Re: '87 5ksq rear bushings

[Gil Ceniceros <gil@shore.net>]

Matt Bartholomew wrote:
> 
> On Fri, 12 Jul 1996, Gil Ceniceros wrote:
> 
> > Lenny Rosenbaum wrote:
> > >
> > > I was told yesterday that I needed to replace my rear control arm bushings,
> > > both sides.
> .
> .   stuff deleted
> .
> > BTW the forward rear control arm mounts wear out and separate from their
> > housings. If the rubber is pushed out toward the front on these and you hear
> > clunking noises on bumps, consider the cost of aligning again later vs. fixing it
> > all now. You will not like the price (~$200/ea) of the forward bushings.
> 
> If the above mentioned bushings are the ones I replaced on my '88 5000tq,
> here's some useful info for you to consider:
> 
>         If the original part number on that bushing is 443-511-247-C, you
> can purchase a $9 replacement instead of the $250 replacement.  Trick?
> THE PART NUMBER WAS CHANGED AND THE DEALER WONT TELL YOU!  THE NEW PART
> NUMBER IS:  443-511-247-D.  Yes, that's 'D' instead of 'C'.  There was a
> design change that integrated the bushing into the mount, but why gamble
> on that $250 part when you don't have to.  I have 30K miles on my repair
> and so far so good.  It only cost me $18cdn for the parts, and a ton of
> leg work to find out the part number changed.  good luck!
> 
> Matt

I purchased the 443-511-247-D bushings for $15/ea from a local dealer . 

I was told when I ordered them that this part was not officially supplied for cars 
with the integrated support housing and bushings.

It is dimensionally identical to the ones that I removed from a spare/bad support 
assembly that I had bought used awhile ago.

Easy enough to remove the metal outer sleeve of the bushings from the housing, because 
they (mfg.) cross bored a hole in the housing at the center of the two bushings in the 
housing. Bend the outer bushing sleeves in with a drift thru the hole and the old ones 
can be easily persuaded out. New ones have about .010" interference fit to press into 
the housing. They should press in easily if correctly aligned while pushing.

This is a great $60 fix for a problem that can cost $500 just for parts, if you don't 
know any better.

The Parts Manager at the dealership I went to has a 5kcsq with bad rr control arm 
front bushings.

He was also surprised and pleased to know about this, but I bet he can't tell any of 
his customers. 

Thank you Matt!

Gil Ceniceros