Can anyone ID this Strut Rod Bushing?

MikeKanterakis

SCCoA Member
Hello, This is my first post, but my brother frequents the board so I thought I'd give it a shot.

I have, pictured below, two strut rod bushings (to the lower control arm, not the frame) that allegedly fit my 1990 Anniversary SC. On the left is the one I removed (with help from my master SC mechanic, my brother) and ultimately re-installed.

On the right is the one that came in the "MN12 Performance" suspension rebuild kit. (Fun project, replacing all the bushings, never bled and swore so much in my life.:mad: )

Any ideas on the BLUE bushing??? It seems to match the stock pin-stripe on my 1990 Anniversary, so is it stock or some aftermarket part? Also, it says, "Made in the USA" on the top.

I like the blue one better because it creates a better seal between the strut rod and the lower control arm (i.e. between the washers). The black bushing seemed to have too much play.

Yes, that is the best I could do in regard to picture quality.:D
 

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The black bushing is indeed correct, note, there is a front and back bushing and the bushing itself is marked. I believe the blue bushing you have is the Moog brand "plastic problem solver" bushing if I recall. Use the black one, it will last much longer.

Paul
 
Thanks, I'll contact Moog and see if they can send me a picture to compare.

I don't doubt that the black one would last longer, but the blue one makes a better seal between the washer and the lower control arm. With the black one, the metal sleeve in the middle stops the washers from squeezing close enough to the black bushing, even when the nut is air-gun tightened all the way down. Also, when the car is up on jacks, and you turn the wheel all the way to one side, there is visible movement at that joint. So I went with the blue ones.



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the blue one is moog. I work at carquest and thats what used on my SC. It is poly and it also has a lifetime warrentee. Its the right one..dont worry. I paid $11 for the pair that did both sides(strut rod to lower arm) I also replaced the rod to frame bushings that were $27. Both kits come with all new washers and new metal sleeves...and for the price and the garentee....you cant go wrong.
 
Thanks, I'm not the original owner, they came with the car when I purchased it about 3-4 years ago. Any thoughts on how I could go about making good on that waranty?

also, do you have the part number handy? For the strut-rod to lower control arm side, thanks.
 
Re: Bushing

You stated that the metal washer binds and won't let the rubber bushing tighten properly.
NOTE: YOU HAVE INSTALLED THE WASHER BACKWARDS!
The flared washer goes on with the flair (cup) to the outside!
 
you just need to go to any moog dealer (car quest). There might be others but i dont know any off hand. They should take it in for an exchange. They might need a receipt, my store wants one. If you have no luck, you can send me the old moog ones and I'll use my receipt for the exchange. I am about 99% sure that i could do that cause the boss really like me. I think( not sure, at college) the part number is something like k8960?? for the rod to arm bushings. They came with new instructions for their bushings and washers that are installed a little different than stock.
 
Reply to SonySC: no, it wouldn't have made a difference whether the washer was backwards or not, b/c there was about 1/4inch of space between the washer and the bushing. There might be a difference between the 1990 model suspension (my year), and the others. My brother has a 1992 and 1991, and they have different washers than mine. btw, we put them in correctly.

Reply to fatsc92: thanks for the offer, but I couldn't bear to be without my wheels for more than a couple of hours, but thanks again for the part number help.

Anyone able to set us straight regarding the differneces in the "strut rod to lower control arm" connection between a 1990 SC and any other year???

Thanks to all.
 
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Well,,, looking at the picture again, the washers on my car are much more straight (up and down) than the cupped (like the one in Rich's picture). fatsc92 did say that the moog parts come with new washers. Guess my previous owner wasn't kind enough to leave the original washers in the trunk of the car.

...thanks for the help, i'm off to find better washers. :)
 
94 89 diffs

I currently have a 94 5 spd. I used to have an 89 5 spd.

I'm sure some people will think I don't know what the hell I'm talking about when I post this but oh well this is from first hand experience.

This is what I discovered when I rebuilt my front end about 4 months ago.

I bought a bushing kit from Rich at Mn12. The strut rod - control arm bushings were from Ford, the rest were his poly bushings.

I ordered a few new nuts and bolts from Ford to complete this job. The new nuts I got from Ford for the strut rod -> lower arm were different than what was on there. The origonal nuts were simply large flange nuts and then there was a rubber stopper on the end of the strut rod to act as turn stop. The new nuts were long nuts with a capped end (about 1 1/4 deep). By design this nut can only screw on about an 1 1/4 inches. These were the same kind I had on my 89.

These new nuts were not deep enough to apply pressure to the strut rod washer/bushing assembly on my 94; they were about 1/4 inch too short and there was play in the system. I cut the little b__tards in half with a hack saw so they would not bottom out on the capped end. This allowed me to torque them down against the washer/bushing assembly and all has been good since.

Please note however, even when the assembly is torqued down properly it does look like there are gaps and free space but there shouldn't be any slop or play.

Cheers
Bob
 
yeah, I have those long nuts that stop up against the spindle.

Any opinions on whether that type of nut is necessary? How's the wear on either the spindle or strut rod on your car MartianBob?... or anyone else who doesn't have the long nuts?:p
 
Those long nuts were part of a TSB campaign to prevent some issues that cropped up on some cars that cause the caliper to rub on the lower strut. So new ones will have it, and if the car didn't go into the dealer to get it fixed, they won't.

I think they rolled it into production after 91 or 92 for the rest of the years.

Thus replacement parts will be those type.
 
Nuts

When I rebuilt the front end a while ago I put the original nuts back on for a week or so without the rubber stop on the strut rod end.

The strut rod was bumping against the spindle and left a mark when turning at max.

I put the rubber stops back on when I cut down the new nuts and put them on. No problems since.

You'll know when you assemble everything if it's tight or not. You shouldn't be able to move those washers around with your hand when it's torqued down.

Cheers
Bob
 
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