowhere that I know.  I think it did not make production sense.  Hence, folks finding NOS here and there but is is still old rubber as TomJ mentions above.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JohnRyd Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Aug/14/2022 at 7:06pm
BIG THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR THE REPLIES !!!

I replaced both sides today with urethane. Will order some new rubber ones at some point and replace the urethane ones. I believe the 1967-73 Mustang uses the same ones.

Tomj, you have an eagle eye. I saw that incipient failure too. When I removed the one from the passenger side it still looked pretty good, but it would just be a matter of time before it failed. I got these off ebay a couple years ago. Was supposed to be for both sides, but they sent only one side. I contacted them and they sent one more. Although they were in similar boxes, the one that failed had no brand or part number molded in the rubber like the other one did. Obviously different sources.

Everyone's comments put this back in perspective. I have concluded failure was due to poor rubber (age? compound? whatever)

Thanks again
Adolph John Rydzewski
Newark, Delaware
1972 Ambassador 4dr Brougham, 360/2BBL/727 purchased new
1968 AMX 390/Auto
1957 Hudson Hollywood 327/Auto
1975 Cadillac Eldorado
1992 Lumina Z34 5 speed
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