chrisgixer Posted September 12, 2010 Report Share Posted September 12, 2010 Hi all, bushes on the vauxhall omega seem to be a topic of constant aggro on this car and on omegaowners.com, namely the infamous wishbone bushes plus the rear donut bushes holding rear sub fame to chassis. Polly bushes are available for these, but wondered if you guys have any experience or opinions on them as a general replacement on any car? Story is they give better control and are bullet proof in comparison to stock items, fit and forget, which I like the sound of, but given the omega is quiet and comfy i am concerned they may be a little harsh and vibey.... Any relevant comments appreciated. Cheers Chris Ps, hope this is the right section, first post on here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted September 12, 2010 Report Share Posted September 12, 2010 Hello Chris As we know there are historic issues with the wishbone bushings on the Omega, and this is why.... 1: A design fault by having the castor bushing fore of the camber anchor point 2: A oil filled bladder in the castor anchor point bushing 3: Non OEM wishbones do not have the oil bladder in the castor bushing hence the rapid failure rate The logical move it to use Polly's and we have fitted them a few times, the only downside is time? The first install we did took hours and since this was a learning curve for us we locked the install fee for the customer, the next time it took a similar time despite the knowledge gained before. In summary i would say Polly's are the way to go but the install fee will cost more than buying OEM wishbones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisgixer Posted September 12, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2010 Hello ChrisAs we know there are historic issues with the wishbone bushings on the Omega, and this is why.... 1: A design fault by having the castor bushing fore of the camber anchor point 2: A oil filled bladder in the castor anchor point bushing 3: Non OEM wishbones do not have the oil bladder in the castor bushing hence the rapid failure rate The logical move it to use Polly's and we have fitted them a few times, the only downside is time? The first install we did took hours and since this was a learning curve for us we locked the install fee for the customer, the next time it took a similar time despite the knowledge gained before. In summary i would say Polly's are the way to go but the install fee will cost more than buying OEM wishbones. There may have been progress in fitting Polly, may, I have no experience of them yet, in as much that members on oof have reported fitting the front Polly bush without removing the wishbone from the car. Simply undo the bolt, cut the rubber bush out and hack saw through the metal bush casing leaving wishbone bush hole clear. Story goes that the Polly bush is fitted by hand from the side, as you would, and just do the bolt back up. Personaly I think it should be a press fit or it will rotate in the wishbone itbseems to me....? They only supply the forward horizontal bush, and on that subject, what's the purpose of that bush re geometry and your description above? It takes a hammering under hard braking as I'm sure I don't need to tell you, so better control would help keep the car straight in "emergency" situations Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted September 12, 2010 Report Share Posted September 12, 2010 I have read the thread in OOF and although i've not commented it's not as straight forward as it reads.... In an ideal world the removal is as described but it's not an ideal world, so when things don't go to plan it gets real messy. My experience with non oem bushings was an upgrade to a BMW bushing not a Polly, the Polly's tend to be two part ( easy fit ) bushings that don't need pressing in. The purpose for the bushing is to act as a buffer absorbing road perturbations in the unsprung chassis, in layman's terms absorbing energy aft and transversely, vertical transitions are held within the camber bushing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisgixer Posted September 12, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2010 I have read the thread in OOF and although i've not commented it's not as straight forward as it reads.... In an ideal world the removal is as described but it's not an ideal world, so when things don't go to plan it gets real messy. My experience with non oem bushings was an upgrade to a BMW bushing not a Polly, the Polly's tend to be two part ( easy fit ) bushings that don't need pressing in. The purpose for the bushing is to act as a buffer absorbing road perturbations in the unsprung chassis, in layman's terms absorbing energy aft and transversely, vertical transitions are held within the camber bushing. Ok worth pursuing, I'm thinking a plan would be to fit rear "donut" chassis bushes on the rear subframe, and if the ride and vibes are ok i'll fit the fronts too. Just fitted new lemforder wishbones, which do not feel as stable as the bushes you mention pressing previously. Any thoughts on the ride though? How do they feel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted September 12, 2010 Report Share Posted September 12, 2010 Historically the ride is harsh on Polly's but the suspension on the Omega is soooo fluid i doubt if you would notice the difference. Only downside is maintenance, sometimes they squeak so you need to grease them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
razzo Posted December 22, 2010 Report Share Posted December 22, 2010 If the front bush was changed for poly, would it present problems by having the 2 bushes being of different material, ie front bush poly & rear bush standard, or would it be better to upgrade both bushes. Some say changing the rear bush could make the ride too harsh & cause too much vibration. I have shredded rear bushes at the moment & the car handles like a boat but i can get some poly bushes made up at reasonable cost Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted December 22, 2010 Report Share Posted December 22, 2010 A mixture of both would not be a problem, the rear horizontal bushing has very different duties to the front vertical bushing, i fail to see why changing the rear bushing will generate vibration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
e4tnu Posted May 20, 2011 Report Share Posted May 20, 2011 Just starting to get the dreaded squeak from one of my Urethane bush es on my rear ARB, does anyone know a decent Prothane Grease or simi lar product to cure it ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CIH Posted May 20, 2011 Report Share Posted May 20, 2011 superflex sell the grease IIRC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
e4tnu Posted May 20, 2011 Report Share Posted May 20, 2011 Cheers Bud, will check it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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