Molecular--Bob Posted December 21, 2006 Share Posted December 21, 2006 The rear suspension on my car is getting pretty sloppy, as it's 15 years old and none of the bushes have been changed i am accumulating parts for the job. It is a 1990 de-dion chassis, so it has the two lateral links, rather than an A-frame, and it has a narrow butress on the tube itself. Anyone know which bush or bushes i need to order for the tube. It looks like two seperate parts, or it might just be very broken. I already have two new trailing arms, but am not sure that they are the correct part as they don,t look like the part they are replacing, they lack the indentations on the current cars arms. The length and offsets seem OK, but are there clearance problems if the indentations are missing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duffym Posted December 21, 2006 Share Posted December 21, 2006 M-B I also have an early De-Dion from 1990. I rang caterham up an ordered new A-frame bushes and new radius arm bushes. these look exactly like the ones fro any De-Dion up to the big change in 1996? The bushes in the front of the links and the both ends of the radius arms will need to be fitted with a press but they are worth doing The A-frame bush is separate for each side so its 2 parts I just removed and cleaned and painted my existing arms so cant help you on the indentations. The rear end was much tighter 😳 mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Molecular--Bob Posted December 21, 2006 Author Share Posted December 21, 2006 Cheers Mark. I have bought new radius arms with bushes installed (assuming these are the correct part), so i will just need the bushes for the diagonal links. Are the bushes in the de-dion end press fit or can they be DIY'ed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DohNut Posted December 21, 2006 Share Posted December 21, 2006 I think you will find the bushes for the rear A-frame are a truncated cone. A metal inner which blends into a metal end peice. No metal on the bit that touches the A-frame. Caterham do this type of bush in two lengths/heights. However knackered the rubber the length of the inner should give you a pretty good idea of the length it should be. As an aside - if you have the Aframe that is not an A and is just two seperate / without the /_ then you may be able to get a later aframe. the tie bar was added-/reintroduced to remove slop in the rear end. Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Molecular--Bob Posted December 21, 2006 Author Share Posted December 21, 2006 Bought what i was told was the right A-frame to replace the single diagonal links, It wasn't. May try again if one that fits does exist as they are pretty scaby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duffym Posted December 21, 2006 Share Posted December 21, 2006 the bushes on the de-Dion end are a press fit but you do need a thinwall socket to undo the bolt. I think from looking at another car from 1992 that the first a frame might fit but the later one wont. My arms were scabby but i cleaned them up in a vice using a wire brush and then coated them with POR15. 😳 caterham should still be able to send the right bits if you tell them the age of the car. Thats what I did for the bushes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHRIS CLARK Posted December 22, 2006 Share Posted December 22, 2006 Duffym Same sort of problem as you on my '93 car. POR15 certainly better than Hammerite. I did one arm in each to test the durability and the POR15 won hands down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now