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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Poly bush problems

I replaced all my rear spring bushes about 5 years ago with poly bushes . I can’t remember the brand or where I bought them , on line probably eBay but they were branded and are blue. After a couple of years the rear shackle bushes had disintegrated, literally and the spring pads have done the same thing now . I’m finding chunks of it on the garage floor. Anyone else had this and any recommendations on a good brand ?
Mike Fairclough

That's disappointing if they have not lasted five years.
I replaced all the old worn out bushes around 6 or 7 years ago with SuperPro Polybushes, also blue and thankfully not had any problems since and a big improvement. Only issue was it being a much bigger job than expected extracting all the old black rubber bushes.
Tim Lynam

With assistance I demonstrated fitting poly bushes at a past Practical Classics Car show at NEC a few years back.

On my own cars I have what I believe to be Super Pro: now on my Sebring Rep over 20yrs.

Alan Anstead

SuperPro are known to be good--available in blue only originally but now you can get black to be a bit more in keeping (colour wise) with a classic car if that's an issue.

If you can find some black graphite impregnated bushes for your Midget Mike, that'd be the go.
They're fairly stiff but self lubricating, I poked a set in front and rear on a mate's semi-racer MGB 200 years ago and they're still like new, and been really put to the test.

A big mistake is to use lithium grease on poly bushes, don't know what the reaction is but the bushes seem to go crumbly and crack
Easy mistake to make, to mistake white lithium with the proper siliconePTFE grease being also a white grease
William Revit

Thanks for the replies. I did find I bought them from eBay and the branding didn’t look like Super Pro so I will give them a go . I did a bit of googling and seems other people have had similar experiences and blamed bad batches and also possible fakes.
Mike Fairclough

Ain't cheap though, those SuperPro.

I'm still on rubber. But not original stuff. About 8 years old now and knackered. I've got a spare set of rubber, so before I cough up a £ton for poly, I'll use my rubber up.

New rear rubber is still less than 15 quid. If it lasts 8 years, that's not bad.




anamnesis

Some 20 years ago up changed all the rubber bushes on my car to blue. Polybushes at the time the capital 'P' was important as indicating the original patented products. Other copies were available. I fitted the full set but noticed a couple of the packages were different, in unmarked plastic bags. Sure enough those bushes failed, either during installation or within a very short space of time. I complained to the manufacturer/supplier and after a bit of to and fro it was admitted that their stocks had run low and had been topped up with some bought in bushes. They looked the same but basically split or crumbled in use. They were replaced with good stock. Since then they have lasted extremely well. I have renewed the rear drop link ones and the inboard front wishbone ones once, but the others are still good, 20 years on.
GuyW

I didn't think the bushes in the drop links could be changed. I've only seen whole drop links, and not seen any in poly.

anamnesis

Sorry! Senior moment, giving them the wrong name! I mean the rear shackle links. Not the shock absorber drop links.
GuyW

It's a pity they can't be easily rebushed. New ones are crap compared to originals.

I bought new rear droplinks a good few years ago. They didn't last long, mayne about 2 years. Then I bought good used ones and they're still ok.

anamnesis

I fit polybush.co.uk orange ones about 8 years ago still ok I think they are uk made and seemed good quality .
mark heyworth

Yup, capital P, fitted years ago and still fine.
Jeremy Cogman

This thread was discussed between 17/12/2025 and 27/12/2025

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