rear bushings

[rug]

So I started taking apart the rear to replace bushings...

A while back I bought a bushing kit for my 71 coupe. These are rubber only and I suspected you are supposed to reuse sleeves and such from the original parts. Only one little problem... Stock bushings are two-piece, replacements are one piece. That's not the issue though. The stock pieces have a sleeve were two spacers/washers fit on the end. After 50 years of service these had to be cut apart and will can not be reused again. Now I am trying to find replacements but none of the parts I find look like the originals. The sleeves are not machined for spacers/washers and none seem to sell these spacers/washers anyway. Not even if buying complete new trailing arms these pieces look the same.

So was there a change somewhere? Are the sleeves not the same any more? Are even the spacers/washers used with these new style sleeves? Even if I would buy sleeves or the complete trailing arms with bushings I would seem to be missing the spacer/washer which I have now on each side of the bushing.

I found a picture. part 4183260 is the sleeve. These are machined to take the washer 4183261. Replacement trailing arms and sleeves do not look like this

[18Fiatsandcounting]

I've replaced the upper and lower trailing arms (or the panhard rod), but I just replaced the whole arm rather than just the bushings. The price didn't seem that unreasonable. See for example:
https://www.midwest-bayless.com/Fiat-12 ... 8-new.aspx

There may have been a time when you could reuse the old arms and just replace the bushings, but that must have been quite some time ago. I don't know when the change occurred, but I do know that specialized tools are often needed to install new rubber bushings.

Sorry to not be of more help.

-Bryan

[rug]

Yes, but when you replaced the whole trailing arm, where did you get the washer in between the bushing and mount? (should there not be a part/washer between the bushing and the body of the car?) Or did you reuse the old one?

[18Fiatsandcounting]

Going by memory here, but my recollection is that the new trailing arms came with washers on each end, pressed onto the center metal bushing. So, no need to reuse the old washers.

-Bryan