C3 diff. crossmember bushing : where to buy ?

[Yves Thaens]

Hi,

I would like to know where the best C3 differential crossmember bushings (sombrerotype) can be bought. Preferably original.

Thanks

Yves

[John H.]

Re: C3 diff. crossmember bushing : where to buy ?

Yves -

Doc Rebuild has both the reproduction (#5500205) and NOS (#5500201) diff crossmember bushings.

[Yves Thaens]

Re: C3 diff. crossmember bushing : where to buy ?

John,

How is the fitment of the NOS part ? I already had a new bushing from Auto Accessoires of America and it was way to loose. I guess it was a repro part.

Thanks

Yves

[John H.]

Re: C3 diff. crossmember bushing : where to buy ?

Yves -

I'm not familiar with installation of the NOS part - I replaced mine last spring with reproductions from Corvette Central, and fit was excellent. Applied anti-seize to the mating steel surfaces on the bushing inner shells and on the "sombrero" formations on the frame so next time the crossmember has to come out it won't require such a hassle.

[Tracy C.]

Re: C3 diff. crossmember bushing : where to buy ?

John,

How does a person determine when these need to be replaced? Is it obvious or something a person does as a scheduled maintainance task?

tc

[John H.]

Re: C3 diff. crossmember bushing : where to buy ?

Tracy -

It became obvious on my '67 when there was a very loud "BANG!" from behind my seat as I was cruising down I-75; pulled off on the shoulder and couldn't find anything adrift, but when I got home and put it on the lift, the left side of the diff crossmember was solid against the bottom of the frame. The retaining flange around the top of the bushing had corroded away, allowing the crossmember to go right past it and ground out on the frame.

Replacing them became the subject of the technical article I wrote on the process in the September '06 issue of "Corvette Enthusiast" magazine.

[Yves Thaens]

Re: C3 diff. crossmember bushing : where to buy ?

Thanks, I took the bushings out, because I wanted to have the frame and crossmembers powdercoated. Even with the powdercoat in place the new bushing I had was loose... I was thinking about reinstalling the originals, but after inspection, one of the metal halves (on the outside) came right of because of the rust on the halve. So, I guess the bushings would have to be replaced anyway. I took a look at the DrRebuild's bushings but a 142 $ for 1 bushing seems a little on the steep side. Is there any of the repro's that fit as good ? Or is there maybe some sort of difference in the size of the hole in the crossmember that is responsable for this kind of trouble. I'm kind of puzzled here.

I was also thinking about cutting a piece of metal and mounting it between the bushing and the crossmember.

Thanks

Yves

[John H.]

Re: C3 diff. crossmember bushing : where to buy ?

Yves -

Mine are repros from Corvette Central and they fit nice and snug.

[Joe L.]

Re: C3 diff. crossmember bushing : where to buy ?

Yves-----

I believe that Dr. Rebuild's price of $142 is for NOS GM bushings. I think that they have reproduction bushings for less. Nevertheless, these bushings are expensive. The GM bushings were very expensive when they were still available.