Disco 2 Bush Replacement

Evening Folks,

Since replacing my front axle and not swapping all parts from my original axle to replacement axle, I am inevitably starting to have some issues, steering mostly.

Ive decided to just give it a complete overhaul, the panhard rod bushes seem shot, got a bit of play in them, drag link ball joint had play, up and down, so all are being replaced, along with the steering damper and shocks.

Just wondering what the view is on replacing bushes, am I better off going genuine LR rubber or poly bushing?
So far as i can see the advantages to poly bushes are that they are easier to fit, the downside is the cost.

How hard are genuine bushes to fit, could they be done with a fly press?
If polybushing is it worth spending the extra on Flo-Flex or similar or are the (dare I say it) britpart ones ok?

Also to save opening another thread, what are the views on steering dampers and shocks? Is genuine best or is the terrafirma stuff decent?

Thanks in advance

KyleAsh91 said:

Evening Folks,

Since replacing my front axle and not swapping all parts from my original axle to replacement axle, I am inevitably starting to have some issues, steering mostly.

Ive decided to just give it a complete overhaul, the panhard rod bushes seem shot, got a bit of play in them, drag link ball joint had play, up and down, so all are being replaced, along with the steering damper and shocks.

Just wondering what the view is on replacing bushes, am I better off going genuine LR rubber or poly bushing?
So far as i can see the advantages to poly bushes are that they are easier to fit, the downside is the cost.

How hard are genuine bushes to fit, could they be done with a fly press?
If polybushing is it worth spending the extra on Flo-Flex or similar or are the (dare I say it) britpart ones ok?

Also to save opening another thread, what are the views on steering dampers and shocks? Is genuine best or is the terrafirma stuff decent?

Thanks in advance

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Would not even consider poly bushes, they spoil the ride and eventually will crumble away and leave you with clunks and grinds every time you hit a bump. Original rubber bushings are a little harder to fit but will be the best solution to your front end problem. Not sure what you mean by "fly press" but I have made up bush presses out of tubing, stud bar, nuts and washers, to press old out and new in, or more simply said, "nut and bolt press". In some cases the old bushes are a bit hard to initially get moving but will come out with an effort, clean up the bores, apply a light coating of oil or grease to the steel sleeve of the bush and pull it into the bore using the same tool you used to remove the old one.
I think shocks are a very particular subject, I would always go for original but for lift kitted vehicles you need to go aftermarket, and as far as I had heard the Terrafirma brand were ok, except I did tear the end out of one on my 2" lifted Disco1, and I'm not one to punish my vehicle too hard, when I went back to the seller he accused me, (an old codger), of being unreasonably hard on the shocks, it now has Monroes fitted, front rear and steering damper, not sure if that brand is available on your part of the planet.

Just done the front end on mine following various knocks.... Last did about 5 years ago and used Terrafirma shocks - The shocks were fine but the bushes in them shot to pieces when I changed them (Normal road driving - honest!)
This time I went for original LR all round, shocks, turrets, drag links, ARB bushes - Fitting very straight forward. I looked at Poly Bushing but thought for my needs genuine was suitable.

In terms of fitting I've use a vice, have a look at the attached which may assist - http://www.discovery2.co.uk/damper_bushes.html

My steering seems to have got a bit 'twitchy' lately, i have 255's on which obviously do follow ruts and camber but i seem to be correcting the steering more often. Not dangerously so, nothing picked up on recent MOT so just wondered where to start looking. Which bushes may be wearing or does the steering damper need looking at?

Bobdog said:

My steering seems to have got a bit 'twitchy' lately, i have 255's on which obviously do follow ruts and camber but i seem to be correcting the steering more often. Not dangerously so, nothing picked up on recent MOT so just wondered where to start looking. Which bushes may be wearing or does the steering damper need looking at?

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Same set up as mine and similar experiences in terms of handling. But it's more the clunking that's led me to investigate.

I found the best way was to crawl under the front of the car and get somebody to wiggle the steering wheel with the engine running and see if there is any play in any components.

I noticed the panhard rod had a fair amount of play side to side so changing those bushes, and the drag link ball joint has considerable movement up and down at the steering end.

Going to be replacing things tomorrow all being well so will let you know if it cures everything

KyleAsh91 said:

Same set up as mine and similar experiences in terms of handling. But it's more the clunking that's led me to investigate.

I found the best way was to crawl under the front of the car and get somebody to wiggle the steering wheel with the engine running and see if there is any play in any components.

I noticed the panhard rod had a fair amount of play side to side so changing those bushes, and the drag link ball joint has considerable movement up and down at the steering end.

Going to be replacing things tomorrow all being well so will let you know if it cures everything

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You say "clunking" can you describe it? The reason i say that is because i had a "clunk" which i solved...

Bobdog said:

You say "clunking" can you describe it? The reason i say that is because i had a "clunk" which i solved...

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Clunking/knocking hard to describe but it's when I turn the wheel off centre it's the initial movement that causes it and also when it reaches full lock.

What was the cause of your problem?

KyleAsh91 said:

Clunking/knocking hard to describe but it's when I turn the wheel off centre it's the initial movement that causes it and also when it reaches full lock.

What was the cause of your problem?

Click to expand...

Thats what i had. Anti roll bar bushes. They were worn through. Never picked up on MOT. I just lived with the clunk for ages as i couldnt find it and it never got worse. It just started to annoy me. Changed those and it was gone