Rear Bottom Arm Bushes

[4129R]

I ordered some new rubber bushes from Banks, and I just could not get them to go into the holes in the bottom arms.

I took them to the local garage who put them in their hydraulic press, and despite 6 tons pressure, the rubber just swelled up and would not go in the holes.

So I thought outside the box. If I reduced the size of the rubber, they would go in obviously. How best to get them smaller?

I pressed them in to the holes until they started swelling up, then ground off the rubber gradually in a rotary wire brush on my bench grinder. Gradually, I got the excess rubber off, and then bit by bit I pushed the bushes in using my bench vice, a large socket behind the O, and a large bolt in the metal insert. They now fit perfectly in the bottom arms, and look even on both sides.

I now have a pile of little bits of rubber under my bench grinder. 

Tomorrow, I start stripping the shell of 4688R for repair and painting.

It was quite badly damaged, so I will ask the ex-Lotus men who run my local fibreglass repair shop whether I should give them the bare shell to play with, or put the shell on its new rolling chassis.

[jbcollier]

Wrong bushings.  The a-arm bushings have a steel outer and inner with rubber bonded between.  Look like this:

http://www.parts.banks-europa.co.uk/display_photo.php?942

[BDA]

Polyurethane bushes are available several places, but I think these are the cheapest (my understanding is the Elan and Europa use the same bushes): http://www.autobush.com/Lotus.htm

I have not tried them, but maybe someone on this forum can give some first hand experience.

[Serge]

I have the autobush bushes. They are good value for money, however the quality of other superflex bushes that i have used are better. You get what you pay for, but I would buy them again.

You can read/watch my experience of them here:

http://sleurs-motorsport.com/?p=679

http://sleurs-motorsport.com/?p=1223

Serge

[EuropaTC]

Polyurethane bushes are available several places, but I think these are the cheapest (my understanding is the Elan and Europa use the same bushes): http://www.autobush.com/Lotus.htm

I have not tried them, but maybe someone on this forum can give some first hand experience.

I've got a set as well. They come with a printed instruction sheet on how to fit them, plus some grease for keeping the stainless insert moving when in use. I'd not used any poly bushes before so didn't know what to expect and from what I could see these seemed well thought out with the central hole machined to retain a "reservoir" of grease once the stainless insert is in place. (I suppose all the others do the same ?)

They fit easily enough. I used a large vise and if anything I'd say they need less pressure than with the OEM steel/Rubber bushes that I fitted to the Elan.  I can't comment on wear rates because I just don't do enough miles and to be perfectly honest I couldn't tell any difference in performance. Perhaps you need to be at 11/10ths on the track to get the extra benefit ?
 
John, I think the OP is talking about the rear lower link bushes which were/are a rubber bush without the external steel housing and hence different from the front bushes and the 2-part ones on the earlier cars.

Digressing a little, the bush you pointed out will also fit (at least in Spyder lower links) because I've got them on mine. Not by design, more by "I have an MoT looming and that bush looks a bit swollen, he'll pick it up and I'll not hear the last of it. Now what's in the cupboard......"  On a more serious note I suspect they don't allow the same range of movement as the OEM bushes so YMMV......