Re-Manufactured - Lower Inner Wishbone Bushes - H82AG5A638AA 9099072

A cross reference list of what parts came from where and what do you do if you need one.
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Justin Smith
Posts: 518
Joined: Sun Mar 08, 2009 11:15 pm

Re-Manufactured - Lower Inner Wishbone Bushes - H82AG5A638AA 9099072

Post by Justin Smith »

Dear All,

Last year my car nearly failed the MOT as there was play in the rear nearside suspension.

In the spring this year I took the rear suspension apart to try and find the problem and as I did so one of the rear inner wishbone bushes fell out of the wishbone - Problem found !!

The solution was not so easy on my road car as it's not a simple rose joint, it's a metalastic bush and as you can imagine, Ford no longer service it, in fact, they couldn't even find a record that it ever existed.

The part number is H82AG5A638AA with a FINIS of 9099072.

The H at the start shows it is a motorsport part with 82 giving the year that the bush was used in application, 1982.

AG is a bit unusual, in fact my bush actually had AB on it not AG. AB would be an Escort and we think from many emails with clever people that AG means a German varient of Escort.

Armed with that information I think it was probably a bush from an RS1600i but I cannot be sure.

I bought a basic 1982 Escort bush from a motorfactors to check sizes and it is the right dimensions but as you can imagine, not up to the job for an RS200 so there was only 1 option.... have some made.

I went over to Powerflex and paid them to make some replacement bushes with an inner metal sleeve and 3 months later I have the car back together and can report that it all seems to work OK.

I thought I would post my findings here as I am sure someone else will come across this problem as the rubber in all our road bushes starts to degrade.
Justin Smith
Posts: 518
Joined: Sun Mar 08, 2009 11:15 pm

Re: Re-Manufactured - Lower Inner Wishbone Bushes - H82AG5A638AA 9099072

Post by Justin Smith »

First off, this is what a road cars lower wishbone looks like once it is off.

Getting it off is not that hard, just unbolt it all, support the upright with a ratchet strap and use a soft hammer with some penetrating oil to free it.

If you click on the image you'll get a larger version you can see both standard bushes are still fitted...
DSC00067.JPG
Justin Smith
Posts: 518
Joined: Sun Mar 08, 2009 11:15 pm

Re: Re-Manufactured - Lower Inner Wishbone Bushes - H82AG5A638AA 9099072

Post by Justin Smith »

To get these bushes out you are going to need a press, well I did (thanks Geoff) and it took nearly 3 TON to shift them.

You need to push them from the inside of the arm outwards - NOT the other way round. The reason is that the inside diameter of the bush housing is not the same for it's whole width, is has been machined out inside which means one half of the internal dimensions of the wishbone are larger than the other.

The larger side is on the inside so you need to push from the larger side to the smaller side to make it easier for yourself. That means, push the bush towards the "outside" of the arm in the direction of the red arrow below.

Finally, you MUST support the wishbone with a suitable cup on the other side else the end WILL bend as I found out which caused us grief later trying to bend it back - 3 TONS will bend this wishbone unless you use a sleeve to take the pressure !!!

Most presses will be hard to get the wishbone in which lends itself towards simply pushing it the other way round but by using a sleeve to push down on the outer rim of the arm with a cup the other side pushing the inside towards the outside and you will have it sorted.
xCopy of DSC00068.JPG
Justin Smith
Posts: 518
Joined: Sun Mar 08, 2009 11:15 pm

Re: Re-Manufactured - Lower Inner Wishbone Bushes - H82AG5A638AA 9099072

Post by Justin Smith »

Once they are out they will look a little like the below image.

Two of the 4 bushes were in so tight we had to get the blow torch on them before they would start to move. This seemed ironic given that one simply "fell" out when I took it off the car (more about the reason for that later).
DSC00069.JPG
Justin Smith
Posts: 518
Joined: Sun Mar 08, 2009 11:15 pm

Re: Re-Manufactured - Lower Inner Wishbone Bushes - H82AG5A638AA 9099072

Post by Justin Smith »

So, once the arm was stripped of it's bushes I sent it away to be powder coated and then set about re-fitting the new bushes.

Sadly, having gone through all my SD cards I cannot find the pictures I took so you will have to make do with one I have grabbed off the internet to demonstrate my point, each set generally look like this below....
pff69-102_impreza_silentbloky_sport.jpg
Note:

The ones I have had made are black in colour and are made of Polyurethane NOT rubber nor nylon.

The RS200 ones are slightly deeper than these in the picture, they just about touch in the middle when pushed in from either side.

The bushes have been made with a Shore rating of A 95 so they should be stiff enough for fast road or track days without the pain of nylon or other solid bushes.

The bushes come with a metal sleeve the same as in the picture so you simply use the grease to lube it all up - push in the new bushes from each side (one I have made bigger than the other to take up the machined out space) and then push the metal tube through the middle.

If you have your arms powder coated as I did you will find that the thickness of the coating means you need to sand the bush down a little to keep it's overall width correct else it wont fit !
Justin Smith
Posts: 518
Joined: Sun Mar 08, 2009 11:15 pm

Re: Re-Manufactured - Lower Inner Wishbone Bushes - H82AG5A638AA 9099072

Post by Justin Smith »

Finally you need to re-fit the lower wishbone !

These bushes have been made EXACTLY the same width as the original bush so they will not just slide right in, I had to file a very small chamfer on the 4 leading edges first and with some muscle, grease and a soft hammer, slowly work them into place.

Now this is where I found an issue with my car and why one of the original bushes fell out.

On the left hand (passenger) side of my car, the chassis hole for these to slide into that is nearest the front of the car is 1/8th of a inch too narrow compared to the other 3 slots ! - This meant I have to take the tube out and grind a little off the end to make it fit. I then also had to use a disc sander to take the same amount off each side of rubber bush face.

I guess the jig for the car was slightly off when mine was made so I am just warning you in case you have the same problem - if you bend the arm pushing the bush out you will face the same problem with it not fitting as I have spec'd no pre-planned tolerance into the bush - I figured it was better to have too much rubber there than not enough !

So, if you need some lower inner wishbone bushes for your car then drop me an email (justin.smith@rs200.org) and you can paypal me over some money and i'll have a set made for you. You cannot go direct to Powerflex as I own the tool to make them (it cost me £270 as I had to make two tools to cover the two sizes).

As for the actual bushes, to try and get the £270 tooling costs back I'm going to put a little bit on the price of each set so they will cost you £140 which, having had a quick browse around the internet, seems to be pretty much on par with what dealers are selling powerflex bush sets for cosworths etc.

Hope this helps someone :) - Justin
Justin Smith
Posts: 518
Joined: Sun Mar 08, 2009 11:15 pm

Re: Re-Manufactured - Lower Inner Wishbone Bushes - H82AG5A638AA 9099072

Post by Justin Smith »

I think I found my old images

Justin Smith
Posts: 518
Joined: Sun Mar 08, 2009 11:15 pm

Re: Re-Manufactured - Lower Inner Wishbone Bushes - H82AG5A638AA 9099072

Post by Justin Smith »

2020 Update:

I've just had a set made up for an owner and Powerflex were able to find all my old paperwork and parts needed.

Prices have gone up sadly, 1 set costs me £225.

If we made a few up I am sure the price would come down but that's the thing with these bespoke parts they are expensive to make in small quantities.
Justin Smith
Posts: 518
Joined: Sun Mar 08, 2009 11:15 pm

Re: Re-Manufactured - Lower Inner Wishbone Bushes - H82AG5A638AA 9099072

Post by Justin Smith »

2022 - Update
I have ordered 2 more sets today, prices up as usual but still not too bad.
Now costing £250 plus shipping if you need a set.
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