300tdi munching panhard rod bushes

Alright guys, after some advice

Replaced my panhard rod bushes about 3 months ago, bad steering and a bad judder when going over bumps at speed. The set I put in there 3 months ago were knackered by the start of this month so I put some new polybushes.

So the new poly bushes have been in there a few weeks....and now they are shagged as well. What the feck? No more than 2 1/2 weeks out of a set of bushes?

What do ya think I'm doing wrong? Maybe I need to re-bush the whole motor? Maybe the panhard bushes are getting buggered early cus the rest of them have given up the ghost? No unusual knocks or handling problems when driving and I have to use a 4 foot bar to get noticable play in the radias arms bushes.

What do ya think?

Cheers

Is your front axle centered correctly? Have you got a lift kit?
Poly bushes are crap in my opinion - I only ever use genuine bushes.

Trewy is right, original bushes work better for longer, in my experience and they should last longer than a few weeks/months!

Did you re-fit the panhard rod the right way round?

I'd also look at the steering damper, suspension bushes and check wheel bearings/hub for play. Might be worth having a good look with a tape measure and right angle/spirit level and see if all the associated brackets are still straight/square and true.

Thanks for the replys guys, car is 100% standard suspension wise. Steering damper is brand new (fitted the day after I did the bushes). Yeah put back on the right way (had a look under me old mans disco before I put it back)

Good point about the brackets Paul D, I'll have a ganders at them this weekend probably.

Cheers

If all looks well,you might want to review how you put the bushes in ... if the old bushes were very worn polybushes might be just a tad too small and able to move about, thus destroying them.

Similarly, check the panhard rod yokes, the holes where the bolt goes through are also known to wear/elongate a bit, and the bracket holes too, they often become ovalised, so the bolt holding the bushes in can move .. once it's started the wear just accelerates.

Paul D said:

If all looks well,you might want to review how you put the bushes in ... if the old bushes were very worn polybushes might be just a tad too small and able to move about, thus destroying them.

Similarly, check the panhard rod yokes, the holes where the bolt goes through are also known to wear/elongate a bit, and the bracket holes too, they often become ovalised, so the bolt holding the bushes in can move .. once it's started the wear just accelerates.

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Ah balls, so if the mounts have gone then I suppose its cut off and weld new ones on? Or could I just weld some thick washers in place on the outside of the bracket or something?

At least if it s the rod its just a trip to a breaker and a few quid.

Cheers,

TheMunster said:

Ah balls, so if the mounts have gone then I suppose its cut off and weld new ones on? Or could I just weld some thick washers in place on the outside of the bracket or something?

At least if it s the rod its just a trip to a breaker and a few quid.

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Yeah, the 'standard fix' is to weld thicker washers of the correct diameter on the outsides of the brakets, then fill-in as much as necessary the original holes then file round and central to the panhard rod bolt axis. Longer bolts might be required. It's easier than it sound ...