Capri Technical Forum:

I have just purchased a full set of poly suspension bushes for my Capri 2.8i Special. How much work is this to install these myself? Do I need a press to put some of them on? Any hints or tips from someone who has done this? Thanks

Changing the bushes should not be too dificult if you have some mechanical experience. The hardest part will be getting the old bushes out of the leaf springs and the rear roll bar as these are pressed in.
The front should be reletivly easy to do. I would allow a day to change all the bushes if you have not done it before.

So do I need a hydraulic press for the rear ones, or can they be driven out and in with a hammer? And fronts don't need to be pressed in at all..that is good news!

Hi, idealy you would press them out of the leaf springs either with a press or a bench vice. When I changed my leaf spring bushes I ended up chiseling/cutting them out. The problem is the outer metal part of the bush corrodes inside the spring eye. It is similar to the rear anti roll bar bushes.
I don't know how old your car is, you may find getting the bolts out of the various parts tricky. Might be worth spraying wd40 over them a few times a couple of weeks before dissasembly.

Hi m8... Spring bushes will be hardest job, best thing I have found is get a power drill and drill a series of holes all the way through the bushes between the rubber and the inner boss. Then hammer the sh*it out of them to get them out. Once the inner part is out, the outer comes out easier.If you drill them it should take you about 40mins per spring.
The ARB are pretty easy to hit out with a drift. Pretty easy job to be honest if you have a decent bench and vice.

John

Thanks for the info..car is 1984 so likley a few rusty bolts! I will tackle this when the weather warms up a bit, and maybe the front one day, and the rear the next depending on how things go..The design of the poly inserts from Capri Sport I have must be different than the stock, as none of them look like they will have to be pressed back in..Cheers!

i use the Caprisport Bushes, and rate them heavily, not just because they sponsor the car, because the bushes are spot on.

Well, weather has improved so now looking at doing the front bushes...the two for the front stabilizer bars look easy, but the inner bushing for the track control arm looks like it might cause some problems. When I pull the bolt out and drop the track control arm out of the pivot, how difficult is it to get it back up as it looks like this is what holds the bottom of the strut assembly to the car. So it will then have all the weight of that hangin on it, or is there enough play that is just hangs there are allows you to line up the rod ?? Any tips on this part of the process? Thanks

So, had my friend at the local shop put in the poly bushes, and it was a bear. Good thing they did the work! The cost was reasonable and I still had clean hands at the end of it all! The car handles fantastic, a lot more precise and the wandering has disappeared. thanks for all the info. Would recommend the Capri Sport bushes after having these on the car.

Glad to see every one is happy with the bushes - wish we could get more.

Since Spectra Dynamics / Deflex went bust and started again, all they now make is excuses.

We have been trying to find a another Polyurethane specialist to make to our designs but we are just getting nowhere fast.

Same old - same old - no one can be bothered to call back - always in a meeting etc etc.

Can anyone reccomend a reliable source we could try?

For anyone else reading this thread, i too ordered a full set of caprisport bushes (a while back), and just got round to getting them fitted. i too got the garage to do it, as the old ones were being a pain to get out. The result is impressive, at last it doesnt feel like im driving a boat!

I have used always used Superflex and never had a problem with them in 6 years.

www.superflex.co.uk

Tel 01749 678152 and ask for Chris Witor.

Superflex is a good product no question.

The problems start when you try to order 10 complete kits at the same time.

Chris Witor is to stock control, what Cyril Smith was to hang gliding.

IF you phone first thing Monday and try to order a complete kit, a tenner say you will get no answer and if by some miracle you do, he won't have a complete kit in stock.

We've been there, done that, too many times.

They are also unjustifiably expensive. Well over twice what they should be.

We are aiming to deliver a complete 2.8 spec set with stainless inserts for less than £100 - Given the manufacturing costs, I see no reason why anyone should pay more than that. Club members can expect to pay around 30% less.

At the end of the day you get what you pay for. All I can say is they do what they say on the tin and have never worn in 6 years.

That's more than can be said for some others and believe me everything I drive gets abused.

You maybe right about the ordering situation with Superflex, so the suggestion would be make sure you plan any upgrades if that's the case.

Don't suppose many of us order 10 kits at once