The mount bushing sleeves?

[Dodger-TC]

One day I am going to get this truck done! Today's headache is trying to locate a sleeve bushing for my 14 mounts. They need to be 3/4" ID X 15/16" OD X 3 1/4" long.
I have searched online for a few hours now, and am wondering if I may need to have them made by a machine shop. Any ideas, friends with a machine shop?

 

[hot rod]

Is that an Energy Suspensions urethane sway bar end link kit? Or is that a urethane body mount for a passenger car? Can't really tell the size from the pic, no reference. Or am I crazy? Are you looking for a bushing to fill in the gap between the bolt and the urethane bushing?

The first 2 things that come to mind are:

1. (cheap) look for a length of pipe with 3/4" i.d., and keep your fingers crossed for the right wall thickness to end up at your 15/16" o.d., may be tricky, if memory serves 3/4" i.d. black pipe is approx. 1" o.d.. Is there any chance you can open up the hole in the bushing a little so a piece of pipe would work?

2. (expensive) have your machine shop take 15/16" bar stock and bore out the i.d., but that is gonna cost a ton.

It seems to me I have seen the rubber cab mounts for older pickup trucks with the steel bushing built into the bushing itself instead of a separate piece. If you can find those it may actually be cheaper to switch than muck around having stuff machined to order.

Here is the Energy Suspension online catalog:
http://www.energysuspension.com/assets/files/2010-energy-suspension-catalog.pdf
page 12 had universal mounts and isolators and all the dimensions are in a nice chart.

 

[Dodger-TC]

they are radius arm bushings for a diesel Ford van chassis. They are 3" diameter and 3 1/4" tall. The hole in the bushing is 15/16", and I am considering reaming it out to 1". The bolts are 3/4" diameter. I have found hardened steel sleeves that are 3/4" ID X 1" OD. If I went that route, there would be 1/4" of poly bushing between the sleeve and the frame outriggers. I am guessing that should be enough considering it is only a 1/16" less then what would be there if I did not drill them. Not to mention there is 10 of them supporting a 12' X 8' box. If I am headed in the wrong direction let me know!

 

[Bob86ZZ4]

What about not even using urethane? Most of the boxes I see mounted to the frame look like they're bolted on solid using shackle bolts like from a spring shop?

 

[Dodger-TC]

it is currently mounted with rubber bushings. I was just going for the same style of mounting. Also because I am hard mounting it to the cab to avoid an accordian seal. The cab and box will have the same type of mounts, like it does with the van cab.

 

[#90-GTSC]

If you continue to look for bushings, try ...

McMaster-Carr, Enro, and racing suppliers like Behling Racing Equipment, Lefthander Chassis, CV Products, Pegasus Racing Supplies, as well as racing go-kart and race car chassis builders.

One you wouldn't think of are the airplane home builder suppliers like Aircraft Spruce (don't let the name discourage you ... they have LOTS MORE than just wood). The right bushings are out there, you'll find them.

 

[Dodger-TC]

I agee, never stop looking! That is why this is taking so long. I keep finding better stuff to use on my truck project. Some day I will just use what I have and get it over with.

 

[andyg-TC]

Dodger mentioned 3/4 sch 40 pipe. This could work well. For standard pipe the I.D. is .824" and O.D. = 1.050". It would be easy to put the material in a lathe and turn it down to 15/16" but it will have a pretty thin wall thickness. You can also buy 15/16" tube with an I.D. of .772" that you can simply cut to length. http://www.aladdinsteel.com/products/dom_seamless_tubing/ Use a tubing cutter for a square cut every time.
Tips: Pipe size is measured from the I.D. Tubing is sized from the O.D. Usually the dimensional requirements for making tubing is much tighter than for making pipe. Tubing may be more expensive than pipe but it will also need less machine work.

 

[mmmc101]

Check with your local Kenworth or Peterbilt dealer. They have a large selection of sleeve bushings of about any dimension you could want. I used six sleeper mount bushings to mount my 12' toterbox. MMM

 

[SHORTS]

when I built my 4x4 toy, I bought a bulk box of GMC rear leaf spring bushings from energy suspension and used them to mount the 10 point rollcage and body. Poly bushings are reasonably priced if you buy direct from the supplier and take the tie to look them up buy their dimensions instead of the application. Another thought is to look into the moride suspension blocks like they are using to replace rv trailer springs. I saw them being used for body mounts at one of the monster custom sleeper manufacturers last fall.

 

[Dodger-TC]

I finally found some bushings, they are not what I wanted, but with some modification they will work. I have to cut them shorter, which is very difficult because they are hard to cut. I drilled out the bushings and upper washers with a 1" Vermont America bi-metal drill bit. These things are made out of 630 Stainless Steel treated to AMS 5643. I burn through a diamond cutoff wheel on every cut. A sawzall blade just polishes em! Crazy stuff, stronger than I need, but I have em, so I have to work with em.

Dodger