Comparing the pricing between IPD and FCP Groton for poly bushings, I've noticed that FCP appears to be a fair bit cheaper. Is there a reason for this? Any experiences/suggestions that would warrant purchasing from one over the other? Obviously I'm leaning for the cheaper of the two, especially as I'm not going to upgrade all my bushings to poly. Thanks for any info.

RE: Searching this forum: Try using " [quote symbol] at the beginning and " at the end to enclose your terms when you have more than one term. In this case "poly bushings" gets a slightly different and more exact result than- poly bushings -. Results are more dramatic when searching for "air conditioning" versus air conditioning. Reason being the " " searches as a term; without " " searches for the occurance of each word. Also works when using Yahoo! and google. But your questions was a good one. I put an IPD poly kit on my rear. Chose IPD because I rented their TAB tool and because of the DVD as someone mentioned earlier. DVD shows a hydrauclic press removing the front TAB bushing which most of us don't have so it was an oversimplificaiton. A good auto machine shop affiliated with auto parts stores will press out front TAB - takes them about 10 minutes of which 5 was finding the correct diameter punch or whatever it is called. But IMHO poly is a good way to go and I am usually reluctant to deviate from OEM level parts.

Last time I bought poly bushings the cheapest place was direct from the UK distributor www.superflex.co.uk , they were out of some and I got those from www.kgtrimning.com ( they had just got all the trailing arm bushings shipped to them from the distributor :-)in Sweden , also way cheaper than anywhere here in the US, even after shipping which only took about a week and a half.
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-------Robert, '93 940t, '90 240 wagon, '84 240 diesel (she's sick) , '80 245 diesel, '86 740 GLE turbo diesel, '92 Ford F350 diesel dually

This is a dead horse...Let's Bury It! (or turn it into glue)

Refer to the archives you lazy bum.

I did search the archives but politics isnt' my cup of tea. My bad - improper search terms I guess. I did find info. on bushings generally and their sources, but I didn't find any clear explanation on the difference in price b/wn FCP and IPD, which was my initial inquiry. I'll be more careful with my future inquiries. Thanks for setting me straight.

You're correct, both IPD & FCP sell the SuperPro poly bushing kits. One of the big differences is that IPD gives you custom metal sleeves for the fr.A-arm & rear trailing arm bushing sets. IPD also includes a installation DVD which can be a major time saver. There are a few exceptions however. I believe IPD uses an exclusive vendor for thier poly swaybar, torque rod, and accessory bushing sets. The same sets from FCP are considered inferior by many. Personally, I have FCPs poly torque rod & accessory bushings and have yet to experience a problem.

What do you mean by 'accessories'?

My plan is to get all poly bushings from FCP except for the Turbo sway bar set which I'll get from IPD. Also, in order to save some coin I'm probably going to get some rubber, i.e. rubber rear control arm, panhard rod, and front trail arm bushings.

I really have no experience in this area, so to those more experienced does this sound like a reasonable upgrade for someone on a budget looking to improve suspension?

Why do some consider FCP inferior? Is it the lack of the DVD and metal sleeves? If both IPD and FCP carry SuperPro, how can FCP be inferior?

Thanks for all your help.

FCP Groton carries SuperPro bushings & they can be identified by the "SPFxxxx" part number. The FCP Groton polyurethane bushings without the "SPFxxxx" part numbers are not SuperPro (these are softer than the SuperPro bushings). The torque rod bushings and accessory bushings from FCP Groton are not SuperPro.

SuperPro bushings are the same regardless if sourced from IPD or FCP Groton (assuming identical model nos.). If you're going to all polyurethane for suspension, I would stick with SuperPro all around. The IPD SuperPro polyuretane/metal sleeves/DVD kit will make the job easier for the rear trailing arm bushings (rear suspension) and rear lower control arm bushings (front suspension). Why? You do not have to remove the rubber from the old rubber bushing steel outer sleeve for reuse with the polyurethane. Easier said than done.

I bought the FCP Groton accessory bushings and ended up sending them back for a refund. They deformed and did not hold the alternator, power steering pump and a/c compressor in alignment. Replaced all ten (10) accessory bushings with IPD polyurethane (much more rigid) & now have no alignment problems with the alternator, power steering pump and a/c compressor. My MPG went up roughly 1/2 MPG. A little pricey, but they work.

Good luck.

rustydog
1986 240DL 144k

Hi Rusty,
I just (last couple of weeks) got accessory bushings from FCP and mine were Superpro along with some suspension bushes also. Maybe they realized there were quality issues and switched.



Dan

"Accessory bushings" are the small bushings that support the alternator/AC compressor/PS pump. The OE rubber ones are notorious for premature wear causing belt squeal.

The FCP poly bushings(torque rod/sway bar/access.)are made from a lower durometer(ie:softer)polyurethane than IPD. Also, IPDs poly torque rod bushings are "full" bushings. In other words, they completely fill the torque rod shell. The FCP version has a small gap between the 2 halves once installed.