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Gasket



Member Since: 30 May 2020
Location: Manchester
Posts: 629

Complete bush kit - genuine vs superpro and what’s in a se
The 2010 90 SW (with anti roll bars) goes in on the 5th of Sept to have some major preventative work done. Chassis is being galvanised, axle casings, backplates, all suspension arms, A frame, steering rods, bracketry and guards all blasted and painted (some bits being galved too).

As such a lot of bushes are going to need to be replaced. Is there a complete list of bushes available anywhere? No worries if not, I’ll just go through the parts manual. I’d rather replace every bush on the car while it’s in bits rather than just the ones affected by the work.

On the bushes, it seems that Superpro are the one polyurethane brand that are Recomended on the forum. Is there a consensus on the benefits of Superpro vs genuine?

I’ve seen loads of superpro kits advertised from £190 to £400 so need to work out what should be in a complete kit. I haven’t started looking at the price of genuine bushes yet, so don’t know if it’ll be a pleasant surprise or an inevitable disappointment when it comes to pricing. If they’re a similar price to a set of superpros then I’d be leaning towards keeping it stock.
Post #916844 13th Aug 2021 10:08pm
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Bluest



Member Since: 23 Apr 2016
Location: Lancashire
Posts: 4216

United Kingdom 2007 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 XS CSW Java Black
The other thing the throw in is ease of fitting if you are doing it yourself. I understand some of the bushes are much easier to fit in polyurethane form than in factory OEM guise. I think it might be the front arm to axle ones. 2007 110 TDCi Station Wagon XS
Post #916846 13th Aug 2021 10:25pm
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Oldowner



Member Since: 26 Dec 2018
Location: South west
Posts: 623

United Kingdom 2007 Defender 90 Puma 2.4 HT Aintree Green
Superpro don’t have any anti roll bar related bushes in the kit. Nor damper bushes.

I also had to use my press to fit Superpro front radius arm bushes from memory as they are one piece unlike other poly bush brands who produce them in two piece.
Post #916854 14th Aug 2021 5:34am
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Dinnu



Member Since: 24 Dec 2019
Location: Lija
Posts: 3421

Malta 2012 Defender 90 Puma 2.2 CSW Santorini Black
Not a big fan of polyurethane bushes anymore...
What I found is that water can get between the polyurethane and the links, whichever that may be and corrodes it as there is no outer metal sleeve.
Some have even reported wear on the links themselves.
Never had corrosion issues after removing old OEM bushes.
I had installed polyurethane bushes on some links many moons ago.. although the polyurethane did not split, nor perished, they hardened, so to me still failed and need replacement. I am replacing with OEM/Genuine.

Edit: Ohh and they were a bitch to remove the old bushes (1 piece) and still needed a press. Thanks to the combination of the hardened polyurethane and the rust scale. 1988 90 Hard Top, 19J Diesel Turbo, Shire Blue - Restoration ongoing
2012 90 CSW, 2.2TDCI, Santorini Black
Post #916855 14th Aug 2021 5:49am
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nickhodgson



Member Since: 08 Dec 2009
Location: Zambia
Posts: 174

 
Hi

I would second what's said above with my opinion / experience - poly bushes will wear your suspension arms.

Personally I would go with Genuine Bushes (despite the cost). If your existing ones did 11 years then you can expect Genuine replacements to do at least that again. The OEM bushes do not have metalastin stamped in the rubber that is stamped on existing Genuine bushes and if you compare Genuine vs OEM there are differences - possibly OEM bushes are made by manufacturers who make other OEM components. Again my opinions / experience having changed dozens of Defender and Discovery 1 bushes over the last 24 years.

Hope that helps
Nick 1995 300tdi Defender 90 P/UP
2011 Puma Defender 130 D/C
2000 300tdi Defender 110 P/UP
2015 Discovery 4 SDV6 HSE
Post #916968 14th Aug 2021 4:56pm
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Gasket



Member Since: 30 May 2020
Location: Manchester
Posts: 629

Thank you very much everyone.

I’m quietly relieved - I do prefer to keep things stick unless there’s a glaring reason not to. So genuine it is. I’m off to start trawling through the parts catalogues to build up a list of part numbers.
Post #917000 14th Aug 2021 7:46pm
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Gasket



Member Since: 30 May 2020
Location: Manchester
Posts: 629

Trying to work out what's in a set is more work than I thought it would be.

Had a stab, but am going to have to check and double check it as some of the genuine bushes are quite expensive!



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Post #917015 14th Aug 2021 10:17pm
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Retroanaconda



Member Since: 04 Jan 2012
Location: Scotland
Posts: 2655

Scotland 
You don’t need shock absorber bushes, the new shocks will come with them.
Post #917029 15th Aug 2021 7:28am
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jimbo55



Member Since: 15 Jul 2020
Location: Midlands
Posts: 399

United Kingdom 
Up until maybe 5 years ago there was no real question, genuine were the way to go. However since Defender production stopped, the supplier has changed (can’t remember the names) and the quality is no where near what it used to be and they don’t last as long. If you want the genuine type bush, you mash as well just fit britpart, etc. As they will now last nearly as long and cost a lot less.

Pretty much all kits don’t include the anti roll bars as they aren’t standard on all vehicles and if you’re needing to replace shock bushes then it’s most likely that you’ll be needing to replace the shocks anyway.

I went for superpro all round and they’ve been good for the last few thousand miles but will see how they go longer term.

Says a lot when the likes of gwyn lewis, irb, etc. Who would all have recommended genuine a few years ago have all changed to superpro
Post #917033 15th Aug 2021 8:06am
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hank



Member Since: 12 Sep 2016
Location: South Wales
Posts: 2301

Wales 2007 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 DCPU Stornoway Grey
Out of interest, what is a reasonable ball park time estimate to do front and rear arm bushes and a frame to chassis bushes? > 110 XS Double Cab
Post #917199 16th Aug 2021 8:58am
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geobloke



Member Since: 06 Nov 2012
Location: Nottinghamshire
Posts: 4410

United Kingdom 
SuperPro all the way Thumbs Up

Just about to swap out a set after 12 years on the Td5 110. They have been exceptional, covered 10s and 10s and 10s of thousands of miles on and off road. The cheapest place to buy them at the moment is Recovery4x4;

https://www.recovery4x4.co.uk/superpro-299-c.asp

You will also need the bolt kit for your year as well and for this Britpart do handy kits that are excellent quality. For a post 2002 Defender 110 these are:

DA7208 Rear kit
DA7204 Front kit

The best bit is that once you have gone SuperPro you can replace the bushes at home without a press, drilling or burning out the old ones.

As for replacing standard bushes (like for like) by a garage, budget on at least a days labour. Those bushes can be an utter pig to get out.



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Post #917201 16th Aug 2021 9:33am
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Linds Hanson



Member Since: 16 Jan 2021
Location: Cornwall
Posts: 486

United Kingdom 
Agree on Genuine bushes not being what they used to be, also agree on polybushes wearing mating surfaces. We do use Superpro as they are the best polybush manufacturer but there have been delivery problems of late. We never fit polyurathane bushes to the later TD5 on Panhard rod as the Genuine bush works much better in this application.
Post #917202 16th Aug 2021 9:34am
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Dinnu



Member Since: 24 Dec 2019
Location: Lija
Posts: 3421

Malta 2012 Defender 90 Puma 2.2 CSW Santorini Black
Day 1. Remove link, remove bushes, prep for painting, apply etch primer.
Day 2. Apply under coat and final coat
Day 3. Wait a bit more for the paint to get harder.
Day 4. Install bushes and install back in Defender.
Day 5. Congratulate yourself.. and remove next link.....

Well, that is what I did.... and it snow balled into a full restoration.

I am sure others can do it in a much shorter time though. Really a ball park figure.. maybe about 4hrs, assuming bolts are not stubborn enough. I used half day just to remove one bolt from the lower rear trailing link. 1988 90 Hard Top, 19J Diesel Turbo, Shire Blue - Restoration ongoing
2012 90 CSW, 2.2TDCI, Santorini Black
Post #917204 16th Aug 2021 9:37am
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geobloke



Member Since: 06 Nov 2012
Location: Nottinghamshire
Posts: 4410

United Kingdom 
Ha that's funny, I was just thinking about painting the arms whilst off the vehicle... Rolling Eyes
Post #917208 16th Aug 2021 9:41am
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Gasket



Member Since: 30 May 2020
Location: Manchester
Posts: 629

Right - after breathing a sigh of relief that sticking with Genuine was the right way forward (am a bit of a genuine Parts anorak), I think I'm going to have to go the Superpro route.

The comments above about the quality of genuine parts post 2016 got me doing a bit of research and there's a few places saying the same thing - Gywn Lewis included:

From their website: “OEM” and “G” bushes just aren’t made to the same quality as original Production Line Genuine bushes were when the Defender was still in production, finding quality Genuine bushes now is getting very difficult which is why we are using SuperPro bushes as the best available alternative.

Nevertheless I persevered. Assuming my list above is correct (and noting the comment on shock absorber bushes not being needed at this stage), I went through every parts supplier, the LRWorkshop comparison tool, Blanchards and ebay. The best price I could get for a set of Genuine Land Rover bushes was £400 - and that's spread across 8 different suppliers.

My issue is less the price, I'm not to bothered about that, rather its that I had to delve to the very bottom of the internet to find some of them in Genuine boxes. That tells me that LR are no longer holding or making stock - which means that in the future, whether replacing bushes individually or en-mass I'm never again going to be able to find a set of Genuine bushes. And the anecdotal evidence is that after all this effort, these Genuine bushes may not be made to the same quality as those fitted to my vehicle from the factory.

So Superpro it is.

Before I click through on my order, could I ask one more question? I intend to keep the suspension (springs/dampers) completely stock. As such, is there any downside to using Superpro bushes with standard suspension - its not going to rattle my teeth out or anything like that is it?
Post #917338 16th Aug 2021 10:30pm
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