To Poly bush or not

[Cluffy]

Our Golf just passed its MOT, so we embark on another lap around the sun with it for it's 18th birthday 💪

However, an advisory came back:

"Rear Suspension arm pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement bothsides trailing arm front bushes (5.3.4 (a) (i))"

The arms seem fairly easy* to remove and I should be able to get the bushes pressed out, whether the garage of @grogee's can manage it or our friendly localish mechanics can...

Powerflex seem easy to get hold of. Has anyone else done this on their chariot / VAG product (this chassis setup is common to Passat, Touran etc)? Seems pricey for two bushes at approx £80 but if it's worth it I'll likely do it!

Cheers in advance!

[grogee]

Powerflex ruined the ride on my Puma. But the upside is that I will never have to change them. Standard ones last about five years seemingly. But they are much more compliant. 

With hindsight I wish I'd drilled a couple of holes through the powerflex ones

[Schaefft]

That's the thing, poly bushes do last forever but compromise the ride. OEM bushes last the next 100k miles and maintain the ride IF they are available. Usually poly bushes are the only option on many older cars unfortunately.

[barefoot]

I had the bushes replaced on my Scirocco for its 36th birthday and went with stock. How harshly do you want it to ride? 

[sierraman]

I used to use them on the rear ARB drop links on the Mk2 Mondeos, they weren’t that much dearer but only needed doing once. It depends if it’s a bush that goes very often, then I’d do it but some bushes like trailing arm ones that last maybe 100k I wouldn’t bother, just get a good quality OE one. 

[sierraman]

2 minutes ago, Schaefft said:

That's the thing, poly bushes do last forever but compromise the ride. OEM bushes last the next 100k miles and maintain the ride IF they are available. Usually poly bushes are the only option on many older cars unfortunately.

You can pick the shore rating if it’s compliance you are looking for. 

[Schaefft]

1 minute ago, sierraman said:

You can pick the shore rating if it’s compliance you are looking for. 

I've done them on the rear swing arms on the E39, I think they only offered two variations at most.

[mat_the_cat]

I'd disagree with lasting forever - I'm having to redo the ones I changed on the Stellar just 20 short years ago! The other point is that they soften more at higher temperatures, so be cautious if using close to an exhaust manifold. 

[dozeydustman]

I would say it varies from car to car. They certainly sharpened up my Scimitars without being too detrimental to the ride but I went for ‘comfort’, which on that car were yellow coloured. There are some that aren’t so hard and unforgiving the ride isn’t jolting as a result.

Have a look at the manufacturer’s specs for the various grades and see if they have a comparison to standard for your car.

 

[Wgl2019]

Alternative brand which I think tend to be a bit more compliant than some ....

https://psbushings.co.uk/

[Cluffy]

1 hour ago, Schaefft said:

That's the thing, poly bushes do last forever but compromise the ride. OEM bushes last the next 100k miles and maintain the ride IF they are available. Usually poly bushes are the only option on many older cars unfortunately.

This is the thing - I can't seem to find the OEM bushing, or at least not via Google....

[Cluffy]

21 minutes ago, Wgl2019 said:

Alternative brand which I think tend to be a bit more compliant than some ....

https://psbushings.co.uk/

Cheers for the link! Seems like a less expensive option here maybe:

https://psbushings.co.uk/product/2-x-vw-golf-mk5-mk6-rear-trailing-arm-poly-polyurethane-bush-2005-to-2011/