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Old 03-19-2018, 11:22 AM   #1
rickbecker
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Thumbs down "Never Fail" suspension bushings

Anyone have any experience with he Lippert "Never Fail" suspension bushings? Do not believe anything is never fail, but improved longevity over the bronze might be worth doing.
 
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Old 03-19-2018, 12:02 PM   #2
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2-3 years ago I put a set of these on a trailer because it was a weekend, couldn't source bronze replacement bushings till the following 2's day, and the guy needed to be on down the road. They went on easily and he was off down the road. This past Fall, I did a bearing repack for him and decided to check on the "never fail" bushings as we hadn't intended on putting them on and I'd remembered the advertising about them. I checked the outer 4 spring eyes ... 1 was worn thru to metal on metal ... 3 were intact but were pretty thin. Our suspensions get the crap beat out of them and I would have been amazed if the nylon like bushings hadn't showed it. I'm old school and don't think you can beat bronze bushings and wet bolts. They are not that expensive and not hard to change out when the time comes.
PS He's a recreational camper like me and by no means lives on the road ... he didn't have any idea of miles on the bushings.
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Old 03-19-2018, 02:12 PM   #3
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I'm about to try the Never Fail bushings. I put the regular bronze bushings in along with rest of the wet bolt kit at ~4K miles as the original nylon bushings were 100% shot. I then put about 15K on the bronze pieces, lubed well. Of the 12 that are in springs or the shackle ends of the MORryde , at least 10 were heavily worn with the outer ones the worst(worn through). I then replaced all but the center MORryde bushing. Also, the actual bolts had heavy wear, and that info is documented here, response 9: http://www.montanaowners.com/forums/...ad.php?t=72807

I am installing a fresh set of MORryde heavy wet bolt shackles with the new Never Fail bushings and I am going to lube them regularly. Yes, etrailer says not to lube them as grease will cause deterioration. Untrue as Lippert in response to my email said that dirt may cause harm, not grease. Additionally, SKF Bearings who make polyamide bushings has said that grease may indeed help.

When all said, none of the 3 choices are great, but wet bolts with either the bronze or Lippert polyamide bushings are sure better then the original nylon. I just wish that there was something better without going to the expense of independent suspension which is out of my financial means.
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Old 03-20-2018, 05:15 AM   #4
WaltBennett
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Sounds like "Never Fail" is just another marketing thing.
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Old 03-22-2018, 10:43 AM   #5
rickbecker
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Thanks for the input! Decided to stay with the bronze bushings / wet bolts and put a lot more effort into close inspections. Dave W - please update when you can on your setup.
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Old 03-22-2018, 12:21 PM   #6
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Remember that with the wetbolt system you should have the weight off of the before trying to put grease into them. A lot of times you think you are putting grease into the system but it really I not going in. We were advised on this at one of the Fall Rally sessions a couple years back.
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Old 03-22-2018, 02:10 PM   #7
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Originally Posted by Rondo View Post
Remember that with the wetbolt system you should have the weight off of the before trying to put grease into them. A lot of times you think you are putting grease into the system but it really I not going in. We were advised on this at one of the Fall Rally sessions a couple years back.

I agree with the EZ Lube wheel bearings but the grease hole in the shackle bolt is supposed to be on the side and with the several thousandths clearance between the bolt and the bushing, there should be no problem with pretty complete coverage.

On the last two set of bolts on 2 5ers I cross drilled the bolts as well as rat tail filed a bit of hole radius --- and the @#$% bushings still wore out and the bolts wore up to .010.

Without self leveling, jacking a 12K plus 5er up to grease those bolts just ain't gonna happen
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Old 03-22-2018, 04:08 PM   #8
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Without self leveling, jacking a 12K plus 5er up to grease those bolts just ain't gonna happen

Don't shoot me, but this is TOO easy to pass up.

You could always take it to CW.
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Old 03-22-2018, 04:32 PM   #9
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Don't shoot me, but this is TOO easy to pass up.

You could always take it to CW.


(Besides that, the closest CW is over 100 miles from me Which reminds me - their new catalog of overpriced 'stuff' arrived today, I had been wondering how I was going to spend my SS and pension pittance checks this month)
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Old 03-22-2018, 08:01 PM   #10
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The key to all this is grease,grease grease. I had one of my wet bolts break and fall out and shift the axle which wore one of my tires badly. The reason to grease often is not to just lubricate but so you will inspect the suspension and possibly head off any problems. The more you are inspecting, the less chance of having a problem on the road. I now have the I.S. but even that can break. Since none of the suspension is made up of bearings, you can't lubricate or inspect to much.
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