Polyurethane or not

[pudgy]

Hi,

I was wondering about peoples experiences with polyurethane bushes (specifically the front wishbones and rear beam) on a mk1 Golf. Is it harsh, noisy or is it definitely worth doing to tighten up the chassis (does it even make a difference worth doing?). Just looking into experiences before wasting money on something not worth it or something that might drive me crazy.

Thanks
Peter

[dubai gti]

I've just recently bought the full kit (front end, engine mounts and rear end) and so far only the front-end and shock-bumps has been installed...seems ok so far and doesn't seem too harsh...but always a bit hard to tell when you experience skuttle-shake in a Cabrio. I think overall, just go for it, as you'll probably find the std. bushes you replace are worn and knackered anyway...

[Peter Jones]

MK1 bushes are pretty tough, especially after 30 odd years. Yours are likely rock hard in any case.

I've got poly bushes all 'round with no issues.

Pete

[abreut]

The only poly bushes that really annoyed the crap out of me and I ended up taking back out were the rear suspension strut top bushes. They creak and carry on like nothing else. If you have the old style front upper strut top bearings I would imagine that the available poly inserts would be much the same there too. Of all the poly bushings I would say that those ones make the least difference anyway.

The engine bushes may create a little bit of vibration but I have never found it to be that bad. Besides they make it much more driveable with a grabby clutch and generally make the initial power delivery more predictable. The engine moves a lot less.

The front a-arm bushes, and the rear swing axle pivots don't seem to do anything untoward, they just have a metal insert that turn in the bush anyway. I have heard that if you don't re-grease them every now and then they do start to chop out quite quickly.

[Peter Jones]

Yeah, the one that makes the most noise is the rear gearbox mount.

Install one of those and all you'll hear is the motor and gearbox

Pete

[oet16s]

i replaced every rubber bush in my last car (sss pulsar) with polyurethane and didn't have any problems. I didn't notice any more noise or vibrations etc.
The ride was harder but that had probably more to do with the stiffer lowering springs that were installed at the same time.
An added bonus i found was more even tyre wear presumably because the bushes were less prone to distortion under cornering load than rubber ones.

Something to note though is that some brands are harder than others.

[Preen59]

Look up "Prothane" on Ebay. You'll get a full set from the states stupid cheap.

[revnit]

The polyurethane kits you find on ebay are great except the gearbox mount and driver side engine mount is just a insert and 99% of the time your drivers side mount is broken anyways, http://www.dubaddiction.com.au/ does the full replacement mounts that the ebay kits don't have.

I run all polyurethane bushs in my car its a mk1 at the end of the day not a rolls royce they rattle from the factory.

[pudgy]

Thanks for all the replies guys. Since the experiences don't seem bad I'll probably go the poly on the arms and beam - the body will probably give the flex the bushes don't anyway . Wasn't planning on going poly anywhere else (diesel mounts and new strut tops I was thinking). Thanks again.