Re: 56 Rear Torque Arm Bushiongs

Posted by Owen_Dyneto On 2014/6/9 15:50:54

An interesting (at least to me) update.

Preparing to replace my 56 rear torque arm bushings, I had two Steele 473313 bushings bough via Max Merritt a couple of years ago, and ordered two more last week to go with the 4 OEM bushings that I have coming from a generous benefactor. The comparison of today's Max Merritt bushings to the ones from him a few years ago reveals:

The ones received today (1) no longer have the "Steele" name molded into them, and (2) they are of a significantly harder durometer rubber. Kanter also mentioned to me that his bushings are made to match the original durometer hardness. So maybe new urethane parts aren't required - another ten to fourteen thousand miles after installation will tell the story.

UPDATE: I think I'll try to improvise some sort of a durometer and see if I can get some numerical comparisons between the OEM, old (Steele) and new Max bushings. I'm thinking of using a drill press to provide the force with a scale on the handle and with a pointed metal cone and measuring the force required for the cone to penetrate some measurable distance into the rubber.