Friendly reminder to check your suspension wet bolts

Here's another thread on the bushings.
 
One could argue that the bolts are flawed… seems to be a pretty consistent pattern and problem…
Once the bushing is destroyed, the clearance opens up, and the spring starts hammering the bolt. That is what breaks it.
 
Once the bushing is destroyed, the clearance opens up, and the spring starts hammering the bolt. That is what breaks it.
True, but that's not the only thing that can break it.
My bronze spring bushings are almost pristine and I still broke a bolt.
When manufacturing the bolts, it seems there is zero stress relieving done where the horizontal and vertical holes intersect.
 
True, but that's not the only thing that can break it.
My bronze spring bushings are almost pristine and I still broke a bolt.
When manufacturing the bolts, it seems there is zero stress relieving done where the horizontal and vertical holes intersect.
I am trying to imagine how it is possible for a bolt to break leaving a bushing in pristine condition.🧩 I am coming up empty. In my mind, if the bolt were to break, the bushing would be destroyed pretty much instantly.
Impossible to prove it though

Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

I do not think the bolts are a primary concern.
The spring eyes not being perfectly round is.

I just finished replacing all of my springs. I would install a NF bushing in the spring eyes, of a new spring and insert a new bolt to see if it fit properly. It needed insert smoothly and spin nicely to pass my inspection. I rejected any spring that did not pass my test. It took three deliveries to get six good springs. The NF bushings can conform to a less than perfect spring eye...But the best service life will be had with a nice round eye. The wet bushings do not stand a chance in a less than perfect spring eye .
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I am trying to imagine how it is possible for a bolt to break leaving a bushing in pristine condition.🧩 I am coming up empty. In my mind, if the bolt were to break, the bushing would be destroyed pretty much instantly.
Impossible to prove it though

Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

I do not think the bolts are a primary concern.
The spring eyes not being perfectly round is.

.
What I have been struggling with. This last round, all bolts were solid - worn but solid. There were no bushings left. Those springs came from the factory with bushings pressed in. Prior round, LR bolt broken in two at the grease hole and wedged into the bushing half of which (length wise) was still there. RR bolt and bushing were completely missing. Other bushings were peened over at the outer edges with bolts wobbly inside (bushings worn or spring eyes out of round?) but only the rear bolts were gone and the one that was broken looks like it was defective IMHO. Are the bolts forged or cast and then hardened? At the break, half the cross section was smooth the other half looked like cast material.
 
What I have been struggling with. This last round, all bolts were solid - worn but solid. There were no bushings left. Those springs came from the factory with bushings pressed in. Prior round, LR bolt broken in two at the grease hole and wedged into the bushing half of which (length wise) was still there. RR bolt and bushing were completely missing. Other bushings were peened over at the outer edges with bolts wobbly inside (bushings worn or spring eyes out of round?) but only the rear bolts were gone and the one that was broken looks like it was defective IMHO. Are the bolts forged or cast and then hardened? At the break, half the cross section was smooth the other half looked like cast material.
IMO, the spring eyes out of round is the root cause. Fix that and 90%+ of the other issues go away.
I ordered 6 springs. only two were acceptable. They sent me 4 more. 2 were good, They sent me 2 more obviously from a different lot, and they were both good.
They came with plastic bushings installed.
My NF install bolt test is not perfect. The eyes still may be a little out of round. If I was using wet bushings, that could easily cause a failure.
I am pretty confident that the Never Fails will be my solution.... If not, you will read about it here
 
Had my call today with Grand Design service and their foreman who was coordinating repairs. That was a very valuable conversation for me. I was able to explain my concerns with the chassis and bushing failures history which is going to prompt them to look at the bushings, spring eyes, and bolts since last replacement (about 950 miles). They are bringing it back into the shop to inspect them. My concern was I watched the LCI tech install new bushings into the eyes and easy install with fingers only - so does that mean the eyes are expanded and springs need replacement again? Apparently, they have found some additional things they are going to repair so it's going back in anyway.
 
Had my call today with Grand Design service and their foreman who was coordinating repairs. That was a very valuable conversation for me. I was able to explain my concerns with the chassis and bushing failures history which is going to prompt them to look at the bushings, spring eyes, and bolts since last replacement (about 950 miles). They are bringing it back into the shop to inspect them. My concern was I watched the LCI tech install new bushings into the eyes and easy install with fingers only - so does that mean the eyes are expanded and springs need replacement again? Apparently, they have found some additional things they are going to repair so it's going back in anyway.
They were probably made that way. The eyes are formed during the forging process. It is not a percise operation. To use a rigid metal bushing it needs to fit well. If they can be inserted by hand, they are too loose IMO.

Unfortunantly, this is an industry wide problem.
 
That is one of the attractions to that Lippert system coming out that I posted about. In the video, they mentioned bushings and even though it's an animation I'm hoping they are a large eye slipper spring with rubber bushings like a vehicle has.

Screenshot_20241216_223416_Chrome.jpg
 

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