Qbm Control Arm Bushings

[Guest Hank Scorpio]

exactly what i had in mind doug !!

fire is always fun!

out with the old

in with the new

different car but it worked.

[Slater]

Slater, it might be possible to burn the old bushing out. I haven't seen them yet so Im assuming. I've had to burn bushings out before. (unless they have a metal outter sleeve, then inner bushing with an innermost metal sleeve then press'in em out it is)

I would not recomment that. First off, cast iron gets brittle with uncontrolled heat like that. Secnodly, you still have to get out the metal sleeve, and cutting it out is not recommended because there is not that much meat where the arm is once the bushing is out.

It's not worth trying to save $10. Just press them out and do it right.

I have no control over how people get the bushings out. But I will not be responsible for anything if someone does any method other than the recommended one.

fire is always fun!

different car but it worked.

That trick works for some bushings, and I've burned out my share of stock bushings. But I am not comfortable recommending it on the Volvo control arms. Seriously.

What's so hard about taking it to a local machine shop and giving them $10? Some will even do it for free. It literally takes under a minute with a press, and you'll sleep better at night!

[Guest Hank Scorpio]

I have a press bud. No worries on my end, was just thinking out loud ;)

[Slater]

I have a press bud. No worries on my end, was just thinking out loud

OK, good.

Also, I forgot to mention, the QBM bushings work in the old aluminum control arms as well!

[kir]

This is for a SET of bushings - everything you need to replace your control arm bushings. There are 4 bushings in a set - 2 per arm.

Yes, they only work for the front control arms because our cars only have front control arms.

The installation is easy with the included instructions. All you need is basic hand tools and a jack. The control arm itself is held to the subframe by 2 bolts, and the ball joint is attached to the spindle by 1 bolt. Maybe Kirill will chime in and talk about the installation and how easy it is. I have done it on my car a few times now and can have both sides done in under 30 minutes. If you have never done it before it will take maybe an hour tops.

There's nothing difficult with this install. I mean it's regular control arm dismounting-mounting procedure, except you have to spend 5 mins per arm taking out some extra metal (if you have OEM arm, according to instructions some aftermarket control arms doesn't need it) - I used handtools for that, nothing special and nothing difficult, painting nude metal (we have salt at winter here, so I had to) - I used some black Hammerite left in dark garage corner. To get old bushings out, I used press - I'm not Superman nor I'm not going to "relax" metal with heat, actually this even can be done without press using big bolt, nut, washer and tube of appropriate diameter . But I can't get what's the problem with getting it out with press. Everywhere on this planet you can find it and do that almost for free, if not for free.

The most difficult part was reading soooo detailed instructions But the truth is, that reading these instructions you can get more information than needed for install and also I have to "complain" that Slater ships more parts than needed, I mean that he includes 2 stainless washers which weren't needed in my case. by the way, maybe somebody overseas needs two very exclusive stainless washers from QBM? Not too expensive, think

In short: not difficult, but if you never replaced your control-arms yourself - _maybe_ you should seek assistance of professional mechanic to handle these 6 bolts for you B)

[emmick]

I'm gonna need a bushing set. My control arms have about 25,000 miles on them, but I didn't preload the suspension. Hope these will solve a few problems.

[GShyneDM]

Well now, hold on. I MAY be working on a version for the 4-bolt mounting style arms. But I wouldn't even be starting on it until next year sometime.

*sigh of relief*... but then again, we'll see if I am still driving the same car. hehe

Always glad to hear about your great ideas for products... now I wonder... since VOLVO was nice enough to randomly choose what style of control arm mounting there was, if it was possible...and economically feasable to switched to the 2 bolt kind... hrmm

[bobcat]

Have just fitted solid bushes to my car aswell, used powerflex ones. they are the same as slaters but have an inner ring which gives another shoulder.

here is them on my car:

The car handles great now, nice and straight with now wandering or diving. i recomend anyone thinking about doing this mod to get those delrin bushes now from slater.

regarding the pre-loading of the bushes, this is simple. you have an outer "pipe\sleeve" and an inner one which is smaller. you have rubber that is bonded in between them. when you tighten up the bolts you lock the inner sleeve to the sub frame mounts. so if you dont pre-load, you will lower the car and this will cause the outer sleeve to twist and load up the rubber. this will eventually lead to the rubber becoming detatched from the sleeves like below:

[Slater]

*sigh of relief*... but then again, we'll see if I am still driving the same car. hehe

Always glad to hear about your great ideas for products... now I wonder... since VOLVO was nice enough to randomly choose what style of control arm mounting there was, if it was possible...and economically feasable to switched to the 2 bolt kind... hrmm

If you switch out your subframe, you can swap to the 2-bolt style.

they are the same as slaters but have an inner ring which gives another shoulder.

With one big and important exception - those are poly. Mine are Delrin. Big difference. Especially since I had poly on my car. The poly was better than stock for sure, but the Delrin can't even compare. Imagine the difference you felt going to from stock to poly, and multiply it by 5.

I am so confident these smoke the polys that I will offer a trade in - anyone who wants to trade in their poly bushings for a set of QBM bushings will get a $20 discount.

[GShyneDM]

If you switch out your subframe, you can swap to the 2-bolt style.

junkyard time... hahaha

maybe i'll wait... :D

[bobcat]

With one big and important exception - those are poly. Mine are Delrin. Big difference. Especially since I had poly on my car. The poly was better than stock for sure, but the Delrin can't even compare. Imagine the difference you felt going to from stock to poly, and multiply it by 5.

I would be interested to feel the difference, i may even order a set just to find out!!!! - unfortunately my car got so bad i have to change the arms before your bushes were ready.

cant really see how there would be any difference, the poly is hard (yes it is a tiny bit maleable) but once you punch them into the arm and drive through the insert they become solid and the bush is squashed in.plus you also have the 2 shoulders to sandwich the arm between the subframe mounts. however you have to have volvo arms (as you found) for the additional shoulder to work as non volvo arms are not all the same size.

with your bushes being solid, is there any chance of wear causing play in the bushes over time, whereas the poly ones will tend to take up the slack as they are under compression?

I see you went for one shoulder, im guessing that was to get around the difference in dimensions between the arms. i found this out also. the only thing "ALL" arms have in common was the distance between the outside faces on the control arms.

funnily though, the non volvo arm i was given (i sent them back and got volvo ones in the end) would have been better for your bushes as it had a nice milled edge whereas the volvo ones are as they were when they were cast.

[Slater]

I would be interested to feel the difference, i may even order a set just to find out!!!! - unfortunately my car got so bad i have to change the arms before your bushes were ready.

cant really see how there would be any difference, the poly is hard (yes it is a tiny bit maleable) but once you punch them into the arm and drive through the insert they become solid and the bush is squashed in.plus you also have the 2 shoulders to sandwich the arm between the subframe mounts. however you have to have volvo arms (as you found) for the additional shoulder to work as non volvo arms are not all the same size.

with your bushes being solid, is there any chance of wear causing play in the bushes over time, whereas the poly ones will tend to take up the slack as they are under compression?

I see you went for one shoulder, im guessing that was to get around the difference in dimensions between the arms. i found this out also. the only thing "ALL" arms have in common was the distance between the outside faces on the control arms.

funnily though, the non volvo arm i was given (i sent them back and got volvo ones in the end) would have been better for your bushes as it had a nice milled edge whereas the volvo ones are as they were when they were cast.

You are comparing squishing them with your fingers vs installing them in a 3300+ lb car and taking a turn at 80mph. It's all about weight, force exerted, and deflection. If you put the poly in a vice and smashed it ashard as you could, it would smoosh like a pancake. If you did the same thing with Delrin you would barely dent it. You tell me what the difference is.

You are also forgetting a major point about poly - it will deteriorate with time. I have had many cars with poly bushings and after a year or 2 the poly bushings really start to wear - they bow out and get chewed up due to exposire to the elements - heat, friction, road salt, and chemicals. Poly bushings are a maintanace item just like rubber bushings, and need to be replaced. Their advantage is they are stiffer than rubber and last longer than rubber. But they cannot be compared to Delrin. Delrin is designed to take the wear - that's one of the reasons it was invented. It's heat, chemical, and abrasion resistance far surpasses most polymer materials including polyurethane. So as far as your comment about the Delrin wearing out where the poly will take up the slack, it's actually the opposite. The POLY will wear out whereas the Delrin will not. And with a lifetime warranty on the Delrin bushings, how can you go wrong? You're not going to find a lifetime warranty on poly bushings.

Finally, there is no need for them to be shouldered on both sides to maintan caster specs - one side is all that is needed. The shoulder on one side prevents the arm from moving because it is being stopped by the shoulder on the other side. And as you found, the inside-to-inside portion of the arms varies significantly from arm to arm, whereas the outside-to-outside edge is relatively constant.

[bobcat]

You are comparing squishing them with your fingers vs installing them in a 3300+ lb car and taking a turn at 80mph. It's all about weight, force exerted, and deflection. If you put the poly in a vice and smashed it ashard as you could, it would smoosh like a pancake. If you did the same thing with Delrin you would barely dent it. You tell me what the difference is.

You are also forgetting a major point about poly - it will deteriorate with time. I have had many cars with poly bushings and after a year or 2 the poly bushings really start to wear - they bow out and get chewed up due to exposire to the elements - heat, friction, road salt, and chemicals. Poly bushings are a maintanace item just like rubber bushings, and need to be replaced. Their advantage is they are stiffer than rubber and last longer than rubber. But they cannot be compared to Delrin. Delrin is designed to take the wear - that's one of the reasons it was invented. It's heat, chemical, and abrasion resistance far surpasses most polymer materials including polyurethane. So as far as your comment about the Delrin wearing out where the poly will take up the slack, it's actually the opposite. The POLY will wear out whereas the Delrin will not. And with a lifetime warranty on the Delrin bushings, how can you go wrong? You're not going to find a lifetime warranty on poly bushings.

Finally, there is no need for them to be shouldered on both sides to maintan caster specs - one side is all that is needed. The shoulder on one side prevents the arm from moving because it is being stopped by the shoulder on the other side. And as you found, the inside-to-inside portion of the arms varies significantly from arm to arm, whereas the outside-to-outside edge is relatively constant.

thanks for the clarification slater, i did originally want a set of the delrin over the poly ones, so put me down for a set then.

thanks.

[billr99]

Slater:

Put me on the list for a set of bushings only (just put new TRW arms on my 850-arghhh), if you would be so kind.

Thanks, buddy

Bill

[MikeG]

I've got the 4-bolt style (@&%!), so I guess I'll be waiting...

One question though: iPd, FCP, & others (even PowerFlex) only have one type of bushing listed for fitment. I interpret this in two ways... either (1) the bushing only fits the 2-bolt mount and those of us who have the 4-bolt mount are screwed, or (2) the bushing is the same for both types of mounts. If that's the case, why can't we use your Delrin bushings for the 4-bolt mounts?