Anyone have a clue what these bushing are?

3845 Views 21 Replies 8 Participants Last post by dlbehrns, Sep 20, 2013

jasburbak

Discussion Starter · May 27, 2011

3

Hi, while checking the underside of my car, I noticed that the bushings were worn on the rear suspension assembly. However, I have no idea what these bushings are called, so I can order a replacement. If anyone has a clue, I'd much appreciate it!

Also, I believe that the part boxed is not original, but seems to be the handbrake spring...Anyone have a clue?

Thanks!

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1 - 20 of 22 Posts

njh1964

· #2 · May 28, 2011

Hi jasburbak,

The first two photos show the trunion arm chassis mounting points. The bushes you have highlighted are called "trunion bushes". You can get replacement bushes from places like EB Spares, etc. You'll need to remove the trunion arm and have the bushes pressed off the trunion arm by someone with a shop press.

There should also be a spacer (flat donut thing) that fits between the bush and the end of the trunion arm on both sides. EB Spares and the like can supply modern urethane spacers. Don't be surprised if you can't see any spacers on your car... most have perished and fallen out on older cars.

The handbrake assembly is definitely not original... or rather it has been jury-rigged by a previous owner. You can buy complete handbrake cable assemblies (ie from the handbrake lever all the way to the brake plates) brand new and at a reasonable cost from most Alfa parts suppliers.

Cheers,

Nick

njh1964

· #3 · May 28, 2011

2

Further to the above, the following pictures might help clarify...

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101/105guy

· #4 · May 28, 2011

Note that there is a special Alfa tool to remove and reinstall the trunion bushing. Easy to break the housing if the fact. tool is not used.
I normally just replace the entire t-arm with one from a late spider. A late arm is cheaper than buying bushes and paying a shop to press them in and out.
Centerline and IAP have the flat spacers in poly and are easy to install.

180OUT

· #5 · May 28, 2011

Centerline and IAP have the flat spacers in poly and are easy to install.

Yep, before you do anything get the flat spacers and insert them in the empty space. That may very well solve your problem. Without the washers Alfas develop a typical back end "wobble" that usually dissappears when you replace the washers. Also you don't have to dissasemble the trunion to replace the washers. Instead get poly washer replacements, make a cut through one side of the washer and work it into the space. If you want, you can apply a little superglue to cement the ends together.

jasburbak

Discussion Starter · #6 · May 29, 2011

njh1964 said:
Further to the above, the following pictures might help clarify...

My apologies for my late thank you... I was pre-occupied finding other things that I apparently needed to replace as well

First off, thank you very much for the replies and help. Nick, the diagram really helped me understand what was going on... the previous owner coated the underside with some kind of tar/sealant which prevents me from seeing components individually...

From what I have been told, I need to order these 2 parts:

Two of these
Centerline Products: SB249 Rear “T” Arm Bushing On Body 105, 115 All 1965-94

Four of these
Centerline Products: SB248U Rear “T” Arm Washer, on Ends of “T” at Body: Giulia, Duetto, 1750, 2000, Spider

-In the diagram I only see 1 washer per arm... but you told me that there is two spacers "that fits between the bush and the end of the trunion arm on both sides"

Where does the second one go, relative to the diagram?

-As far as I can see, the triangular spacer like item in the diagram encircled in white, is not present on the car. I could not find it on most Alfa parts sites...anyone know where I can find them, or would I have to have them fabricated at a machine shop?

101/105guy said:
Note that there is a special Alfa tool to remove and reinstall the trunion bushing. Easy to break the housing if the fact. tool is not used.
I normally just replace the entire t-arm with one from a late spider. A late arm is cheaper than buying bushes and paying a shop to press them in and out.
Centerline and IAP have the flat spacers in poly and are easy to install.

Does this tool have a certain name, or place where I can find it? I live in Istanbul, where there is known to be only 4 of these cars....so parts cars or finding T-arms off a spider is near impossible without shipping them from the US... I'll have to stick with pressing them off...

180OUT said:
Yep, before you do anything get the flat spacers and insert them in the empty space. That may very well solve your problem. Without the washers Alfas develop a typical back end "wobble" that usually dissappears when you replace the washers.

I do in fact have a slight back end wobble, I'll try that trick first, and see if it does the job, much appreciated!

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101/105guy

· #7 · May 29, 2011

The diagram is correct...
you need one washer per side, 2 total for the car.
From the look of things, you have an oil leak problem that dreched the bushings. Still, it is rare for the t-arm bushes to go bad, even in Alfas from the '60s with lots of Kms.
I would look carefully at the conical rubber bushes where the t-arm attatches to the diff.
These need replacement more often and can solve a rear wobble along with the big rubber washers.

jasburbak

Discussion Starter · #8 · May 29, 2011

I'm assuming you mean these bushings, in which case I already added that to my list of parts needed replacing

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101/105guy

· #9 · May 29, 2011

That's them !
Have you looked at the trailing arm bushes ( below the diff. )

101/105guy

· #10 · May 29, 2011

One more thing....
the triangular spacer shown in the diagram is between the body and the t-arm bush housing. Probably hard to see with all of the '****' back there. They come in different thickness and are installed at the factory to center the diff. to the body.

jasburbak

Discussion Starter · #11 · May 29, 2011

101/105guy said:
That's them !
Have you looked at the trailing arm bushes ( below the diff. )

As far as I could see when it was up on the lift, they seemed ok...but I might just order a pair in case when I remove the rear suspension assembly and find them all eaten up...

-As for the triangular spacer, like you said I'll probably see them when everything is off, I guess If I need to, i can have the machined at a shop according to the settings... -I'm guessing they were sized accordingly and differently to fit each specific amount of play on the diff..

101/105guy

· #12 · May 29, 2011

One thing that hasn't come up is ....where are you located ??
Never figured out why people keep this a secret......

njh1964

· #13 · May 30, 2011

jasburbak said:
Four of these
Centerline Products: SB248U Rear “T” Arm Washer, on Ends of “T” at Body: Giulia, Duetto, 1750, 2000, Spider

-In the diagram I only see 1 washer per arm... but you told me that there is two spacers "that fits between the bush and the end of the trunion arm on both sides"

Where does the second one go, relative to the diagram?

Hi Jasburbak,

Sorry for any confusion... 101/105guy is correct. I did mean that there is one washer per side (ie a total of two washers needed).

Like 101/105 guy suggests, I found that the trunion bushes on my car were still OK, so perhaps check them after you have removed the "t" arm.

The new urethane washers can be cut, stretched open and then slipped into the gap between the trunion arm end and the trunion arm bush housing. It can then be held in place with a suitably sized hose clamp... or you can try gluing the cut you made in the washer to get it in place.

Regards

Nick

jasburbak

Discussion Starter · #14 · May 30, 2011

101/105guy said:
One thing that hasn't come up is ....where are you located ??
Never figured out why people keep this a secret......

I work undercover for a sinister organization known as SPECTRE...my whereabouts must be kept safe, that's why I had to leave the Triumph forums...in case MI6 came looking for me...

or....I may have accidentally revealed it a post or two ago...

jasburbak said:
I live in Istanbul, where there is known to be only 4 of these cars....

You're right, I should update my info, It'd be easier for people to understand whats going on..

Nick - Ok, got it. Need only 2

I'll definitely try that first if I can, less hassle...Seems to me that slowly replacing all the bushings on a 50 year old car would be the wisest choice... I'm already leaking from the gear shift inner boot, oil pan, on to the deteriorated trans. mount...

She'll be tip top by mid summer hopefully...

alfaroad

· #15 · May 31, 2011

not so off this topic. Old manuals for early 105s showing this S special washer, too. Late manuals dont showing at all. Do you have any idea why? I will restore everything in the rear end next days and having some NOS of these I cant figure if I have to bother with them or not...

jasburbak

Discussion Starter · #16 · May 31, 2011

daveydog said:
Hey, I work in management for a beneficial organization that employs only women agents in the field. It's called T.W.A.T. Tactical Women's Assault Team.
And one of their prerequisites is that they all must spread the Love to their enemy counterparts when they're found in compromising positions.

Sounds pretty tedious...I'll put in a request for a transfer anyway...

frogeye

· #17 · Jul 27, 2011

I'm interested in some more technical information on this thread - having spent time (quite a bit!) last night refitting mty trunnion, t-bar, t-arm or whatever!

1. The bushes on my t-bar were fine and looked OK so I did not replace them. I did notice that the alignment marks on the housings did not perfectly line up - how important is this? I suppose that if the alignment marks were wildly out, then the height of the rear suspension would be affected. (Actually one bush was spot on and the other was 5mm out. As all the holes lined up perfectly I was not worried about this)

2. The gap where the disc ring goes was almost the same each side and allowed the fitment of a polybush as suggested in the thread by cutting etc. A fairly tight fit but the supplied grease made it easy. I was interested that these, being a tight fit could not accept any form of 'c' washer. It is described in some manuals that the circular disc is nylon and when shimmed out with the 'c' washers to the correct tolerance, they (the 'c' washers) are then electrically welded in place. Are these parts / instructions for earlier types of trunions? An, more importantly, why would the gaps be different either side if the bushes were press fit on - is there not a shoulder they fit up to?

3.The triangular washers I removed from my car when I dismantled the car were a pig to refit. My question is how tight should they be? Being very tight it is necessary to lever out the trunion bush housing and then drift in the washer carefully (with coppaslip). The has the effect of 'distorting the disc polybush and start to force it out of the slot. Not a very satisfactory proceedure.

4. How much play is there with the t-bar fitted up but no axle attached?

Something makes me think that the correct proceedure is that t-bar is fitted to the car using triangular washers and then when fitted up, the gaps are measured between the disc washer and then the 'c' washers are fitted.

Maybe I'm attacking this the wrong way but any thoughts would be welcome!

Matt

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r-mm

· #18 · Jul 28, 2011

I'm going to follow this thread because I'm a step behind you on my 73gtv. Also have poly washers installed, also did not renew big bushings because they looked okay, also had alignment marks not perfectly aligned.

I posted a similar thread to the suspension forum because i failed to note which side the two triangular shims came from and they are different thicknesses (3mm/4.5mm).

Curious to hear everyone's take on how tight this whole assembly is supposed to be and how to get it all bolted back together.

frogeye said:
I'm interested in some more technical information on this thread - having spent time (quite a bit!) last night refitting mty trunnion, t-bar, t-arm or whatever!

1. The bushes on my t-bar were fine and looked OK so I did not replace them. I did notice that the alignment marks on the housings did not perfectly line up - how important is this? I suppose that if the alignment marks were wildly out, then the height of the rear suspension would be affected. (Actually one bush was spot on and the other was 5mm out. As all the holes lined up perfectly I was not worried about this)

2. The gap where the disc ring goes was almost the same each side and allowed the fitment of a polybush as suggested in the thread by cutting etc. A fairly tight fit but the supplied grease made it easy. I was interested that these, being a tight fit could not accept any form of 'c' washer. It is described in some manuals that the circular disc is nylon and when shimmed out with the 'c' washers to the correct tolerance, they (the 'c' washers) are then electrically welded in place. Are these parts / instructions for earlier types of trunions? An, more importantly, why would the gaps be different either side if the bushes were press fit on - is there not a shoulder they fit up to?

3.The triangular washers I removed from my car when I dismantled the car were a pig to refit. My question is how tight should they be? Being very tight it is necessary to lever out the trunion bush housing and then drift in the washer carefully (with coppaslip). The has the effect of 'distorting the disc polybush and start to force it out of the slot. Not a very satisfactory proceedure.

4. How much play is there with the t-bar fitted up but no axle attached?

Something makes me think that the correct proceedure is that t-bar is fitted to the car using triangular washers and then when fitted up, the gaps are measured between the disc washer and then the 'c' washers are fitted.

Maybe I'm attacking this the wrong way but any thoughts would be welcome!

Matt

frogeye

· #19 · Jul 28, 2011

Yes, R-MM, I saw your thread will watch that one as well!! Matt

dlbehrns

· #20 · Sep 18, 2013

Hope to revive this thread as I need some help with T-bar bushings. Once the t bar is removed from the car the bushing should spin freely on the end/left and right side of the bar correct? Mine do not. Went to a reputable machine shop and they were unable remove the bushings from the bar for fear of damaging the bar. Now what? What I have in mind is to drill the rubber out of the bushing then some how cut the inner sleeve from the end of the bar and outer sleeve from the housing. Seems like a daunting task. Suggestions PLEASE. TIA, David

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