<VV> Speaking of sway bars.......

[Hugo Miller]

You'd be amazed how much movement there is in modern rubber. I operate 
some buses with independent front suspension, and the top & bottom arms 
are held in Metalastic bushes all round. The thickness of rubber is far 
less than an anti-roll bar (or sway bar) bushing, but they never come 
un-glued. I have been operating these vehicles for over twenty five 
years and never yet had to change any of the lower arm bushes. They were 
manufactured in 1986 and 1988 respectively, and these lower bushes are 
certainly original - now over thirty years old - been bouncing up & down 
for well over a million miles. Top ones I've replaced once or twice over 
the years.

On 2019-11-30 22:42, Jay Maechtlen via VirtualVairs wrote:
> On 11/30/2019 9:18 AM, Hugo Miller via VirtualVairs wrote:
>> I have said this before, and nobody has yet disagreed with me, but I 
>> think this is the wrong approach. Yes, it will shut the noise up, but 
>> it won't fix the problem, which is that the metal is turning in the 
>> rubber. It is all supposed to be clamped solid, and the rubber itself 
>> will move.
>> If the bar moves against the rubber, it will wear down exactly as 
>> you have described! It is always the harder material that wears (such 
>> as a camshaft in an aluminium head) because the softer material 
>> "absorbs' the abrasive particles.
>> I think Polybushes work on a different principle, and they DO need 
>> lubricating.
>>
> Yes, generally rubber bushings are supposed to twist, with inner and
> outer being stationary on their mounting surfaces.
>
> Presumably something that rotates a lot needs a thicker rubber
> section than one that rotates just a little. It seems to me that some
> of the Corvair sway bars have bushings with pretty thin layers of
> rubber - do they not rotate much, or are those bushings expected to
> slip?
>
> Jay Maechtlen
> SoCal
> '61 2-dr modified w/fiberglass skin,
> transverse 3.8 Buick V6 TH440T4 trans
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