Practical Automotive Maintenance: Testing Bushes
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Testing Bushes
03.04
| 00:00 | You can spend all the money in the world on the best bushings for your car, but if they're not in great shape, it's not going to matter. |
| 00:06 | As we've already touched on, worn or damaged bushings are a real problem for any vehicle, but especially in high performance ones that are used for any type of aggressive driving. |
| 00:17 | The issue is, it's not always obvious that something's wrong with a bushing just from driving feel alone, particularly because they generally don't suddenly go from perfect to destroyed in an instant, but instead degrade over time, so it can be hard to notice the bushing's gradual decline. |
| 00:33 | This means that thorough testing and checking of these components and regular service intervals is crucial. |
| 00:39 | So, what signs of wear and damage should we be looking for when carrying out an inspection? First let's start with the obvious signs that we can notice when driving the car. |
| 00:48 | The most common and easily recognisable indicator of a bushing problem is noise, specifically, clunking or knocking from the suspension or steering, especially over bumps. |
| 00:58 | We might also notice excessive vibration or harshness felt inside the cabin, or loose, imprecise and inconsistent steering and handling feel. |
| 01:07 | This often manifests as twitchy or darty behaviour under brakes due to the wheel toe changing, particularly on the rear axle. |
| 01:14 | Before even getting the car up on a hoist for a look, uneven tyre wear can also be an indicator of a bushing issue. |
| 01:21 | If a wheel alignment doesn't fix the issue and the alignment can't be corrected, provided we haven't been launching off any ripple strips recently and bending parts, there's a good chance that we're dealing with a worn or damaged bushing. |
| 01:34 | Now, it's time to get the vehicle up in the air and see what we're dealing with. |
| 01:37 | This means going through every bush underneath the vehicle from front to back, carefully checking each for warning signs as we go. |
| 01:45 | This could mean visible cracks, tears, splitting or deformation of the bushing material, especially in the case of rubber products. |
| 01:51 | When it comes to polyurethane products, we also sometimes find that they tend to become brittle and crumble, so look carefully for signs of degradation. |
| 01:59 | Problems might not always be visually obvious though, so it's important to use a lever, like a pry bar for example, to gently manipulate the connected components looking for excessive movement, which often indicates worn bushings. |
| 02:13 | Defining excessive can be a little tricky as it's going to depend on the individual application. |
| 02:19 | If we're using a pry bar and getting anything more than 3-4mm of movement, this could definitely indicate a problem. |
| 02:26 | We're going to discuss the replacement process in the coming module, but first let's quickly summarise what we've learnt. |
| 02:32 | Worn or damaged bushings can seriously affect a car's performance and handling, especially in high performance or aggressively driven vehicles. |
| 02:40 | Yet they're not always easy to detect from driving feel alone. |
| 02:44 | Common signs of bushing issues include clunking or knocking noises, excessive vibration, vague steering and uneven tyre wear, or an unfixable wheel alignment issue. |
| 02:54 | A thorough inspection involves lifting the car and checking every bushing for cracks, tears, deformation or brittleness. |
