Disintegrated Strut Bushings

[ew1usnr]

... the sleeves are there, when included, to stop you from crushing the bushings. I noted elsewhere that NOS rubber parts don't seem to survive being put into service. Not sure if these were, but may have been old stock. They seem to be crumbling as well.

I telephoned PST this past Monday morning and canceled the order for the poly-graphite bushing order. They were nice about it and didn't argue.

Operating on the assumption that the squished bushings had indicated that the steel spacer sleeves had not been installed, I ordered another OEM-style strut bushing kit from FalconParts.com this past Sunday. That order was delivered yesterday and after I got home from work I took the car back to the mechanic who had rebuilt the front end this past August. I explained that the bushings had disintegrated and that the metal spacers might not have been installed. He looked surprised but didn't argue and said that he would take a look at them. I also showed him the diagram that Kenny had posted where it shows the rear washer with the dish facing outward and the front washer facing inward. I asked him to re-check the alignment and to also replace the ruptured dust boot on the left inner tie rod end.

Ruptured tie rod end dust boot
Ruptured dust boot.jpg

They called me this afternoon and said that the car was ready. The mechanic showed me the squished bushings and said that the spacers had been installed, and that it had been the composition of the rubber bushings that had been at fault.

Crumbled strut rod bushings
1-DCP_0043.jpg

I explained that the new set of bushings had come from the same company where I had bought the first set from. The mechanic said that the new set of bushings was different. He said that the new bushings had been made from polyurethane. I said that I had been told not to use polyurethane bushings because they were too stiff. He said that the poly bushings came in different degrees of stiffness and what I had was fine and that I would not notice any difference. He said that maybe FalconParts had problems with the supplier of the rubber parts and had switched to a new supplier with the polyurethane parts. I had handled the new poly bushings and rubbed them with silicone grease and it had never crossed my mind that they were not black rubber. The new bushings had not felt any harder than the previous rubber bushings. The mechanic also said that he had replaced the one torn tie rod end dust boot and that all the other boots were good.

New polyurethane left strut rod bushing
1-DCP_0044.jpg

New polyurethane left inner tie rod bushing dust boot
2-DCP_0045.jpg

And the mechanic wrote the work off as a return visit on the previous front end rebuild and alignment and said that there would be ... No Charge!

I think that I will mail the disintegrated rubber bushing back to FalconParts, though, and ask for my $32 back.

I had the mechanic install the washers as shown in Kenny's drawing. That configuration seems correct because as the strut rod moves up and down at the lower control arm, the radius point of the arc of motion would be at the outer washer. The bushing would not tilt much there and the inward facing dish of the washer would serve to center the bushing. The trailing washer is where the arc of movement would occur and the bushing flexes against the convex curved front surface of the washer with its dished surface facing the rear. At least that is my theory.

The weather is ideal, gas is cheap, and my Falcon is back on the road. Yea!

[Jeff W]

Thanks for the conclusion to the story.

Your reasoning makes sense and I am going to go the same route.

The labor for mine will also be "no charge". In fact the guy that will be doing the work is sitting at my keyboard right now

[ew1usnr]

The labor for mine will also be "no charge". In fact the guy that will be doing the work is sitting at my keyboard right now.

Hello, Jeff.

Does the big nut on the forward end of the strut rod require a 1-3/16" or a 1-1/4" socket?

Thanks, Dennis.

[Jeff W]

Hello, Jeff.

Does the big nut on the forward end of the strut rod require a 1-3/16" or a 1-1/4" socket?

Thanks, Dennis.

Hi Dennis, my 6 cylinder rig (I don't think that makes a difference) is neither. It is 1-1/16".
jw

[ew1usnr]

Hi Dennis, my 6 cylinder rig (I don't think that makes a difference) is neither. It is 1-1/16".

Thanks, Jeff.

I bought a 13-piece deep socket set on a half-price sale at Harbor Freight and went to work on my car today. You were correct, the nuts took a 1-1/16" socket.

The mechanic who put on the second set of bushing thought that they were polyurethane. I e-mailed Falcon Parts asking about that and they replied: “The bushings all came from the same supplier, production run and made of the same material."

Well, those bushings collapsed also after only 5,200 miles. I ordered another set of rubber strut rod bushings from Performance Suspension Technologies (PST) for $25. The bushings came as a complete set with washers, spacers, and nuts and were marked “Product of Argentina”.

I thought that "Made in Argentina" was interesting. After Ford USA finished making the 1963 Falcon they shipped the dies to Ford of Argentina where they continued making Falcons up until 1991! Falcons are still popular down there.
See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Fa...entina%29#1982

Anyway, the installation went relatively easy. I lubricated the bushings with silicone grease and placed the front and rear washers with their convex sides facing towards the bushings like )=(. This will let the bushing roll across the washer surface as the strut rod is pushed up and down and create minimal resistance. Cupping the bushings with the concave side like (=) would squish the bushings and cause resistance as the control arm goes up and down. I saw no advantage to that. The strut rod should provide resistance to forward and back motion, not up and down.

6-DCP_0092.jpg

I did run into one surprise. My left and right strut rods are not the same.
The left strut rod weighed 3.25 lbs and the turn stop part of the strut rod (the end sticking up on the left end in the photo) was part of the strut rod.
Left Strut Rod with integral turn lock.jpg

The right strut rod weighs 2.75 lbs and has a turn stop that is shaped different and is a separate piece. The base of the separate piece is sandwiched between the strut rod and the control arm. The bolts were not tightened yet when the picture was taken.
Right rod with separate turn lock piece.jpg

I am hoping that this new set of Argentinian rubber bushings will last for the next 100,000 miles.

Here are the Andrews Sisters singing "The South American Way":https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3yQL-cfWts

[Luva65wagon]

Dennis, You may have a V8 and a 6'r strut rod. The V8 version was the solid one with the bent end and the 6'r had the removable stop. The spindles are different L6 versus V8 and you may find your turning radius hampered in one direction (I'd guess right turns), whichever stops against the one with the strut with removable bit.

Not knowing this detail when I built my Ranchero I had 6'r struts and V8 spindles and I could barely make the turn into any parking spot. I pulled the stop-brackets off for a quick fix, but got a V8 set from Steve and will eventually swap them in.. real soon now.

[ew1usnr]

Dennis, You may have a V8 and a 6'r strut rod. The V8 version was the solid one with the bent end and the 6'r had the removable stop. The spindles are different L6 versus V8 and you may find your turning radius hampered in one direction. Not knowing this detail when I built my Ranchero I had 6'r struts and V8 spindles and I could barely make the turn into any parking spot.

Hello, Roger.

I had never noticed a problem, but now you have made me curious. I will go into a big grocery store parking lot and make a turn all the way to the right and then all the way to the left and see if I can notice a difference in the turning radius and/or steering wheel position.

There is heavy rain forecast for the next couple of days, so I will not get to try this until Thursday or Friday.

I would like to know the story of when, why, and how that strut rod was changed.

Falcon Parts says: "1963 STRUT ROD SKU: C3DZ-3468-A This part is the correct strut rod for all models of the 1963 Ford Falcon & Mercury Comet. Price: $58.95"
1963 strut rod c3dz-3468-a.jpg

See: https://www.falconparts.com/ford-fal...OD-18p5331.htm

[charlescfp]

The mechanic who put on the second set of bushing thought that they were polyurethane. I e-mailed Falcon Parts asking about that and they replied: “The bushings all came from the same supplier, production run and made of the same material."

Well, those bushings collapsed also after only 5,200 miles. I ordered another set of rubber strut rod bushings from Performance Suspension Technologies (PST) for $25.

Dennis - Hello...

I had a similar experience with bushings from Falcon Parts.

Would be interested in your experience with the set you bought from PST.

Thx - Fred