Poly, Poly Graphite, Rubber?

[73Bird]

Gentleman, I am redoing alot of my 73 SAT front end components and will be buying a front end kit. I have heard some confusing things........"get the poly/graphite bushings" and "get the rubber".........I have heard a little of both sides from different backgrounds. The poly squeaks.............the rubber wears faster. I am setting my car up to be a nice Sunday driver. I dont mind spending the money but dont wanna hear squeaks after a year or two because of poly bushings........Recommendations would be greatly appreciated...............:argue:........Anyone care to put your Mopar 2 cents worth in? :argue:

 

[1badstroker]

I would stay with rubber, It will last 10 years plus with alot of miles. Look at some old original cars and they still have all the rubber in the suspension and the body mounts and are 35-45 plus years old.

 

[cr8crshr]

I Agree

I would stay with rubber, It will last 10 years plus with alot of miles. Look at some old original cars and they still have all the rubber in the suspension and the body mounts and are 35-45 plus years old.

From what I have been able to gather, rubber does seem to have a leg up on longevity over Poly. That being said, Poly will last a long time too if it is maintained properly. I have been told that Poly requires periodic "greasing" in order to maintain itself. Just don't know if that is the case. EBooger over at Mopar Action swears by the Rubber ones and that is good enough for me too....:blob1::blob1::blob1::blob1:

 

[74sundance]

I like mine so far and they were cheaper than rubber for me here in Canada....One thing...DON'T trust anyone when it comes to the strut rod bushings they are marked 73-74 B-body but they are way to small and only fit the older style K member.I have 3 sets here from different places that all say the are right but guess what there not....Let me know if you come across some that fit.BTW..I don't have any problems with rubber I just liked the look of the red poly and the price

 

[YY1]

The theory behind poly-graphite, is that it is self lubricating, thus helping with wear, and eliminating squeaks associated with standard polyurethane.

Poluurethane doesn't deteriorate like rubber, and provides a firmer ride, at least those were the selling points 20 years ago.

 

[73Bird]

Gentleman.......you are awesome thanks for the input. YY1---great pics thanks for your time. You are correct that red looks........badazzzzz. I like the thought of firming up the ride and dont mind lubing later. Like my friend says.......if it squeaks later.......lube it! Ill look into the poly or poly graphite. The whole front end is swaying back and forth and when I put the R side up on a stand you can wiggle the whole wheel. Im going to replace all the metal/rubber in there with a front end kit.........probably from Ebay or PST.....they range from 250-500. In the process of changing out my front rotors, bearings, calipers, shoes and lines..............j

 

[YY1]

I mixed and matched PST poly-graphite where available, and Moog for everything else. Came to $375 including sway bar bushings and strut rod bushings, but not including idler and pittman arms. ...also found both strut rods and one torsion bar bent.

I used energysuspension parts for the Moog, but would NEVER use them again, as the s ent mis-matched and incorrect parts and took months and dozens of emails to correct the mistakes.

I would go with RockAuto next time.

Sounds like you might have ball joint issues if stuff is moving around. Could be tie rods, or idler/pitamn too. Next time it's in the air, look real close whilr moving the wheel to see where it is.

Do yourself a big favor and buy/borrow/rent a ball joint socket. You have four to screw in (don't use a press!), and the correct tool typically takes about 1/4 the time of the air chisel method and doesn't damage the other parts if you slip.