Trailing Arm Noise

Wejaz28

Wejaz28

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Have a 2 seat, mid engine car. Had new trailing arms made before last season(7 trips). I've noticed a clanking sound which seems to be coming from the pass side trailing arm, Upon inspection, I noticed that there is space between the busing and tabs on both sides of the bushings between the tabs. There is also a slight bit of play in the arms(took shock off to unload).  

I have checked shocks, hubs and axles, which all seem fine.

My question is, What is normal play, and can the noise be eliminated?

Thanks, Kevin

Arm Bushing.jpg

 
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There should not be any space between the bushing and the tabs. The crush sleeve should also fit snugly between your mounts so the through bolt can clamp the sleeve in place between the two mounting tabs. 

 
I would insert a washer to take up the space. Even if tight it would be ok.

 
Best to buy/make bushings with the correct shoulder height to fix your issue. It is extremely important to make sure your crush sleeves are the correct length. If not, you will create problems you do not want to have. 😀

 
zero play. any play will allow the bolts to elongate the holes and cause way more problems. make sure those suckers are tight. 

 
Thanks for help guys.. Can't seem to find bushings that have wider shoulders . If I narrow the Crush sleeve, I'm afraid the tabs would be bent in at an angle, creating a different problem   I'll probably insert a washer in there for now until I can find a wider shouldered bushing.

 
I also give them bushings a healthy coat of silicone grease in case they decide to stark squeaking.

 
Should be zero play. 
Whoever made your bushings made the sleeves too short to fit between the tabs. 
the sleeves are what takes up the space. 
A little gap in the Delrin is fine. 
 

 
I have not seen “off the shelf” bushings and sleeves. Every person I have used to do bushings always has to custom make them. 

 
Tractor Supply has "machine bushings" that are very thin and might work for you to take up the slop. As far as the crush sleeve, if you can get some measurements I can help you out, although I am south of Tucson and will be out of town for ten days.

 
2 options: additional spacer between the bushing and the mount, or additional spacer inside the arm to make the bushing wider. 

Outside:

What’s the OD of the crush sleeve and how wide is the remaining gap?

Inside:

Above, plus the ID of the trailing arm. 

 
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So I cut off a piece of an old bushing and ground it down to the right thickness. I placed it between the bushings inside the tube. It was a nice snug fit. 

Just a side note,,,,The crush sleeve was always a solid fit. It did not have any movement between tabs when tightened up. 

Hopefully that was the noise I was hearing.

Thanks to all for the help,, Kevin

 
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