mklotz70 Posted May 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2015 Now starting to get feedback, so I started a separate thread for all of it. :) 3 Quote Link to comment
dr.feltersnatch Posted May 6, 2015 Report Share Posted May 6, 2015 I happened to get one of these kits from mr. klotz and i have to say the fitment was top notch. installation took less than an hour, including digging for tools, and was way easier than expected. the quality of all the pieces was better than the kit i got for my 510. as far as any improvement its only been a few miles but the truck seems to track straighter and feels just a little better. i will report back after some miles. now on to the pics!!! here is the stock setup with the worn out bushings still in there. removal is simply one bolt then push the old worn out cracked rubber bushing out. here is old vs new. pics dont really show how soft and worn the old bushings were. you can see the old bushings were a little longer. you will see why the new are better in just a moment. installation was simply push the bushing into the upper control arm, lube the metal sleeve with the supplied lube and press it into the bushing. then add the 2 delrin spacers. here is why the new bushing is superior to the old. the old had rubber between the metal pieces which added a ton of slop. the new has delrin which seemed to really tighten things up. now add the supplied new bolt, washer and nyloc nut. torque to spec and your done! super easy. 3 Quote Link to comment
mklotz70 Posted May 6, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 6, 2015 Awesome x10!!!! I'm happy the feed back is positive, but even if had been negative, I couldn't have asked for a better writeup!!!!! Thank you!!!!! Well worth the $'s to send them to you. :) I'll have to contact the other guys and let them know about this thread. :) 2 Quote Link to comment
spdcrazy Posted May 18, 2015 Report Share Posted May 18, 2015 First off, sorry for the rather horrible pictures, but I wanted to get this out ASAP... my old bushings came out rather easily. just used a socket 12mm i believe and a rubber mallet. I noticed some scale build up on the surface where the bushings set, so I used a flatblade screwdriver to clean it up. sprayed it with brake cleaner and wiped it dry. The new bushings pushed in with a few light whacks from the rubber mallet. The sleeve was pretty tight, but went in by hand with a twisting motion. Also helped to get the grease everywhere it needed to go. Plenty of grease for even the most wasteful people like I. Quick and easy job. Now for the driving. I did not notice any looseness associated with the old bushings, however you can see they were quite trashed. and dry. I'll post back with you in a week or two of daily driving it on Colorado's rough city roads. ****************************************this was all sent to Mr. Klotz on April 27th when I installed my prototype kit 4 Quote Link to comment
spdcrazy Posted May 18, 2015 Report Share Posted May 18, 2015 figured since feltersnatch threw his up for the world, i would as well. they are still in great shape, however mine are squeeking just a bit, I look forward to working with Mr. Klotz in the near future on some Z'ed arms, and who knows what down the road 4 Quote Link to comment
mklotz70 Posted May 19, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2015 figured since feltersnatch threw his up for the world, i would as well. they are still in great shape, however mine are squeeking just a bit, I look forward to working with Mr. Klotz in the near future on some Z'ed arms, and who knows what down the road That's exactly why I put this thread up....to collect the feedback here. Sorry about the squeaking. We'll get it figured out. Just need some time to get to them again. Thanks!!!!! 1 Quote Link to comment
spdcrazy Posted May 20, 2015 Report Share Posted May 20, 2015 No biggie! Thanks for all that your do! Quote Link to comment
BigBlack620 Posted May 24, 2015 Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 Hopefully I can have mine installed by Monday or tomorrow if I get my jack returned :) 1 Quote Link to comment
flatcat19 Posted May 24, 2015 Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 Any plans to do other bushings on the truck, Mike? TC, LCA, idler. Body mount. etc. Quote Link to comment
mklotz70 Posted May 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 Any plans to do other bushings on the truck, Mike? TC, LCA, idler. Body mount. etc. Maybe. The LCA bushings are still available...at least the last time I checked. The idler repair kit is available, too. I have one here....I'm hoping to do a vid on it and see how well it works. Hadn't thought about body mounts. I've modified bushings before for the TC rod.....maybe I'll do some of them. They're a bit of a pain because they have to be drilled to soften them up some. Quote Link to comment
mklotz70 Posted November 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 It's hard enough just trying to keep up with the social media.....then I remembered I have threads to update! lol It may take a few days to get these on my site, so pm me if you want to buy a set before then. I'm going to just post up the vid links. Final verdict.....$45 for bushings, hardware, shipped. I've got about 12 sets right now. I'm just going to post up the last two vids and then a link to the playlist in case you want to watch all of the process. :) 2 Quote Link to comment
mklotz70 Posted November 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 Playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAUFP46xkHEyI-U1i5VxlLpNv4F4LHB26 1 Quote Link to comment
mklotz70 Posted November 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 Okay....they're on the site. I only have about 12 sets now, but I will be making more. www.bluehandsinc.com Quote Link to comment
]2eDeYe Posted November 11, 2015 Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 Excited to get my set :) That's exactly why I put this thread up....to collect the feedback here. Sorry about the squeaking. We'll get it figured out. Just need some time to get to them again. Thanks!!!!! Squeaking is a known issue with urethane bushings. I think adding a grease port to the bolt would help with the squeak. Would help get those grooves packed with grease. It will increase the cost a bit, but I would be wiling to pay extra for that feature.My Trailgear shackles had them and I can shoot a bit of grease in there when/if they start to make any noise. Super convenient. 3 Quote Link to comment
mklotz70 Posted November 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 Hmmm.....at first I was "Holy cow! Great idea!!!" .....then I started looking up info on them. What I could find are about $8ea and they're all a good bit too long. I'd probably have to modify the existing bolts. The next issue is, that would put the grease between the bolt and the sleeve. I'd also have to drill the sleeve.....not a big deal, but how well will the grease make it to the bushing. My last thought is......can you get grease for urethane bushings in a grease gun tube? I'm tempted to wait and see just how long it takes for the grooved bushings to start squeaking. Since they're easy to service....jack under the control arm, take the tire off....bolt comes out easy.........I'm not sure there's enough advantage to make it worth the cost. They appear to be very common for 4x4's because of the abuse they take. Drilling the holes in grade 8 bolts would be rather time consuming. Tapping the thread for the zerk fitting, the cost of the zerk fitting, drilling the sleeve. Even done in house I'm sure it would push the price of the kits to about $75(shipped) 1 Quote Link to comment
Lockleaf Posted November 11, 2015 Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 Maybe make a couple and sell a "greaseable" kit at a different price from the standard set? Quote Link to comment
mklotz70 Posted November 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 12, 2015 That may be the best option. I'll have to see what I can come up with. 1 Quote Link to comment
]2eDeYe Posted November 12, 2015 Report Share Posted November 12, 2015 Just an idea, lol. I forgot about the sleeve, hmmm... 2 Quote Link to comment
mklotz70 Posted November 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2015 Just came across this vid. It sounds like chassis grease from a pump will work, but not as well as what I include with the kit. So, I may do the greaseable bolts down the road, but I'll probably wait to see how long it takes for the bushings to squeak with this grease. Plus......I'm so buried right now, I'd rather not spend the time on them right now. :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpEZUbHVhUs 2 Quote Link to comment
mklotz70 Posted November 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2015 2 Quote Link to comment
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