Carrier bushing redux

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Re: Carrier bushing redux

Postby Hunner » Sat Oct 29, 2011 6:13 pm

Is your old bushing still up in there?
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Re: Carrier bushing redux

Postby The Other Rob » Sat Oct 29, 2011 7:57 pm

Ya gotta shorten the bushing a bit.. Can't say exactly how much.. But just enough.. See the 6th picture in the thread..

Cut the sleeve down too and insert it as well..
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Re: Carrier bushing redux

Postby Seth » Sat Oct 29, 2011 10:48 pm

ddimit wrote:
2011-10-29_15-31-06_278.jpg
[attachment=0]
Ok First post here.

I did the bushing change out from the Susupension Restoration kit. Something not quite right here. Is there susposed to be this much gap between the bushing and the cross member? Im thinking not. needs to be trimmed down to fit tight. Any opinions?

No, I think there always a gap. Hopefully someone with a bit more knowledge on the subject will check in here soon. I do remember being able to see the bushing, I just don't remember if it was the top or the bottom.
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Re: Carrier bushing redux

Postby ddimit » Mon Oct 31, 2011 11:33 am

From Bruce at Suspension restoration parts.... i sent him the same pic.

Yes, that will be a problem. You will need to shorten the bushings and sleeve. You want the sleeve to be 1/16” longer than the two bushings.

This is the first time I have seen a picture of the application. It appears to me as though we should be using a shorter bushing and sleeve combination. I have sold several of these. You are the first to show me this problem. I wonder why no one else has had a problem?



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Re: Carrier bushing redux

Postby The Other Rob » Mon Oct 31, 2011 8:48 pm

ddimit wrote: I wonder why no one else has had a problem?


Because we shorten the bushings..
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Re: Carrier bushing redux

Postby alrock » Sun Nov 13, 2011 5:30 pm

Inspired by Speedy and equipped by suspension.com, Bigunit, kd7irm and I tackled the task of replacing the bushing in my crossmember with the Energy Suspension bushings sold in a kit by suspension.com.

The OEM setup is a metal sleeve that is keyed to the diff with the sleeve sitting in vulcanized rubber so that the diff "floats" up and down in the rubber providing the mall-goer with reduced noise, vibration and hardness vs. a diff that is attached to a frame or subframe. The cushioning is provided by how the sleeve clings to the rubber; the OEM bushing provides indirect support to the diff as the sleeve does all of the work. Unfortunately that rubber is not designed for offroading and eventually splits leading to a diff that will then rock excessively and even clang against the crossmember. (I have now destroyed five crossmember bushings in 94,000 miles/4.5 years.) The Energy Suspension bushings are much firmer. Dwayne's guess is that the OEM is about 40 durometer and the ES one is 80-90.

I had a spare crossmember (original style with UCP tab on passenger side) sitting in my storage so we took it to the scorpion4x4.com shop and asked the owner, Dwayne to pop out the bushing for us so we could then assemble the kit as we've seen discussed in other threads.

Now, a guy that builds autonomous vehicles like this Image and kick-ass rides like this Image doesn't just pop the bushing and leave us to suffer on our own. Dwayne asked to see the kit and looked at the H3, the kit, the crossmember and how it would be put together.

First, he burned out the old bushing and blasted the OEM metal sleeve that was in the OEM bushing.
Image

The OEM bushing sits in a thin metal sleeve that is pressed into the crossmember. Here's the remnants.
Image

These were the parts we had. Note that in the original crossmember it has a full wall for the bushing and it extends fully from the top of the crossmember to the bottom. The OEM sleeve is to the upper right (after being blasted with glass bead); the Suspension.com bushings and sleeve are on either side of the crossmember. You can tell this is an original design crossmember by the tab for the UCP/skid plate in the lower right.
Image

Dwayne took some measurements of the crossmember, bushings, sleeve etc. and then revamped the entire plan. The new bushings and sleeve are too long. The OEM sleeve is too wide to fit in the ES bushings. Dwayne decided to take the keyed head off the OEM sleeve (it is pressed on), machine the new sleeve to accept the OEM keyed head and then he pressed them together.
Image

Dwayne ended up machining off 1/2" off of each bushing and 5/8" off the the new sleeve to get this to a secure, snug fit.
Image

Image

He realized and extra spacer would be beneficial at top as the diff sits about 3/8" above the crossmember so between the height of the ES bushing and the OEM keyed head he needed about an 1/8" spacer so naturally he created one that would match the outside diameter of the ES bushing. (He actually created two, including one that we could use on the bottom.) This one was designed to slide over the sleeve.
Image

Image

This was the final product
Image

We replaced the crossmember and used the OEM bolt and captive nut. The OEM bolt has a concave washer that in the OEM configuration sits open so that only the part of the washer rests against the OEM sleeve. The remainder of the washer flares away from the bushing. We decided to reverse that bushing in our install so that the pressure was on the ES bushing and not the sleeve so the bushing would do the work. I may change that decision as I'm concerned the concave washer will deform over time and we won't get the desired results.
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Re: Carrier bushing redux

Postby alrock » Sun Nov 13, 2011 5:31 pm

The crossmember that we removed from my truck was the newer design with the missing skid plate/UCP tab. The design of the crossmember is very different than the original one and the above kit (not to mention the Suspension.com kit) will NOT work without further modification.

First, my bushing was so broken (1 year old and it broke this October in Moab) that the sleeve came right out. The rubber and pressed in sleeve remain in the crossmember.

This is the top of the crossmember where the keyed head would sit. Note the missing rubber on the crossmember - the sleeve couldn't even sit squarely on the surface.
Image

Image

Here's the bottom side. Note that the inner wall does not go through from top to bottom. I haven't measured yet to see if the internals are the same depth but there's an obvious recess here.
Image

The flange of the ES bushing does NOT fit down in that hole as would be necessary.
Image

Image

Removal of the old crossmember and installation of the new one took about 20 minutes total, aside from hassling with my damaged UCP.

Right now this is a one-off fix though Dwayne believes this could and should be permanent. I may have him apply a similar fix to the two braces on either side of the front diff so we can get a similar bushing in there vs. vulcanized rubber. Dwayne can machine his own bushings from stock so this would be easy for him.
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Re: Carrier bushing redux

Postby Mark » Mon Nov 14, 2011 8:16 am

Nice work and great writeup. Very cool of Dwayne to go above and beyond like that.
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Re: Carrier bushing redux

Postby Trekn13 » Sun Jul 22, 2012 7:23 pm

I have a kit from suspension.com for this. I just sold my H3 and never got it in. Brand new in the bag. Make me an offer. trevorbroersma@yahoo.com
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Re: Carrier bushing redux

Postby Rebel69 » Mon Dec 04, 2017 6:12 am

Just installed this bushing kit. What a difference!!! I actually got enough bushings in the kit to do 2 extra crossmembers (minus the 4" bolt/nut which any hardware store carries). If interested to purchase from me, send me a PM. Thanks to original poster, well done.
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