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insulator pad question


krismoriah

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I replaced my trunion and springs and noticed that my insulator pads are worn out again. I usually get a year or two out of the bottoms and every time i do a swap out the top pads are hardly worn.. so the question is..

can i do urethane bottoms and rubber tops? meaning leave my good rubber tops in and just swap out the bottoms for the urethane?

cant find a post where anyone has done this..but would save me some $ if no issues.

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I can't think of any problems this would create if they are not worn out. The less wear on the top is caused by the way the suspension moves, so as long as they are still in spec in my opinion you will be fine.

The difference in insulator pads is the way they are made, rubber is organic and urethane is synthetic so the hardness and the way they wear can be changed with out losing drivability, typically it is like going from a good to better. Rubber tends to start to deteriorate as soon as it is installed because of ozone, grease, freeze/thaw, dry rot etc....urethane is designed to resist all that stuff with higher load capacity, tear resistance, compression, abrasion, oil and fuel resistance, uv protectant, etc...

Rubber is typically cheaper and last a fair amount of time depending on application so that is why it gets used by OEM manufactures

Robert

"I reject your reality and substitute my own."

 

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Unless something has changed, they don't sell urethane tops (because it's not necessary at the top). Just buy urethane lowers (10QK388), and urethane trunnion pads (10QK276) unless of course you have bronze bushings.

Follow the Mack service bulletin for rubber/urethane trunnion pad installation, including the use of 20wt non-detergent oil, for maximum life.

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kscarbel,

I guess things have changed because they sell the uppers here on this site http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=14_80

That's an aftermarket brand. I assume then that Mack dealers still only sell urethane lowers (10QK388). I've never seen the need for urethane uppers.

What size suspension do you have?

Do you have rubber or bronze trunnion bushings?

Do you have a transverse torque rod?

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  • 4 weeks later...

I wish I knew how some of you get a couple of years out of these pads. We must be off road to much , because i have had every thing replaced at one time, and still need to replace torn pads in six to eight months . Only camelback I have left is with 52k rears and no transverse torque arm, we put the urethane pads in the bottom about 4 months ago . I hope like hell they last longer !

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  • 1 month later...

We have two trucks with 58 000 lbs rear suspension and rigid beams. We work with 40 tons in the dump box all day long, and we dona lot of sharp turns, always on pavement. We use neoprene bushings from Mack and upper rubber bushings oem also. We have to replace them once a year

Envoyé de mon iPhone à l'aide de Tapatalk

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  • 2 months later...

With urethane bushings is it really neccessary to use 'edible mutton tallow' or 20 wt non-detergent oil?? I suspect that spec was to preserve the rubber bushing. With an inert urethane bushing, why not use ep2 grease?? Further, why not drill and tap for a grease nipple?

Thoughts?

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