Proper Bushings for Dakar CS047R?

I own a set of CS047R Dakar leaf springs. Had them about 3 years. Been noticing some odd play in the way the back end feels so I started taking shit apart (standard protocol).

Come to find out my bushings are totally destroyed (pictures below).

Here's the question....why did this happen and am I using the wrong bushings? When I first received the leafs they had a black rubber bushing inside a metal sleeve in the front eyes from the factory. I was told to press that out and use the yellow poly bushings that came with the set. I did this and I've been rocking it for 3 years and now they look like the pictures below.

But I'm under the impression there are also two different versions of the leaf packs, EL095R /

$325 EL096R LEAF SPRING HD

EL096R that differ by load. If you look at the eye on my CS047R you can see it's not a complete loop and there is a gap at the bottom and the bushing has tried to use this as an escape route. So this has me wondering if the poly bushings are ok to use in this particular variant of the leafs and do the EL095 and 96R have a "closed loop" design to accommodate the poly bushing?

 

@GHOST SHIP did this awesome write up on replacing those bushings
You may find your answer in there

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/change-the-front-bushings-in-your-dakars.479071/

 

Brilliant response. That's exactly what I needed. Thanks for posting it!

Now I need to get in the garage today and make this happen!

 

You’re welcome
Good luck!!

 

I recently went through my suspension for a refresh after 50k miles (after I posted the thread that was linked above) and found that one of my bushings had done the same thing. As far as I can tell, it rotated inside the spring eye and under tension, it compressed and caught the sharp edge of the leaf. I don't believe this was a one-time thing (as in, I hit something to cause this or jumped the truck or anything). The way the bushing was gouged it appears to have happened gradually as the leaf pack articulates over time. This might be a good argument for not greasing the outside surface of the bushings while installing. I've heard it suggested, but no one ever gave me a good reason not to so I've always greased liberally, inside and out. During my refresh I switched to Dobinson's bushing at all 4 spring eyes which I found to be slightly different in design that the standard wheeler's bushing I was using before. The Dobinson's bushings (link: https://www.dobinsonsdirect.com/pro...ane-leaf-spring-bush-kit-with-greasable-pins/ ) have a wider shoulder and sit tighter in the frame and shackle mounts, the internal sleeve is also thicker steel which makes the actual bushing itself a bit thinner, but the most notable difference to me was that the outer surface of the bushing (that contacts the inner spring eye) had larger grooves cast into them which I can only assume was for grease retention. So when I reinstalled everything, I was able to add more grease to hopefully allow free movement. Seeing that the inside spring eye in your picture has some surface rust I am assuming you didn't grease the outer bushing surface so between you and I we have two examples of this happening both with grease and without, so I'm inclined to think that it doesn't make a difference. For my peace of mind, I'll continue adding grease as time goes on.
I'm now on 10k miles since the refresh and haven't notice any issues, but if and when I get after it again, I'll make note of any damage to the new bushings.

 

Hmm I’ll have to keep an eye on mine, so far so good with the wheelers bushing.
Im thinking with the sharp edge on the front eye, sooner or later it’ll need to be replaced.

 

I did run a file through it when I noticed the bushing chewed up, but I didn't take too much time on it or remove that much metal. If anything, I just deburred the sharp edge.

Won't know if it made a difference until I get in there again in another 50 k miles.

 

I only have probably 15k on the wheelers,so I should be nice and old when it’s time to replace them
I’m going to keep an eye on them though.

 

Well I had quite the experience yesterday. Turns out the passenger side front leaf spring bolt was seized inside the sleeve that goes through the middle of the bushing. And while that might sound simple to remedy, I assure you (due to placement) it's not. Even cutting off both ends of the bolt won't get it out since it's in the sleeve. Whatever, I got it out (pictures below).

In any event, it has me thinking about how to properly grease these on a regular basis. If they need grease more than just the initial greasing upon install, shouldn't they have a zerk? I feel like a true solution would be a leaf spring with a full circle outer sleeve to remove that "edge" of where the loop comes to an end paired with a bolt that has a grease zerk. But whatever, it looks great now.

PS: The air hammer is a marvelous tool. I added it to my fleet yesterday. We're friends now.

 

So what did you use for your New bushing?

 

The dobinsons kit I liked above includes grease-through bolts with zerks on the bolt head. I didn’t use them but they would specifically prevent that. I coated my bolts with grease at install (just make sure to clean the grease off the threads to prevent false torque readings). Being in SoCal we don’t have a lot of rust issues and I can’t imagine DFW having much either. But if that happened to your leaf spring bolts, you may want to take a look at your cam bolts and grease them before they seize the same way.

 

I used the Wheeler's kit linked here.

Honestly, I think I'm realizing why it happened. I did grease the bushings well when I installed them in the front. However, I was recommended to use a SuperLube grease on them. I used the same thing on my LCA bushings too and later realized it completely washed out. I would not recommend it for ANYTHING on the underside of your truck. I ended up switching to a better grease for the LCAs and have had MUCH better results. I'd forgotten I used that grease on the leaf bushings too so naturally, I ended up with terrible results.

One thing I can say for certain is the grease that comes with the wheeler's kit is top notch. It's super thick and is nearly impossible to get off your hands; even with Dawn dish soap. I'm confident that will yield drastically better results.

After the install the truck rides like a silent cloud. It really is a drastic difference. I should have done this a LONG time ago.