NM shock bush replacements

[Mik]

Hi team. Not long till christmas.

I'm looking to replace my front lower shock bushes in my 3.5 NM 2000. I've got Tough Dog shocks as the previous owner raised the car and I'm looking for rubber bushes if I can find them after calling 2 dealers they told me it doesn't have bushes...I'm not sure what that means. Does upgrading the suspension change the struts to shocks?
Where can I buy rubber bushes? My next try would be a tough dog dealer....

Mik

[dolphin]

have a look at the bottom of the front strut / shockie. is the front hub arm bolted directly to it or does the bottom of the front shockie / strut have a rounded base with a bolt going throug it into the front hub unit ? are the bottoms abit the same as the rear shocks ?

[Mik]

Hi. It looks to me like they have an eyelet with a bolt going through. The rears are TD adjustable shocks but I have to check if they are the same as the fronts.the front shock is in the coil.

Mik

[my.paj]

Mine has a U shaped bracket mounted to lower control arm the shocker/strut fits into this bracket, there is a eyelet at bottom of shocker with a bush in it.
So its a bush but dont know if they can be changed you may have to try the dealer.
Rick

[dolphin]

yes get onto the dealer for new bushings as normally the old are pressed out and the new re pressed back in.

[Catchin Jack]

Reason they may be stuffed is if they haven't been installed correctly as the strut will want to twist when moving up and down. The top bolt must be in line with middle of bush, even if it's out 5mm it will destroy the bush.

Leo

[mrbitchi]

And the lower bolt must only be tightened when the car is on the ground and the suspension is in it's normal rest position.

[Mik]

Thanks for the info guys. Here is a picture of the front right.
It used to squeak a whole lot when I would push down on front but I sprayed some silicone grease into the lower shock mounts and the squeak has gone. Who knows how long..

I'm really confused as to whether there is a bush in there or not and if I can replace it?

Mik

[vk7hch]

The bush is the part i have arrowed in green.
It is inside the mounting bracket, hard to see without removing lower end of the strut.
If the bush is really worn, you should be able to get a fair bit of movement just grabbing and twisting the bottom of the strut.

Chris

[Catchin Jack]

At full articulation, does the strut hit the upper control arm or is there space between them?
To me it looks as if bush is stuffed but that's just looking at picture, the bushes can usually be pressed out and replaced, I know Dobinsons ones can be.

[dolphin]

yes as in pic with green line. this is the rubber bushing with a steel tube in the center to where the main bolt goes through. as mentioned this bushing needs to be pressed out and the new bushing pressed in. its an easy job and can be done with a suitable sized / strong vice and some tool sockets if you want to replace these yourself . might be easier to just take the shocks and new bushings to any mechanical workshop and get them to replace these.

[Mik]

Thanks for your help guys. I have suspicion it's that bush that's shot.
Here's what it looks like. What do you think?

Mik

[Catchin Jack]

Yes it's stuffed, make sure strut is aligned correctly when putting back in.

[Mik]

Thanks catchin jack.

Mik

[Catchin Jack]

No worries mate, only just been through all this and learnt a lot from installer and Dobinsons on front struts. If not done 100% correct it can cause all sorts of problems, only a few mm out on mounting them and it'll destroy the bushes.