40 replies to this topic

[Statler]

I've had a full set do EXACTLY the same thing.
They were instaled in the car, the car sat in the garage for 5yrs, & they ALL crumbled!

I've done a bit of poly pouring. I understand that it is possible to get a bad batch, where the poly isn't mixed correctly with the hardner. But i doubt that the offending company makes a complete set of torana bushes from the same pour.

I put it down to a crap product! I wont buy them again!

[orangeLJ]

Ive got nolathane bushes in nearly every location on the LJ and have for the last 5 years with no dramas.

The only rubber left is the steering coupling and the crossmember to rail.

Whack the rubber ones back in dude, I dont think it will make much difference in terms of "movement" or hamper any performance, so if they are still in good knick, then it wont hurt to use em.

[dudley]

g,day Bomber in my years as a suspension specialist i have seen this a few times .I am in the belief that it is a dud pack of bushes(its like they didnt put enough of something in the mould). i fitted a brand new set of nolathane brand bushes to castor bars on an old falcon and they crumbled to bits the very next day so we took them out and put another set in and they are still going to this day .They are getting hard to get but given the chance i would put rubber ones in mine if i could because nolathane ones are a little harsh and i suspect could lead to problems such as cracking or fatigue in the chassis and i dont think that handling is increased any great deal by using stiffer ones.

I agree robrenjus, unfortunately in this instance the pack was more than likely a dud 1 off and a tad too hard. I was surprised to see this story, given the fact that the car has not been used for a while. I believe that polyurethane (nolathane as trade name) was originally developed and introduced as material that has superior wear resistance qualities and lower friction properties as compared to rubber. Polyurethane is a mixture of various chemical materials, poured into a mould and allowed to set. By adding extra materials in the mix the hardness can be manufactured/ tailored to suit the various customer applications, such as from highly flexible to very hard, depending on its use, but nearly always hardly ever wears. Great for rear suspension and shackle bolts for example (low friction, high wear resistance).

In SA in 1990 I pioneered the use of this stuff in a railway track application that required the use of polyurethane insulation plates installed into railway track plate connections and rail anchoring on the main freight line. These components have been exposed to a least 200+ million gross tonnes of pounding rail freight traffic since install, and not to mention the harsh environment it was exposed to (stinking hot and very cold), the components were removed during track upgrade recently and were found to be as good as the day they were originally installed and can be re-used.

I guess I'm trying to reassure Bomber and others of its use, the varying hardness available and its applications. I have nolathane bushes on the lower control arms of my LC only at this stage.

Hope this helps.

[TerrA LX]

dudley, sounds like your rail application spent most of it's time in tension and not compression?
I would also assume that the rail mob had their own receiving end QA?

[LJ RB30]

I've had a full set do EXACTLY the same thing.
They were instaled in the car, the car sat in the garage for 5yrs, & they ALL crumbled!

I've done a bit of poly pouring. I understand that it is possible to get a bad batch, where the poly isn't mixed correctly with the hardner. But i doubt that the offending company makes a complete set of torana bushes from the same pour.

I put it down to a crap product! I wont buy them again!

^^^^^ I agree.

Had a few nolathaine bush crack & crumble. Will buy noltec or something else next time.

[dudley]

dudley, sounds like your rail application spent most of it's time in tension and not compression?
I would also assume that the rail mob had their own receiving end QA?

Thanks TerraLX, very good points you raised.

Yes, I think what I was trying to convey was that good quality nolathane should be able to endure the application in a Torry chassis mounting. I mean with the displaced weight of a LC/LJ Torry shared over the 4 chassis mounting points should be no more than say 300kg each just sitting in the shed, and say up to 600kg each under extreme or heavy cornering/driving ( I may be out a little on this but you get the idea).

From the the experiences I had in rail, the application was on trial at the time - going through the "type approval process". With no failures encountered and the 'no maintenance required' properties among the other QA tests over several years of the trial, the material was declared successful and is now used widespread. On the tension and compression point, I was highlighting the ability for the stuff to handle heavy weights and the constant pounding of freight trains over a small surface area without distorting the material with up to 25 tonnes per axle passing over it, and the rail movement (track stresses) in changing temperatures as the rail expanded and contracted, the components were always under some tension when there were no trains (the plates I mentioned are mounted under the rail joints as well as the side of the rail and so supporting the full weight of passing trains). A Torry weight shared at each mounting is therefore approximately 1/50th of the weight of a railway carriage's single axle. From my experiences with the stuff I believe it should handle this application in the Torry with ease.

Therefore I was surprised to find that for a car just sitting there for several years and no stress placed on the mountings (engine or no engine or no driving) and finding that the things have deteriorated in such a way, that it seems that a little too much hardener may have went in to the batch. Theres a guy here in Adelaide that makes anything in nolathane to the customers requirements/applications so long as you have a good part to make a good mould to work with. Making the mould is the most expensive exercise in the deal. The $64 question is - are they imported or made locally??

[Potta]

Dunno but the one's Bomber asked about have been in the car for 1 day after being on the shelf for 5 years....

[A9X]

Are they Pedders ????

[Toranavista]

Any chance they have been subject to UV light sometime in storage in the shed. eg late afternoon sunlight through a window etc.

Edited by Toranavista, 18 February 2010 - 06:43 PM.

[Statler]

Nolathane???........that's them!