Rear trailing arm bushings- premature failure

[Doug Scarrow]

    Last fall I replaced my rear yoke and trailing arm bushings . Now with 410 miles on them the large

  rear trailing arm bushings are done . I contacted Rare Parts the maker and they were defensive and

  wanted me to purchase new ones and if sent the old ones back they,  upon inspection would  reimburse the original seller  (Old Parts) a seller on ebay. Seemed like a lot of hoops to jump through so I inquired at all the

known Cadillac Suppliers and it seems the Rare Parts is the only maker of the RP15606 bushings . Further

 internet searches found this is a common problem. This has led to Dan McNarry and Russ Austin heading up making replacement arms with high tech bushings that do not distort and last. Rare Parts needs to retool and use rubber that will last .  In the mean time DO NOT  purchase trailing arm bushings from them with the

expectation they will last as I assure you they will fail quickly

[Tony and Ginny 429]

Community - thread summery

Until further notice --if having a need to be replacing your ---rear trailing arm bushings --on our cars the only sure method of getting that done right ( at the present time 6-11-19 ) to last as they should for the long haul would be to purchase a set of ---Dan McNarry's arms that he fabricates with poly bushings
they will hold the rear suspension were it belongs and ride is the same or better if your bushing are bad
Could possibly remove drive shaft and rear end vibration in some cases and what is described as an excessive floaty feeling in the rear suspension
There is only one company making the bushing ( Rare Parts ) no matter what your source may be and they are failing in two years or less ( 400--600 miles )

It will take a while but we are working on getting the bad bushing removed from the market place with the help of Rare Parts which they have offered to do as long as they can get back the worn damaged bushing so they can locate the bad batch of bushings on the market now
They seem very interested in getting to the bottom of the problem

Enjoy

[Dan Loukota]

What was/is the latest with the rear bushings?? I’m replacing the front suspension and figure might as well replace the rear ball joint and bushings while I’m at it, but after reading this thread I’m now concerned at quality and performance. 

[Tony and Ginny 429]

Dan

Nothing new has changed with the rear control arm bushings wearing very prematurely  - as of Jan 2020 

Only one manufacturer makes them no matter who you may buy them from ( a number of distributors )

Dans custom made rear trailing arms with his neoprene bushings ——are the only sure way to have the rear bushings hold up for a longer time than what else is available on the market 

How long has not been yet established but a quality replacement— if the  custom design and look works for you 

Does not use the stock metal part of the rear trailing arm — So not a stock rebuild —of the part that changes the stock look 

Dans contact info is in this thread 

Hope he continues to make his replacement part 

This is one place that it is very difficult to restore the 63 64 Cadillacs  stock rear suspension and keep the part stock until a new solution to the stock arms  restoration is found — if ever

A new hemispherical joint above the rear end housing is holding up unlike the bushings that do not 

The trailing arms doing there job is very important for the rear end housing and the drive shaft to stay in the correct position when accelerating or decelerating 

One of the many factors —that can add to a driveshaft vibration which is not pleasant to live with 

Enjoy 

[Tony and Ginny 429]

Do replace the  rear shocks while refreshing the rear bushings so all back there is fresh and working together 

Enjoy 

[Tony and Ginny 429]

Pls change the bushings that Dan uses to polyurethane ( my bad ) 

Enjoy 

[Russ Austin]

You can not use the poly bushings in the stock rear control arms. The stock arm is too small and will not take the larger poly bushing.  It would have been an easy fix otherwise.

[Dan Loukota]

Thanks for the replies. I truly love the Cadillac community found on this forum. You guys are simply fantastic! With the custom trailing arms, I was reading they ride the car higher in the rear? I’m working on lowering my caddy 2”. Anyone experience this with the new arms? 

[Russ Austin]

The new trailing arms do not affect the ride height. They were designed and built to the same specs as the originals control arms.

I have them on my car, and have installed them on other cars as well. Ride height is the same.  You could use the 2 inch lowering springs with the new control arms.

[Tony and Ginny 429]

Russ 

How many miles have you put on your custom rear controlling arms from Dan yourself ?

That being some standard  of design longevity  

You had the second set ( Dans being the first ? ) that was installed in our year cars 

Based on there design ( stronger than stock - box ) and the poly bushings ( more durable than stock ) I would think these are really good for the long haul regarding  bushing wear 

The fact they are not the true  stock look makes little difference to me for my application 

Are the arms  at all noticeable when viewing the car  at times  or are they just under there ?

Enjoy 

[Russ Austin]

Tony, I have the first set, as I was the test car. Not sure of the mileage, but they have been on the car for over a year. The load on the bushings is constant, due to the spring pushing on the control arm.

A bystander can not tell that different control arms are installed, as only the front is viewable, if you get down and look. You will need to get under the car to see the boxed design.

[Kim K Kaiser]

Ive had mine in for year or s .     Couple 3 thousand miles.   So far so good

[Tony and Ginny 429]

Russ and Kim 

The last two posts are such very good news to be solving this rear control arm bushing  problem with a seriously good repair solution 

No more issues with  new  stock replacement  bushings that will only last 400-600 miles 

Very glad to learn that the new custom arms  —do not look awkward on the car as they are not even seen  unless you look under the car 

Glad we have Dan and hope he will continue to produce these replacement rear arms for those in need of new rear control arm bushings 

Enjoy