MudHippy

I FINALLY FOUND THEM!!!!!!

http://www.custommachiningusa.com/Specialty_Items.html

Check these out, a little spendy (they should be bronze, I hope) but I'll be buying my kit on monday. Just got my idler arm braced, only to find that the bushings wear 10x faster. I was gonna try riggin' something like the ones shown here. These guys aren't too far from me, I might drive up and get them. I'll let you guys know how the install goes. And keep you posted on the product performance.

YotaJunky

subscribed. I'm very interested in knowing what you think.

Troy

slosurfer

subscribing, I was just getting ready to rebuild mine and was thinking of having some machined. Very interested in these!

Ganoid

I just had my front drive shaft extended/balanced by these guys this morning. Being Saturday I got to deal with the owner (who is retired). They do good work for a reasonable price and he is a very sharp fellow especially if you get him talking about Motors/HP and efficiency. You can learn a lot or just fill in some gaps in your knowledge by simply having an in depth conversation with the fellow. They did a great job on the D-shaft and it was a same day deal to boot. They could be difficult to find so make sure you take the number with you in case you need to call for directions.

leebee

that figures! i just finished installing my rebuilt idler and now i find this little gem, sigh. i did make one small addition to the idler, a grease zerk, makes it a little less messy when loading with the mp grease.

nice find, hope it helps others.

lee

NC-B17A

cool find

mt_goat

The bushings sound great, but I'm more interested in that EVANS NPG+ Waterless Coolant they have on their site.

chimmike

that evans coolant is good stuff.

mt_goat

Thanks, just so I don't hijack this thread, here's a new thread about it:
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/show...3#post50520093

slosurfer

Do you know if these are oil impregnated bronze or brass?

914runner

Dang, they arent too far from me either! Maybe Ill pick up a set too.

91TPU

mudhippy, keep us posted as i am going to purchase a used one a rebuild it soon and this would be great to go with the downey brace...

MudHippy

I'll find out tomorrow. Didn't bother callin' on the weekend, though I'm as anxious to find out as anybody. It looks as if there's more to the kit than just the yellow metal(bronze/brass) bushings. Lubrication is one of my first concerns, next would be the hardness of that mystery metal. Maybe they'll back that "permanent fix" comment up, and replace them if I wreck 'em. They mention using a bronze alloy on there somewhere, I think they're valve guides(?). Anyway they make them out of Manganese Bronze, I don't know what that means. Nor do I know the difference between brass and bronze, my geuss is bronze is harder. Brass, I do know, is ductile and maleable(soft) so maybe not the best for these purposes, purely speculation.

slosurfer

Looks like the other things in the kit are a drill bit, tap, and grease zerk.

MudHippy

Confirmed. That and the 2 manganese bronze bushings is all the kit involves. I just spoke to the guy @ Custom Machining, he also stated that they would probably last the life of my vehicle. I'll take that challenge, leaving to get them within the hour.

I did a little research on manganese bronze. It's bronze with a small % of manganese added to harden it. Supposed to be ideal for use as the type of part we're talkin'. Recommended for industrial applications where durability is a prime concern. Slow speed bearings/bushings were on the list of uses.

ewong

thread drift... think they will make up control arm bushings out of this stuff - or is it to soft...

MudHippy

I'll ask if he thinks it could be done. I like the idea, who knows? They'd need lubed too, but that's not impossible, I wouldn't think.

Here's a brief description of manganese bronze and it's uses.
http://www.anchorbronze.com/863castmanganesebronze.htm

Here's the technical specs.
http://www.anchorbronze.com/c86300.htm

MudHippy

O.K. folks, here it be.


The instructions are pretty self-explainatory. He said he couldn't find them when I picked the kit up today. I told him that's not a problem, been through many sets of plastic bushings and drillin' and tappin' a hole is within my mechanical abilities. He recommended using a washer under the bottom bushing, similar to the one on the top of the upper bushing, to help keep the grease in. I may try that, I'm not sure how much more I can squeeze in with the brace taking up some space on the shaft now. He also said to tap the hole where you please, then fill the housing with mp grease till it oozes out of both bushings. Well, install time!

slosurfer

It will be interesting to see what years of idler arms these fit, because if I remember right there is a slight size difference between the different years.

MudHippy

I asked, he said it wasn't a good idea, but he would make them if you wish. He recommended going with polyurethane, as the manganese bronze would provide a bone-jarring ride.