Wrong spring eye bushing?

[Techlight]

Hey all

1984 jeep CJ7 stock...

Changing out all the bushings on my CJ and noticed (after I installed) that the sleeve on my new bushing is longer by 1/2 an inch than my old bushing. I wasn't paying attention I guess. Spring eye bushings are a bad place to not pay attention lol.

Anyway, I checked the overall length and they are the same but didn't notice until after install that the metal sleeve was longer. Can I run these this way or will this cause me trouble in the long run? There's about 1/4 to 3/8 metal sticking out on each side. Again overall length is the same, but not outer metal part.

Thanks...any answers ...since she's sitting in my driveway in pieces

 

[mtnwhlr]

Looks like you have bushings for a YJ and no you can't use them.

 

[Techlight]

Thanks for the reply...they are listed for my vehicle at rock auto but I may have ordered 4 of the rear main eye by mistake. I remember it being the only one piece spring eye bushing they list for my year/make. What's odd is they are the same over all length.

 

[mtnwhlr]

They should not be the same as the rear the front are smaller.

 

[Techlight]

Lol...I'm calling local parts houses and the keep trying to sell me the same part I have...fun fun.

At least now I don't fell as much of an arse as I did about 1/2 an hour ago

 

[007]

They should not be the same as the rear the front are smaller.

I don't know !@#$ about suspensions (as I'm going to prove in a new thread here shortly) but I thought in so far as the bushing goes, a rear CJ is the same width as a front YJ, which is 1/2" longer/wider and is indeed too wide for stock CJ fronts.

I'd think you could get by with cutting them down, but the correct stock front bushings are everywhere from Ebay to Amazon to Morris, Quadratec, JCWhitney, etc. and they're cheap too.

 

[Techlight]

I can find them online it's just that i can't find them local. I'd like them in 2 days since I'm impatient. Not sure how I feel about autozone but honestly my moog ones were made in mexico, so maybe the duralast are too...probably china or india if I had to guess haha.

Autozone part # was SK6524. We'll see if it fits. I have this sneaking suspicion that it won't

We'll see, they'll be here tomorrow. I wish I'd started on the rear now since all my stands and jacks are being held up under my jeep which is sitting in pieces in the drive. I could have been done with the rear and only waiting to finish the front. I'm itching to finish this project and get it on the road. The bushings were the last of it before I run it to my mechanic for smog tuning. Oh well, there are other things to occupy me while I wait for parts shipping...like those bear sway bar bushings that are not cut from moog. I will never again put those on I think. They were serious trouble. Soap and water was my friend. It should all ride sweet when I get it done finally though, so I can't complain.

Thanks for the input by the way.

 

[yellow85cj]

The spring mount (the fixed end) of the front and rear are the same width.
I understand that the front and rear springs are different, but the mount (hangers) are the same width.

The springs are different widths. The steel tube that the front and rear bushings are mounted in are different widths, the bushing width and the tube inside the bushing are the same overall width.

Probably why Moog lists them as front and rear.

 

[Techlight]

Yeah...makes sense. I knew the hangers and the bushings were the same overall length, but not that pesky outer sleeve the bushing rides in. I felt like I could have bolted them in and been fine, but I thought of future new owners haha and thought to ask.

In Moog's defense I checked and they list them as the rear. I think I must have assumed since there was no other one piece Moog spring eye bushing. They list them with weird titles like "rear forward" and "rear upper" so maybe my education isn't worth the paper it's printed on .

It's good to live and learn though...especially under a Jeep.

 

[yellow85cj]

This description doesn't make sense to you?
MOOG Part # SB317 More Info {#5352079, 5353851, 5355369, J5352079, J5353851, J5355369}
Front Lower Rearward; 1-1/2" OD x 2-29/32" long
Rear Forward; 1-1/2" OD x 2-29/32" long

Probably written by someone who hasn't ever worked on a vehicle that has front and rear leaf springs.

You might want to download a copy of the parts manual. Helps with numbers and how things go back together and apart for that matter. Saved me a number of times. That's how I found out that the Dana 300 bushing was the same as the shock bushing. The part numbers listed in the description does list the OEM numbers for front and rear.(in bold)

And sometimes the parts houses can cross reference an OEM part number with aftermarket.

 

[Techlight]

This description doesn't make sense to you?
MOOG Part # SB317 More Info {#5352079, 5353851, 5355369, J5352079, J5353851, J5355369}
Front Lower Rearward; 1-1/2" OD x 2-29/32" long
Rear Forward; 1-1/2" OD x 2-29/32" long

Probably written by someone who hasn't ever worked on a vehicle that has front and rear leaf springs.

You might want to download a copy of the parts manual. Helps with numbers and how things go back together and apart for that matter. Saved me a number of times. That's how I found out that the Dana 300 bushing was the same as the shock bushing. The part numbers listed in the description does list the OEM numbers for front and rear.(in bold)

And sometimes the parts houses can cross reference an OEM part number with aftermarket.

Lol...yeah exactly. I'm glad it's not just me that thinks their wording is weird.

They have the right overall length but what they don't tell you is the length of that outer sleeve, and of course it's different on my year. And that front lower rearward is why I ordered them. According to that wording it's the right part, but it is not! I wish they would just type "spring eye bushing" or "fixed end bushing" would be even better. It was worse when I was calling the local part houses. I had to explain to 3 different people at 3 different stores the difference between a shackle bushing and a spring eye bushing. For the record I am not a mechanic, but I know what a shackle is.

I do have the parts manuals...obviously I didn't read it. I should have though...then I would know that it has diagrams. That's a good piece of info to have. I thought it was just one long list with too many words, lol.

 

[Techlight]

Finally finished these. The autozone fixed end bushing part for the fronts came in correct so that was good. Made in Mexico same as MOOG, although I'm sure the Moog stuff is better...I just don't have another week to wait on Rock auto, lol. The Autozone part # is SK6524.

As a side note the $80 Harbor Freight tool #60827, and an impact gun of course (although it "could" be done by hand) made my life really easy on these. The upshot of this is I'm sure I'll use this tool a lot on u joints and what not. Seems pretty handy to have around. Just watch out for that pesky bolt (that you need to put in to protect the bushing)that is loaded with all that weight...it shot out at me once or twice. Luckily I was smart enough to not sit in it's path haha.

Figured I'd post here just in case someone comes along and reads through the thread looking for easier solutions that the manual with their chisel hammers and all thread.

Thanks again for everyone's help. Always appreciate it