Blue Print Radius Arm Bushes

I have changed three of my Radius Arms to second hand ones with good bushes in to save the faff of having to press bushes in and out and they cost the same as new bushes from RhinoRay would have done with the postage included (£50) and in some cases cheaper!

But I have the last one to do and the bushes really are past it now. It's a front one, so something that could possibly contribute to death wobble, which I don't really have (touching every bit of wood around me) but I have a little vibration between 36MPH and 40MPH that is irritating me.

I have contacted RhinoRay about his and as mentioned above, 3 bushes on my doorstep will cost £50.00.

I spoke with Darren at KAP and he told me RhinoRay's are not genuine and don't last long - although I thought they were but do wonder at only £15.00 per bush.

I then put in a bit of Google time whilst laying out on a trampoline in the sun with my phone and found that ADL Blue Print do them and they're pretty cheap too! £10 + VAT = £11.75 each!

I was a bit confused by the website that was selling them so took the part numbers to my friendly local motor factors who do Blue Print stuff and found out what they are all about:

Part No: ADK88008 fit to the axle end of both front and rear axles.

Part No: ADK88007 fits to the chassis end on the front arms.

Part No: ADK88006 fits to the chassis end on the rear arms.

I can only think that the difference in part no's is due to the bushes being made of different compounds of rubber.

I have ordered up enough for the front arm I need to replace the bushes on.

I then went home and took the worn bushes out of an old front arm and found whilst doing so that the bush on the chassis end of the arm was far less worn.

The tube in the centre was still in well rather than the others that pushed out with my fingers and it took alot more efforts to get the rubber out of the bush.

This confirmed to me the differing compounds.

I should get them next week and will push them into the arm and swop it over. I'll then let you know in a year or so how the Blue Print bushes seem to be fairing compared to the OE ones in the other 3 arms, albeit they are used already. The Blue Print ones might not last long!

Interestingly, my motor factor could also supply a whole new arm with new bushes in it for the front for £60.00 + VAT = £70.50. Only £20.50 more than Rhinoray's bushes delivered.

This was not by Blue Print but by another company who's name I can not remember. I don't think that is too expensive if you really could not be bothered with the effort of getting bushes out and pushing new ones in but is not comparable to the £35.25 of the Blue Print bushes.

I don't know if I would want to trust a pattern arm with the type of offroading I do though. I've seen pictures of bent and snapped Suzuki radius arms and if pattern ones are not as strong I could end up in trouble. Mine have hit rock more than once! I can't stretch to uprated ones from ORA/D+G or KAP.

I have considered Polybushes (as discussed in a previous post)but SuperPro are rock solid and Polybush ones are expensive and potentially still will give far less articulation than standard bushes.

I hope this is of use to some of you!

Kirkynut

Fascinating, and informative stuff. Question: How do you know you have not just bought for a tenner exactly the same bush from Rhino Ray at 15 quid, ie, you say KAP reckon Rhino Ray's dont last long (but he is a rival, and running a business like the Rhino Ray etc).

What you dont know is how good the quality is - does it last as long as O.E. stuff you have replaced. Thats what we would like know...

Pity there isnt a decent poly-bush that meets general requirements. ie, not too hard, transmitting shock to somewhere else.

The problem with non suzuki ones (aftermarket) appears to be the solid design of them.

Suzuki bushes have slots cut into them and the workshop manual goes into detail about the correct angular position of the slots when replacing the bushes.



You can just see the slots here...



These slots appear to affect both the softness of the ride and the flex of the trailing arm. If you are buying replacments then I would check for these slots as this is probably the difference between a good ride and a rough one.

A quick look on on the Blueprint Trade website doesn't reveal a picture of the parts. However they are listing the front arms as ADK88617C but the picture of them is rubbish so you cannot see whether the bushes have slots.

Martin

I'm taking what Darren said with a pinch of salt for that reason.

You make a good point about the slots Martin. I'll see if the Blue Print ones have them when they arrive. Even if they don't I'll fit them and see how they perform in terms of flex and longevity as an experiment.

It's only 35 pounds so if they are no good it's not the end of the world. They have to be more flexible that poly bushes!

Blue Print stuff is usually good and close to the OE parts and often are OE without you knowing so we'll just have to see. I could save us all money or waste 35 pounds!

Kirkynut

We deal with Andrew Pages at work and we use a lot of ADL parts,as far as I'm aware they are an OE supplier for most Jap makes-correct me if I'm wrong!
Always good fitting parts though.

I've collected them now and as Martin suggested, they don't have slots so they are not OE. I'll see how flexible they are once they're pressed into the arm and let you know.