Drag strut poly bushes ( Which way round??? )

[Moraystag]

Gent's during recent MOT I had an advisory that there was play on the drag strut bushes, so ordered up a new set of polys from J.P.'s.
The guy I spoke to insisted that they were to be fitted bevelled edge to the body both side's.
However the ROM clearly indicates that the bushes are fitted flat face to flat face.
Now I'm in a pickle, as I have fitted one side as indicated by J.P.'s, and the other side is stripped and I'm now on hold until I can get some advice.

The cups I still have although they are past there best, but I could use them.
The old bushes were previously fitted flat face to the body and with the cups in place.

The side I have fitted bevell to bevell obviously do not hold the cups in place and these now do nothing but wiggle about as the bevell does not compress into the cup

Any ideas gents, and do I have to keep the cups or can I do away with them. Not sure if you can still get these????
Hope this makes sense
Mike

[Giles]

Mine were fitted as the ROM and that is how I have fitted mine, and it would be the way I would have thought they would go. My cups were attached to the body (unless I am misunderstanding and thinking of the wrong cup). Not sure if this helps you much!

Also there have been some suggestions not to use poly for these - as Peter at LD

http://www.ldpart.co.uk/shop/shop.php?c=viewproduct&pid=82&cat=8&sid=sid92aa2090d19bf7e82acdf1217d3c102e

hope this is not just making it worse!!

[Stevekid1]

Hi Mike,

Just looked at mine which I replaced in the same way that the old rubber ones came off and as per the operations manual. The tapered edge goes to the outside and the flat part against the mounting cups attached to the car. So the bush closest to the wheel goes on the drag strut tapered edge first, mount it into the cup and into position on the car and on the rear side put the bush on flat face first, if that makes sense.

Steve

[Moraystag]

Looks like my cups have become detached over time as they are deffo not connected to the body anymore, as they came off with the old bush. Not sure if I should put them back on even though they are loose??

Mike

[jleyton]

Yep Mike, it's like the others have said. I don't know if a diagram helps but this is correct. The only bit not in the image is the bit of the bodywork that goes between the two bushes !

I certainly wouldn't use poly here - personal opinion, of course.

Cheers

Julian

Ps I'd definitely put your old cups back on. When you tighten it all up they shouldn't be loose any longer. Perhaps somewhat bizzarely, the chamfer on the cups should face AWAY from the bush.

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[Moraystag]

Oh dear, I've bought poly on the advice of J.P.'s so not sure what to do now. I left the old ones in, when I did the suspension strut re-build, as they looked in pretty good shape. J.P. told me that they did not have any rubber bushes available, but the poly's would be fine as they were not as hard as the original's. They are called supperflex I think, but have chucked the packaging away now.

Mike

[Stevekid1]

Mike,

Mine were from JPs and have been on for three years with no problems, they are the superflex ones. However, im not sure i would be happy if the cups have become detached. Surely these need to be fixed/welded in place to ensure the drag strut is centralised?

Steve

[Kevin Garrod]

Oh dear, I've bought poly on the advice of J.P.'s so not sure what to do now. I left the old ones in, when I did the suspension strut re-build, as they looked in pretty good shape. J.P. told me that they did not have any rubber bushes available, but the poly's would be fine as they were not as hard as the original's. They are called supperflex I think, but have chucked the packaging away now.

Mike

Don't panic, I've been using them for a few years now, and nothing has broken.

[jleyton]

I haven't checked JP's price for rubber ones but LD's would be less than £10 for a set.

Maybe talk again to Paddocks and see if they'd do you a deal on a set of rubber ones when they get them back in stock and run with the polys until you can change them.

Like I said, it's a personal thing, but I'm not a fan of poly, especially in that location, but you won't have a problem running them for a while.

Cheers

Julian

[Gresley]

I have Superflex fitted and have done 32,000 miles on them with no probs...they were on the car when I bought it so they have done more miles than this. they are fitted with the flat face to the body as per the ROM. Something will go bang now I have said this

Brian

[Moraystag]

Ok guys I will run with the poly's and see how I go. What do you suggest as far as the cups are concerned, It looks to me like these have been detached for a long time, and were probably refitted at some point although they have not been welded in place.
I spoke to a guy this afternoon who has no cups although the bushes are in place. Can you still get these cups to weld into position or what do you suggest. Don't want the car languishing in the garage while I try and decide what I should do as far as the cups are concerned. I have not seen these for sale before now.
Do I fit the polys straight onto the tie in point but with no cups or do I try and find replacements for them and weld them back in place.????

Mike

[Guest]

I don't think you have any need to worry Mike.

LD Parts have an opinion and others have a different one which looks like a reliable source and it's not as though LD are stating you would be mad to use poly.Different car, different problems but there are those in the M3 world who are against poly bushes either in totality or in some locations. I am not one of them as I like a performance car to be stiff.

[jleyton]

Unchartered territory Mike as I don't expect any of us have been there before.

I'd try fitting the cups loose, and when you tighten it all up the bushes should hold them in place, but keep a close ear out and look at them every so often.

Btw, can't you sleep ? (You are back home aren't you? Or have you flown your car out to the other side of the world - or are you out there and you're getting your missus to do the work back at home? )

Cheers

Julian

Btw (2) Ian: What are you doing up at this godforsaken hour - or had you only just got in ? !

[Giles]

I wonder if the problem with poly was when they first came out and have improved since then? i have used Superflex bushes everywhere else and been very pleased with them. Sorry if got you worried. If you can weld i would weld the cups back on. If you would have to get someone in to do it i would just fit them loose and keep an eye to see if they are moving. were there signs of them moving before? If not may be ok.

[Moraystag]

OK Gent's thanks for advice. I think for now I'll put them ( the cups ) back on loose as before, but will try and see if one of the suppliers has them and replace them at a later date welding may be the way.
However, the drag struts as far as I can see control lateral / horizontal movement and once the car's full weight is on the front wheels these struts sit pretty much horizontally, so hopefully for the time being I could put the car back together at least until I can source new cups. ( The cups are pretty well corroded away on the inner lip which fits to the chassis leg )
There seems to be a small slot in the hole that the strut pin inserts through, so just maybe the cups were checked in place originally by this slot???. When they were on they were pretty much covered with underseal, so they looked like they were attached to the body, but obviously were not.
I'm sure that someone on the forum must have come across this before, and hopefully they will come back with a diffinative answer as to how the cups should be attached.
Cheers

Mike