61 strut rods different from 62-66?

[cidhockey]

I have a 61 thunderbird and I would like to change the strut rod bushings. Mine look like 62-66 and not at all like the photos of the 61 bushings. Does anyone know what the difference is in the strut rods?

[ABQTBird]

I looked in a catalog and saw that the 61 bushings do look different. For what it's worth, here are some pictures of my 62 strutrod and bushings for you to compare. Is this what all your stuff looks like?




The bushing interlocks where it goes through the frame.

[Ozzy351]

Tom, the '61 strut rods themselves look the same but the rubber bushes and cups are definitely different which is typical of Fords running changes over the various models. Here is a pic of my 61's rubber bushes before replacement so they are a bit squashed.



cidhockey, Ford also changed the rear leaf spring rubber pads and retainers in '62. The '61 has very thin pads and thin metal plates which hardly cover the pads and are prone to slipping (at least they were on mine until I changed them over to the heavy duty '62 type) The rear end of the car now seems more stable and it will now be very hard for the pads to slip. If you are able to, I highly recommend this conversion but you will need to source some used pad retainers from one of the vendors who deal in second hand parts. I got mine from Bird Nest and they were already sandblasted and powder coated. You will also need to grind out the hole in the diff metal pad as the locating flange on the later pad retainers are a larger diameter than the '61's and also the longer 'U' bolts and rubber pads to suit. (see links below)

http://www.parts123.com/parts123/yb.dll ... Z50000030c
http://www.parts123.com/parts123/yb.dll ... Z50000030c

Ozzy

[GeoffInCarlsbad]

Ozzy:

Did you Strut Bushings looks like this originally?

[Ozzy351]

Geoff, its been a while since I installed the new rubber bushings but I am pretty sure the ones in your photo are correct. They were definately not like the ones in Toms photo. However, his strut rods look the same as mine.

Ozzy

[bbogue]

Questions for Tom (ABQTBird) or others. I'm trying to decide whether to install the 61-type or 62-type strut bushings in my 61.

Info:
My 61 has the round 62-type strut bushings, likely installed by a PO before the 61-type was available. The identical, generic washers on each side were installed with the concave face toward the bushings. The hole in the frame for the bushings is oval/rectangular. The 61 bushings do not come with an inner metal sleeve like the 62's. The 61 bushings are less beefy than the 62's. Overall, the 61 design looks less substantial. My 62-type bushings had not failed when I removed them but there was no "squish" left in them so I decided to replace them, hoping that doing so would have the additional benefit (maybe unlikely) of getting some positive caster. I will likely install the 61-type bushings as a trial and replace them with the 62-type if they don't work well or fail.

Questions:
Is the bushing hole in the frame of the 62 round?
Are the washers installed concave side to rubber on the 62?
Are the 62-type available in polyurethane? Source?
Any comments on the quality of TBird vendor and non-TBird vendor 1962 bushings?
Recommendations?
Comments?

Thanks for any assistance offered.

Bill

[bbogue]

Info for those interested.
I installed the 61-type strut rod bushings on my 61, replacing the 62's. Time will tell how they hold up. The replacement resulted in a decrease in the distance between the lower arms (a grease fitting) and a point forward on the frame near the bushings. This, without prying on the arms at all. The result should be caster moving in a positive direction, a goal of mine. I also noted that the strut arms are not identical. The distance between the shoulder where the first bushing washer rests and the nearest point on the slotted adjustment hole(s) is about 3/16" different between the 2 struts. This reflects almost exactly the difference in the measurements taken. A test drive demonstrated no wander and was stable to over 60 mph. I plan to tweak the adjustment a bit, perhaps including die grinding on the bolt slots of one strut so as to make them identical and have more caster adjustment. Later, an alignment will be in order.
That's all for now.

Bill

[Mr-Mach1]

Good work. I took a short cut and cut the strut rod bushing sleeve about 1/4" or do. It was the thickness of two washers which I installed behind the nut to pull things tight . I also gained a stable ride up to 75 mph. I hope never to go that hast in this car again :)

[bbogue]

Good job, Leon. That's what I'll do if the 61-type bushings don't last. It appears that the interior metal sleeve of the 62-type strut bushing was preventing our getting positive caster. Maybe other folks too. Looking at pictures of the 62-type bushing compared to the ones that came off my car, it appears they are provided overly long and that installation is expected to include trimming the rubber bushings and sleeve as required for the application.

Later on,

Bill

[GeoffInCarlsbad]

I am following up on this thread. I wore out my 61 front strut rod bushings. I installed them in 2016, and now they are shot (again). From this thread, it looks like I can replace those bushings with 62-63 bushings. Before I do that, I'd like to hear how well those are wearing? I tried finding urethane material bushings, but none that will fit this year. The earliest years I can find for those is 7'2 T-Bird.

So my asks are:

1) For those of you using 62 or later bushings, how have they held up for you?
2) Has anyone found and tried urethane front strut rod bushings? If so, how are those holding up?

~g

[GeoffInCarlsbad]

HI folks, following up again. So they simplest question I have is what causes these bushings to blow out after only a couple of years? I had replaced them, got the front end aligned, and when I checked them after about 2 years, I noticed they were shot. What could be causing those to blow up like that?

[bbogue]

Geoff,
See my post above re: replacing the 62 type strut bushings with the 61 type on my 61. Mine have been on for more than a year and about 2000 miles. They look very good. This may be at least partly because a few years ago I replaced the shocks and springs and installed heavy duty anti-sway bars front and rear for improved handling. Just a thought. I may be completely off base.

Bill

[stubbie]

Hi Geoff
Not 100% sure but at one point I think you used to be able to have urethane bushes made. I think they used to spin them
up on a lathe.

[GeoffInCarlsbad]

Oh, hi Stubbie. Do you know what vendor may be doing that?

[bbogue]

Geoff,
If you Google urethane strut bushings you’ll find several custom bushing mfrs. The non-symmetrical shape of the 61-type and potentially low quantities of an order might make them out of reach, however.
If I may suggest, try a set of 62-66 TBird strut bushings. They will fit the hole in the 61 frame, not as well as the 61’s but once tightened down I can’t imagine them moving. You may have to trim the inner steel tube that comes with these bushings to correct any alignment difficulties that result. I assume the steel tube was designed to limit “squish” and extend the life of bushings. These are what were installed on my 61 when I got it and is the way I will go if my 61-type bushings fail prematurely. Good luck.

Bill