tj90

All:
Noticed that my '84 steel front control arm bushings are shot. I would like to upgrade to something firmer like polyurethane (PU). Ive been told that its a mistake due to noise. I have a 993 and upgraded to PU bushings and loved the performance gain. Noise was never an issue using plenty of PU grease. I will be daily driving this car but it will be used in AX and track a few times a year.

I found that VW MK1 control arms are the same as the 944 steel ones. That should open up the sources for many PU, delrin bushings. Despite this, Im having trouble finding them from my local porsche parts guy (TC garage) and VW paradise in SOCAL.

I would like to know if anyone has tried PU or delrin for the front control arms and if they were happy. I also want to konw a source for them. Pelican has a weltmeister kit but its incomplete and takes some modding to get it to work.

Thanks!
TJ90

odonnell

I'm running Prothane poly bushes on my 83. They're for a Golf or rabbit, I remember them being about $30-40 shipped on ebay.

They come with grease and are quiet but there is one course more NVH transfered. Car definitely feels tighter. I'm also running poly steering rack bushings and sway bar bushings.

nrider42

I am going through this process myself right now. I am looking at these:

http://powerflexusa.com/volkswagengo...pff85-211.aspx

and

http://powerflexusa.com/volkswagengo...pff85-213.aspx

They are a little more money than what I find on ebay but seem to be a reputable company.

As far as delrin vs urethane...I am wondering the same thing? The Powerflex have two grades available (Race and Street). I submitted a question to them asking what the differences are.

Cheers,

Nate

tj90

Thanks for the lead on the Powerflex bushes. I went to their UK website and found the difference between race and street (below). Wonder if there are any more inexpensive options??


For the ultimate in performance Powerflex introduce The Black Series, a new range of bushes developed for Race, Rally and Circuit Use.
Powerflex Black Series - Designed for the Track - Ready to Race - Engineered to be the best.
Powerflex Black Series bushes are manufactured using a 95 Shore A compound to provide maximum control of chassis geometry. This compound can be up to 80% more resistant to load than standard rubber and 25% stiffer than our purple performance material.
If your requirements are purely for the ultimate in handling and chassis performance then Powerflex Black Series are unique, offering the most precise and accurate alignment for your chassis.

tj90

I think I found the prothane PN as well - 22-201. All over ebay and amazon.

odonnell

Prothanes installed

tj90

No sway bar? Those bushings look great!

odonnell

I have a 25.5mm front sway, that pic was before I reinstalled it following the new control arms. You can find poly sway bar bushings here for a great price, as well as steering rack bushings:

http://www.ebay.com/sch/m.html?_odkw...rsche&_sacat=0

924srr27l

I went for Refurbished Early 944 Aluminium arms and all new Rubber bushes, 2000 miles later and it's all good, tight and no squeeking etc..







R

V2Rocket

here you go...
$43 for all the front bushings.
http://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/...pg4.htm#item19

88Silver924S

I installed polyurethane bushings on the front in 1994 from Performance Products. I used plenty of the thick white lube supplied which looks like silicone plumber's grease. It wasn't long before the grease wore off and the front end squeaked like hell, neighbors turning their heads, dogs howling, polite people just gave me "that look" others said "wow, your car sure does squeak alot!". I found I could jack up one side of the car at a time and regrease every year or so to keep the squeaking minimized.

So now I believe they have added graphite to some of the black polyurethane bushings. Maybe graphite and fistfuls of silicone grease is the solution.

For a street car they were not worth it, I would not do it again unless they truly solved the squeaking problem. They did stiffen up the handling a little, on the track they would be better than the original quiet rubber bushings. On the street the improvement was noticeable but not hugely dramatic, hard to concentrate on driving through all the squeaking. Good luck.

marc abrams

While I don't have experience with polyurethane bushings in a 944 I did use them in the differential mounting and rear suspension of a 1980 Corvette I once owned. Drive line noise increased and along with a harsh ride. It was so bad I eventually replaced them with rubber bushings. However I'm using polyurethane front sway bar bushings on my Daytona Turbo Z without issue.

V2Rocket

holy sketchy jack-stands batman


...and i hope you remembered your balljoint pinch bolt

Jason @ Paragon Products

Here's the Weltmeister control arm bushing story. We've carried these bushings from day 1 of Paragon Products over 20 years ago. They have had 3 applications for the front control arms over the years...Front of the steel control arms, front of the aluminum arms and rear of the steel arms. You'll notice you don't see the Weltmeister front bushing for steel arms on our site and here's why. While the bushings for the aluminum arms retained a steel tube liner that goes between the bushing halves, for some reason the steel arm bushings were designed without a steel liner. The problem comes when you torque the bolt that holds the control arm in place. Without a steel liner, the bushing "mushrooms" and failure is often, hours, days or weeks away. Weltmeister then decided these bushings were just for street use and were labeled as "not for track use". Fact is they're really not good for use of any kind. These bushings used to be called PB-1019 but the number now is 911939. I wouldn't use these bushings even if they were free. The Weltmeister Caster Block bushings for the steel arms and the front control arm bushings for the aluminum arms work great. No matter what brand you use, make sure they have a steel liner to prevent mushrooming.

We now carry the Racers Edge Delrin bushings which do feature a liner. It is a machined bushing rather than cast so fitment should be more precise:

http://www.paragon-products.com/Race...-p/mc-2501.htm

and they recently released a delrin insert caster block set that has been very popular

http://www.paragon-products.com/Pors...p/mc-9001d.htm

s85b50

What grease do you use on the bolts when assembling the control arms? Is anti-seize a good enough lubricant?