Rubber vs poly

[buckn67]

Its probably been adressed but, i drive my bronc on weekends primarily. 60 miles back and forth to hunting camp, and 30mi of rutted up, mud, and washed out dirt roads. What is the best application as far as bushings. Polyurethane, or rubber . Does the rubber ride better , poly last longer? Would appreciate input!

 

[00gyrhed]

You hit it on the head. But I have never thought that the very little bit better ride in rubber is worht changing them all the time.

 

[buckn67]

Any opinion

My post about rubber vs poly.

 

[bknbronco]

Im a rubber guy!

 

[71broncman]

I changed to poly and didn't notice much difference in the ride. Poly is supposed to last longer but I'll have to get back to you in about 15 years to confirm this. On the type of terrain you describe it would be a larger function of the springs and shocks to soak up the rough stuff.
Mark.

 

[broncnaz]

Rubber will give the softer ride. but as was said your not likely to notice a differance. both probably last about the same with a slight edge going to the poly in most cases. My suggestion would be poly C bushings and trac bar bushings with rubber rear radius arm bushings. Reasoning is C bushings are made to hold the axle in postion no real effect on ride. basically the same with trac bar poly has less give so the trac bar will be tighter. but on the rear radius arm bushing rubber will give you that extra little cushion over poly.

 

[addicted]

Not all poly is created equall either. I personally like the black graphite impregnated poly. Seems to hold up better and not squeak like some red ones I've used. But I have seen some poly crack and split and basically fall out. So if you deside to go with poly make sure you go with a reputable and proven manufacturer. And with body mounts I definitly noticed a difference between rubber and poly.

 

[Bronchole]

I recent;y went with rubber C bushings. Notice a reasonable difference in front end articulation.

 

[Kurt]

Benefits of rubber are flexibility for additional dampening for lessened road vibration.

Detriments of rubber are a higher wear factor, and more sensitivity to heat and chemicals than poly.

Benefits of standard high durometer (hardness) poly are higher tensile strength, and availability of different colors for aesthetics.

Detriments of high durometer are lack of flexibility and dampening.

Medium durometer polyurethane is the best of both worlds, but comes with a higher price tag. I quit making the angled rear strut bushings mostly due to the high price from material price and being labor intensive to cast.

 

[Rustytruck]

The factory rubber C bushings were noted for falling out and wreaking havoc. They are best replaced with the polyureathane because the polyureathane have retaining lips to keep them in place. Also the polyureathane c-bushings come with castor corrections if you need them. As far as I am concerned thats every Bronco that hasn't had the ball joint mounts cut and rewelded.
I replaced my rubber suspension parts with polyureathane pieces and have not had one bit of trouble with them in over 20 years. another place to change out the rubber is in the tranny mount the ureathane holds up better there especially if you have a greasy mess. I cant tell you about the body mounts as I still have the origional mounts there.