OEM soft rubber bushings

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thegermanfan
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OEM soft rubber bushings

Post by thegermanfan »

I consider making my own rubber bushings for the Mark IV rear axle. The rear upper rear control arm bushings for instance are nowhere to be found on this earth. Yet rubber ages with time and thus mandates replacement at some point. I have made some inquiries about mould cost and such and have come to the conclusion, that I need a production run of maybe 50 or 100 sets to spread the initial costs at least somewhat. A profit is very unlikely. Example: The rubber buffers on the endlinks of the rear sway bar would come in at about 70$ per axle. The bushings on the other end of the endlinks would be extra! So its quite expensive and probably not too many potential customers. Most would just go for poly bushings and accept the reduced comfort and safety. I am torn - poly bushings are cheaper to remanufacture because tooling and casting is much easier. But I would like the car to ride and handle like new and not stiffen it up. Am I alone with that? I really would like to invest into tooling for the parts not available anymore, but on the other hand don't want to invest several thousands just for some rubber parts for just one car. So maybe the reasonable investment will be just casting my own poly bushings and be done.
1974 Lincoln Mark IV -triple black-
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Re: OEM soft rubber bushings

Post by action »

I am not that familiar with the bushings you seek.
Are there universal poly bushings that are available now?

If yes and they are kind of low cost why not install and see how they preform.


Action
Phoenix - Yeah, it's hot, however it's a dry heat
2006 Lincoln Navigator Limited 5.4l 3V
1996 Lincoln Mark VIII 2DR Coupe Diamond Anniversary 4.6l DOHC, 4R70W, 3.07
1970 Continental Mark III Triple Black 460 4v, C6, 2.80 (Used for Woodward Dream Cruise or just generally stored in Michigan)
1966 Lincoln Continental 4DR Convertible 462 4v, C6, 3.00
1966 Mercury Park Lane 4DR Breezeway 410 4v, C6, 2.80
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Re: OEM soft rubber bushings

Post by action »

And it looks like you are outside of the US

Rock Auto has Rear lower

O'Reillys has both rear upper and lower

Action
Phoenix - Yeah, it's hot, however it's a dry heat
2006 Lincoln Navigator Limited 5.4l 3V
1996 Lincoln Mark VIII 2DR Coupe Diamond Anniversary 4.6l DOHC, 4R70W, 3.07
1970 Continental Mark III Triple Black 460 4v, C6, 2.80 (Used for Woodward Dream Cruise or just generally stored in Michigan)
1966 Lincoln Continental 4DR Convertible 462 4v, C6, 3.00
1966 Mercury Park Lane 4DR Breezeway 410 4v, C6, 2.80
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thegermanfan
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Re: OEM soft rubber bushings

Post by thegermanfan »

outside the US does not mean one is living on the moon.

Rear lower bushings are available, but upper rear are not. O'Reillys does not have the upper bushings in stock - no one has. O'Reillys has them still in their product listing, but "out of stock". These bushings have seemingly disappeared years ago. Nobody makes them anymore.

The rear sway bar bushings seem to never have existed. Most people seemingly just use stiff polys then and hope for improved handling, while the opposite is true. The relatively lightly loaded rear axle is not suited for a stiffer sway bar. Unless the front swar bar is beefed up considerably, the car would increase its tendency to break loose the rear end for no good reason.
1974 Lincoln Mark IV -triple black-
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Re: OEM soft rubber bushings

Post by action »

All I posted was it appears you are outside the US. You don't have to make up that I said anything about outer space!

Mark IV had a rear stabilizer bar. It was different for different years. And may have been optional based on suspension package. (Towing or HD or some other arrangement) I am looking for a donor to add a rear bar on my Mark III. Here is data from the MPC that I have saved some time ago.

Stabilizer bar*, rear Mark IV 73/74 5/8”( D5SZ-5A772- A) 75/76 ¾” (D5SZ-5A772- A)

These are T-Bird numbers which makes sense as the Mark Series is based on the Bird platform.


As to rear axle control arm bushings - I would guess the rear suspension is the same for a few other car lines. Which would be a MPC look up for a time when I have access to that. (Unless you have one) It seems to me that Ford would have used the same control arms and bushings for a number of car lines. And maybe not because Ford did some strange things. If the bushings are the same in other car lines and the aftermarket only listed a popular model that can be a plan. The flip side is if the busing fit a number of models and the after market does not reproduce one, then making a batch may be more attractive.

The other way is universal based on dimension. Have the dimension, go searching. Because if the bushing is available in a universal part, selling a small batch is not going to yield a good return.

Action
Phoenix - Yeah, it's hot, however it's a dry heat
2006 Lincoln Navigator Limited 5.4l 3V
1996 Lincoln Mark VIII 2DR Coupe Diamond Anniversary 4.6l DOHC, 4R70W, 3.07
1970 Continental Mark III Triple Black 460 4v, C6, 2.80 (Used for Woodward Dream Cruise or just generally stored in Michigan)
1966 Lincoln Continental 4DR Convertible 462 4v, C6, 3.00
1966 Mercury Park Lane 4DR Breezeway 410 4v, C6, 2.80
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thegermanfan
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Re: OEM soft rubber bushings

Post by thegermanfan »

I should have put a smiley behind my first sentence. Apologies!
Unfortunately the MPC is not much of a help finding cross references to other period vehicles. The trailing arms on the rear axle are the only service parts according to the official parts catalog. Separate bushings are not listed for the rear axle of the Mark IV. You would have had to buy complete sets of arms at the Ford parts dealer. So these suspension bushings were aftermarket spares and cross reference for the obscure rear upper rear bushings is as follows:
Ford Elite 1975 - 1976
Ford Gran Torino 1972 - 1976
Ford LTD II 1977 - 1979
Ford Ranchero 1972 - 1979
Ford Thunderbird 1972 - 1979
Ford Torino 1972 - 1976
Lincoln Mark IV 1972 - 1976
Lincoln Mark V 1977 - 1979
Mercury Cougar 1974 - 1979
Mercury Montego 1974 - 1976
So this part has a pretty wide application, but still is out of stock since years.

The rear stabilizer for my '74 Mark IV is completely unknown to most parts dealers. The endlink bushings in question were used for Cougar and Montegos of the same period. The endlink donuts were used on Montegos only. Thats what my MPC lists. The sway bar to frame bushings are in theory not that special, but only used 73 and 74 on the Mark IV. Other years and models have differing part numbers. But maybe other similar parts may be substituted.
1974 Lincoln Mark IV -triple black-
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Re: OEM soft rubber bushings

Post by action »

Phoenix - Yeah, it's hot, however it's a dry heat
2006 Lincoln Navigator Limited 5.4l 3V
1996 Lincoln Mark VIII 2DR Coupe Diamond Anniversary 4.6l DOHC, 4R70W, 3.07
1970 Continental Mark III Triple Black 460 4v, C6, 2.80 (Used for Woodward Dream Cruise or just generally stored in Michigan)
1966 Lincoln Continental 4DR Convertible 462 4v, C6, 3.00
1966 Mercury Park Lane 4DR Breezeway 410 4v, C6, 2.80
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action
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Re: OEM soft rubber bushings

Post by action »

The part in the ebay listing is made by Centric. Here is their catalog
https://www.showmetheparts.com/centric/


The Centric part number listed is ASPD210610750626
I never trust a seller.

I have not looked up the part in the catalog. I will leave that up to you.
And there may be other interesting things to be found in this aftermarket company

Action
Phoenix - Yeah, it's hot, however it's a dry heat
2006 Lincoln Navigator Limited 5.4l 3V
1996 Lincoln Mark VIII 2DR Coupe Diamond Anniversary 4.6l DOHC, 4R70W, 3.07
1970 Continental Mark III Triple Black 460 4v, C6, 2.80 (Used for Woodward Dream Cruise or just generally stored in Michigan)
1966 Lincoln Continental 4DR Convertible 462 4v, C6, 3.00
1966 Mercury Park Lane 4DR Breezeway 410 4v, C6, 2.80
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action
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Re: OEM soft rubber bushings

Post by action »

Here is another rear upper from Centric with a different #
https://www.ebay.com/itm/393459379562?f ... SwllJg-hHI

And another
https://www.ebay.com/itm/184761318812?f ... SwnFZgdLGV

And what I was looking for was all 4 rear upper control arm bushings
https://www.ebay.com/itm/223789967140?f ... SwN4Zf9DsF

Action
Phoenix - Yeah, it's hot, however it's a dry heat
2006 Lincoln Navigator Limited 5.4l 3V
1996 Lincoln Mark VIII 2DR Coupe Diamond Anniversary 4.6l DOHC, 4R70W, 3.07
1970 Continental Mark III Triple Black 460 4v, C6, 2.80 (Used for Woodward Dream Cruise or just generally stored in Michigan)
1966 Lincoln Continental 4DR Convertible 462 4v, C6, 3.00
1966 Mercury Park Lane 4DR Breezeway 410 4v, C6, 2.80
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thegermanfan
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Posts: 448
Joined: Tue Nov 14, 2006 1:41 pm
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Re: OEM soft rubber bushings

Post by thegermanfan »

Thanks action! I am aware of the rear upper forward bushings. Unfortunately the rear upper rear bushings are different and (as stated before) nowhere to be found. This item really is not existant anymore. The quad set you have found is also only including the rear upper forward bushings. :(
Since even on this quite active forum, nobody seems THAT much interested in OEM replacement bushings, I am probably on my own.
Somewhere else in this forum I have read a complaint about motor mounts at 175$ beeing way to expensive. :? The cost of tooling generally seems to get underestimated. So since the demand for rubber suspension parts seems very low, tooling will be too expensive for me if I only have the chance to sell a dozen parts over the next 1...2 years. I will have to go for polyurethane bushings. :( Still better than deteriorating rubber 40+ years old.
1974 Lincoln Mark IV -triple black-
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Re: OEM soft rubber bushings

Post by action »

I believe that is your best plan of action.

On somewhat of a similar topic, a number of years ago I looked into manufacturing a jack clamp. This is an all metal piece that is bent a few times and has a hole in it. Used on many Ford and Mercury vehicles of the 1960s. (Like hundreds of different models) At a market retail price at the time of somewhere in the $50 category. I thought I was going to net about $20 on a $50 sale. Which I thought at the time would have been pretty good. Except I had to invest about $1000 for 100 pieces up front. (unpainted) Doing the math of $20 net into $1000 cost my break even was 50 units. I had a hard time believing I would sell 50 in a couple of years. And I had zero experience (still do) in selling that kind of thing.

It fascinates me but not enough to make the investment. And I have a far better understanding of what risk a retailer has in making reproduction parts and selling. Not to mention ....... getting supply, Or what is the turn time? Do I have to stock inventory, is the part exact enough to make it in the market place? and other after sale concerns.

Action
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Phoenix - Yeah, it's hot, however it's a dry heat
2006 Lincoln Navigator Limited 5.4l 3V
1996 Lincoln Mark VIII 2DR Coupe Diamond Anniversary 4.6l DOHC, 4R70W, 3.07
1970 Continental Mark III Triple Black 460 4v, C6, 2.80 (Used for Woodward Dream Cruise or just generally stored in Michigan)
1966 Lincoln Continental 4DR Convertible 462 4v, C6, 3.00
1966 Mercury Park Lane 4DR Breezeway 410 4v, C6, 2.80
User avatar
action
LCOC Regional Director
Posts: 5221
Joined: Mon Jun 09, 2003 1:01 am
Location: Phoenix, Arizona 85008
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Re: OEM soft rubber bushings

Post by action »

duplicate
Phoenix - Yeah, it's hot, however it's a dry heat
2006 Lincoln Navigator Limited 5.4l 3V
1996 Lincoln Mark VIII 2DR Coupe Diamond Anniversary 4.6l DOHC, 4R70W, 3.07
1970 Continental Mark III Triple Black 460 4v, C6, 2.80 (Used for Woodward Dream Cruise or just generally stored in Michigan)
1966 Lincoln Continental 4DR Convertible 462 4v, C6, 3.00
1966 Mercury Park Lane 4DR Breezeway 410 4v, C6, 2.80
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