How much does a bushing compress over time

[Bub]

Hi all!

A asked this question on an actual vehicle forum, but no one seems to be bothered to reply. And I kind of need an answer asap since I need to get it done today. Lots of handy folks here, so I figured I might get one or two

So I am replacing the shocks on my vehicle.

Here is the question. I am using the original springs and putting new Bilstiens 4600 (read a lot about them here, by the way, hence the choice) and new Moog mounts. I got the driver's side in, but I cannot get enough thread on top of the shock no matter what I do. Then I took it all out again, to make sure everything was put in correct order and noticed that the inner mount bushing on the new mount is significantly thicker than the one in the original mount. All other seem to be about the same or (probably) compressed slightly. My question is can a bushing compress over time by about 1/4 of an inch, probably more? Any ideas if I am doing anything wrong?

At this point my thinking is going towards "trimming" the new bushing a little bit, but I definitely would not want to do that if I can help it.

Thanks for the help, guys!

[C2C3PO]

Yes, they do compress and probably close to the 3-16" - 1/4" you are looking for.
Depending on the air temp when installing the new bushing the rubber is going to be rather hard and not readily malleable.
I don't think I would trim it so much as maybe warm it up in some hot ( not boiling ) water and maybe squeeze it in a bench vise to see if you can soften and compress it enough to begin catching a thread.
Also make sure to thread a nut on the end of the shock ram and ensure it is extended fully - you may find you get a bit more out of it yet.

[C2C3PO]

....Also have you tried compressing the spring?
If the suspension is free hanging then that is not something you can expect the extended range of a shock to necessarily take up.
Try placing a block underneath and placing a bit of weight on the suspension on that side.

[Bub]

Yes, I tried compressing the spring, does not work. Assembling the second side now and will drop the vehicle on the wheels and see what happens. Can’t really think of anything else at the moment.

Thanks for the replies!

[Bub]

One side done, the other is tiny little bit short. Grr.

[Arty]

It would help if you provided the exact make, model & year of the vehicle as well as a photo of the assembly and a close-up of the exact problem. And a comparison shot of the side that worked.

I had a similar sounding problem assembling 5100s into coilover struts that had HD springs. New Moog upper control arms too, but those are not directly connected to the towers in my vehicle. From memory I think I had to recompress a spring a little to turn the center top nut on properly. It was snug, but not seated like the other side. Both sides have to be set exactly the same, and seated exactly the same. There was also a new rubber bushing involved, but I doubt it was snagging on anything. Weird thing was, I had already replaced the shocks a couple of times in past years without any similar problem.

I wouldn't trim, bend, shim, or modify anything to fit.

[Bub]

Hey Arty,

It is a V6 4Runner.

It appears I won! It is not the first time I was doing a job like this but had never done it on this or same make vehicle before and this is the first time I ran into this issue. There just would not be enough thread for the nut to catch regardless of what I did.

I put everything together on both sides and put the vehicle back on the wheels on the ground. That did not work either, but at least the very end of the thread was visible at this point. What I ended up doing was jacking up one side of the vehicle as much as I could and was able to put a nut on the shock on the opposite side. I did the same for the other side and that did not work quite as well. Well the other side worked barely too. I ended up throwing the upper bushing into hot water like C2C3PO suggested, throwing an extra couple of inches under the jack and lifting the side even higher. My cousin was helping me out, so after all the above was done, he tried squeezing the bushing as much as he could and I was able to just barely catch some thread. So it worked out in the end, but took forever. The difference between the two sides was probably merely a millimeter or two for whatever reason, but it was very difficult to make it work.

I was planning to replace the rear today as well, but it did not work out because one of the shocks arrived without the bushings and washers in the box. Good thing I looked inside the box before cutting the old shock. I emailed Rockauto asking them to send me the missing parts, so hopefully that is what they will do asap. Mailing the perfectly normal shock because some rubbers and washers are missing is not really the best option in my view.

Thanks for the help, guys!

[Little red riding hood]

Coil spring? I've found the easiest way to deal with them is to put the spring in a vise and compress it a good bit, then wrap a few turns of wire around a couple coils in a few different places, and this will give you all the room you can wish for, then, after you've assembled it, just cut the wire and you're done.

[Arty]

Originally Posted by Little red riding hood

Coil spring? I've found the easiest way to deal with them is to put the spring in a vise and compress it a good bit, then wrap a few turns of wire around a couple coils in a few different places, and this will give you all the room you can wish for, then, after you've assembled it, just cut the wire and you're done.

I'd only use spring compressors explicitly made for coil springs. Especially for larger truck coils. If a big coil spring breaks loose out of your vice or clamp or wire or whatever, you could lose an arm real quick or even your life. There is some serious energy stored in there.

I've got two pair of compressors, each threaded compressor shank is approx one inch thick. If I have a bit of time, I use both and put them 90 degrees apart and cinch down evenly, about 1/4 inch at a time. Never use power tools on those.
https://www.princessauto.com/en/deta...or/A-p8380735e