Hey Lads,

Ok, with all originality and "plushness" of the suspension aside, has anyone ever machined a shock mount replacement that doesn't use any non-metal cushion?
Been thinking on this as I approach the need to replace mine and researching the best options for the parts.
What's stopping me from simply designing a part that allows me to split apart the worn out donuts and insert a machined aluminum spacer, torque it down and call it done - forever?

 

I am no expert but l think a certain amount of compliance is still necessary. I did do similar with poly though and am happy with the results.

 

There was a forum member about a decade ago who had two upper shock mounts machined out of steel plates for $250 to $300 at the time. I do not recall him following up with any reports on how the car handled afterwards. Wish I could remember his name....

 

Absolutely love what you did and also the tattered sweatshirt and pants!
Really excellent.
wj

 

Yeah that's my shed clothing, l did get a hammering from my wife and daughter when they saw the video though. LoL

 

Bernie, Baxtor and I have been doing the trial and error for a couple of years and as you can see, he put the final touches on what we think is the best results so far.
What you are suggesting does have it's merits and I will give you the fine points you need to consider. Separating the plates and having a solid metal concaved plate that will be 5/8 inch (16MM) centered to have that measurement on each side of the what is now the washer. Your plate will need to be in the 3/16 inch range, a large hole in middle where the two rubber washers of a normal system would meet. Finding the washer to fit on the shelf of the normal shock to set the lower rubber on might be interesting, it's really small but should be a good fit. Now you can add the bottom rubber into the new plate while the bell shaped original part is separated, add the top rubber and washer, torque down then put the plates together.
OK, now you have the top in a pretty standard top shock position. Now what are you going to do for the 5/8 inch spacer that fits between the spring and the bell? Baxtor has this down also but the Welsh ones that come in to me are sometimes crushed down to nothing.
Just some food for thought, good luck.

 

Machine it out in 1/2 in polypropylene from a cheap kitchen cutting board.
outer dia 160mm inner hole 90 mm dia
circle for 3 holes is 133 mm dia.
Put this on top of the plate between the body and the mount.

 

Pistnbroke, that would work for a spacer on the top of the strut unit to give you a lift for weak springs buttttt, the one between the top metal bell area and the top hat spring cover needs a 1/4 inch or more raised area to keep the spring centered on the bell. The spring is not contained by the metal parts but by a small rubber area between the two parts. Other wise it will slide back and forth making a heck of a racket.
Wish it were that simple for that part. Energy Suspension does make a spring packer that when added together with a bit of routing will fit nicely and what I used for a long time and still works just Baxtor's poured one is better.
Maybe the new Welsh one's will follow our lead and even make it better, I sure hope so.

 

Great - and supportive - replies guys and thanks for taking the time.
Was half expecting to get a lot of negative responses to this thread but obviously, I am not alone in the thought.
Considering that the donut is not common to most passenger vehicles and seems to only serve as a way to provide more plushness to the ride, I see no reason for them especially with how expensive they can be to replace and the broad quality range of replacements. I had already done mine several years ago and now they need to be replaced again. Would be totally fine with that if they provided something for my driving style , but they don't. I would much rather have a suspension that was stiffened up a bit. Wayne and Baxter have done a great job in building their own cushion assembly and definitely something to consider.
I own several, very capable desktop CNC machines and in my business, machine a lot of aluminum, hence the idea to design and build complete aluminium replacements.
Would be super helpful if someone out there has a dead pair sitting around in the USA that wouldn't mind sending them to me. I will cover postage and armed with that, I can take a stab at designing a replacement out of solid aluminum - if it looks feasible

 

Just so you're aware Razor, if using other than your own mount as a template, they do vary in dimensions between different manufacturers.
This turned out to be a hiccup in the replacement bush making venture re fit, and is what led to a cast in place method to overcome the variance issue.

 

Bernie, send me a PM with your address and I have a couple of used ones with a bit of crush on them but should give you all you need to make something up. The original thickness was 5/8 (16MM) or a little over. I'll measure one of the new ones to be sure.

 

Thank you so much! I will PM it to you

 

Great video but it was not said what was being poured ? Did not quite look like poly or epoxy resin so what was it ?
PS
I did find this so I guess thats what it is ...

Polycraft DuroFlex 85 Polyurethane Liquid Casting Rubber

Price: £13.00(Inc. 20% VAT)(£10.83 Exc. VAT)
PPS
Looking at this again all we are doing is moulding a support for the upper shock metal mount.
So why not make a collar in steel to go between the original mount and the top plate and tig weld into place.
or just re make the metal top shock mount in the lathe with a groove for a circlip. May be they found that the continuous pounding broke the metal> Suppose it depends on what equipment you have to hand.
I have yet to take mine all apart to fit springs so I could be talking Boll0ks

 

polyurethane. 60 Shore A hardness, flexible.
85A might still work and l did do some with that early on but l think it is a little too firm. Might be more track suited.
Checked your link and only difference seems to be the shore hardness and a different part A to B mix ratio. I add a black pigment.