- Joined
- Mar 30, 2008
- Messages
- 316
- Points
- 80
Yeah, doesn't feel any different to drive but I'll probably be ringing around for quotes this week. Brakes need doing too so probably a good time to get it all done; wallet won't be too happy though...
Technical Stilo rear axle bushes.
- Thread starter [email protected]
- Start date
Currently reading:
Technical Stilo rear axle bushes.
Yeah, doesn't feel any different to drive but I'll probably be ringing around for quotes this week. Brakes need doing too so probably a good time to get it all done; wallet won't be too happy though...
Is it OK to replace one bush rather than the pair? One of mine is leaking oil but other isn't.
A quick reply would be appreciated as I have to tell the garage to do one or both tomorrow. Thanks in advance.
A quick reply would be appreciated as I have to tell the garage to do one or both tomorrow. Thanks in advance.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Aug 14, 2011
- Messages
- 261
- Points
- 132
Not an expert on the technicalities of it, but would have thought that if one needs done the other won't last that much longer anyway, so might as well get both done and save hassle later on? Had mine done maybe four years ago, cost £160 for both, if I remember correctly, supply and fit, and it made a big difference to the car.
Don't know if that helps you any at all.
Don't know if that helps you any at all.
Yes.. the rubber bush has been through the same dramas on both sides, so you would bet on the other failing not long after the first. In any case the garage has to drop the axle so most of the labour involved is the same. The second one is therefore relatively cheaper to change than the first one alone... might as well do the pair.. 
Reminds me... my garage hasn't rung me back to book mine in...
Ralf S.
Reminds me... my garage hasn't rung me back to book mine in...
Ralf S.
I'm booked in.. local tractor mechanics in The Land that Time Forgot want a couple of bales of hay and a few chickens to change both my bushes (next Monday).
I'm all excited!
On mine, the nearside one doesn't seeeeem to have leaked (I never saw any fluid) but the inner rubber bush is torn and half hanging out of the metal insert. It doesn't clonk either.. just squeaks on any marginal road surface, which in The Land that Time Forgot is most of the time.
Handling does seem a bit "roly" though. I'm hoping new bushes will give me a bit more firm-ness and some more anti-roll at the rear.
Ralf S.
I'm all excited!
On mine, the nearside one doesn't seeeeem to have leaked (I never saw any fluid) but the inner rubber bush is torn and half hanging out of the metal insert. It doesn't clonk either.. just squeaks on any marginal road surface, which in The Land that Time Forgot is most of the time.
Handling does seem a bit "roly" though. I'm hoping new bushes will give me a bit more firm-ness and some more anti-roll at the rear.
Ralf S.
We'll be getting our bushes changed at the same time!
New bushes fitted.. thanks to the lads' tips above and the Fiat Service bulletin on the subject.
The tractor garage hopefully followed the instructions... though they said it was a bit of a nightmare job that took them nearly six hours. I'm glad I didn't decide to have a go myself...
The car is completely squeak free now, for the first time since I've had it.. It rides a little bit tauter at the back too with noticeably less roll.
It's worth having done, if you have a truck load of bushes accidentally delivered to your house and a 2 ton press.
Ralf S.
The tractor garage hopefully followed the instructions... though they said it was a bit of a nightmare job that took them nearly six hours.
I'm glad I didn't decide to have a go myself... The car is completely squeak free now, for the first time since I've had it..
It rides a little bit tauter at the back too with noticeably less roll. It's worth having done, if you have a truck load of bushes accidentally delivered to your house and a 2 ton press.
Ralf S.
Had mine done too and it took the Fiat dealer about the same time. Great trouble getting the old ones out apparently. Seems to be OK but not sure why they packed blue grease all round the outer edges of the bushes. Work cost £360.
According to the Fiat service bulletin dealers are supposed to remove bushes with a special tool. My old bushes were returned to me and it was obvious they had been chiselled out of their mounts in a pretty crude way. The idea that they corrode inside their mounts doesn't hold water as there was no sign of corrosion on the old bushes. Just a final thought - why are the outer faces of the new bushes packed with blue grease?
I suspect the dealer didn't have the special tool. There will be "major" service centres with all the tools and "minor" (second division) service centres who have the common tools but who would have take the axle to a main service centre, if they need that tool.
So.. they probably didn't bother/couldn't locate someone with that tool (Stilo is getting on a bit now and most "bush" jobs probably stay outslde the dealer network just because it's expensive vs the value of the car..) so they probably just banged them out.
The blue goo is probably a jointing compound. The bushes are pressed in and there will be "space" between the axle and the bushes (unless each is perfectly spherical). The paste will seal the gaps, prevent ingress of moisture/grit and prevent the bush from twisting/rotating in the axle - since it's only this "interference" that is keeping it fixed in position.
The axle is only supposed to be fitted with new bushes once.. because of the "wear" to the bush mount - having new bushes squeezed in and then taken out must enlarge the axle "hole" if you imagine doing it half a dozen times, for example.
Ralf S.
So.. they probably didn't bother/couldn't locate someone with that tool (Stilo is getting on a bit now and most "bush" jobs probably stay outslde the dealer network just because it's expensive vs the value of the car..) so they probably just banged them out.
The blue goo is probably a jointing compound. The bushes are pressed in and there will be "space" between the axle and the bushes (unless each is perfectly spherical). The paste will seal the gaps, prevent ingress of moisture/grit and prevent the bush from twisting/rotating in the axle - since it's only this "interference" that is keeping it fixed in position.
The axle is only supposed to be fitted with new bushes once.. because of the "wear" to the bush mount - having new bushes squeezed in and then taken out must enlarge the axle "hole" if you imagine doing it half a dozen times, for example.
Ralf S.
Last edited:
Yes. I used Loctite 660 for this, when I did mine @95,000 miles Apr 2011. They've worn out again now @175,000 miles, so a new set is going in over the holidays.
I would be worried if a major suspension component was so fragile as this implies. But for those of us who take some diameter off the new bush, the stress of insertion is presumably reduced anyway. See comments from Shadey, roy lovelock, cris and keviwal etc here https://www.fiatforum.com/stilo/268211-stilo-rear-bushes-one-mans-struggle.html
If I never post again, please can mods make this into a memorial sticky for "The member who committed suicide by fitting new bushes to the same axle twice.."
Last edited:
Hi. Yes it is ridiculous to imply that the axle is so fragile,the only reason I can see for this statement by Fiat is to stop people DIYing the job.
Several hundred pounds for a new axle every 70k or so is a nice earner, this is probably the reason they are so stupidly tight as well,most people wouldn’t have access to a big press to fit them.
Several hundred pounds for a new axle every 70k or so is a nice earner, this is probably the reason they are so stupidly tight as well,most people wouldn’t have access to a big press to fit them.
Last edited:
I dunno.. we're in the realms of conspiracy theories now..
It's the Technical Bulletin (which is an internal document, not for the general public) that states the bushes should only be replaced once (the axle is to be marked with white paint when the first bushes are replaced) so it's not something that would prevent people DIY-ing.. since they would not see the bulletin.
I dunno why the axle can't take multiple bushes.. but logically, sooner or later the axle-bush fit must become looser and it's just the interference fit keeping the bushes aligned with the seams. I guess it's more about liability than fleecing Mr Punter.. but that's more to do with liability laws than Fiat.
Ralf S.
It's the Technical Bulletin (which is an internal document, not for the general public) that states the bushes should only be replaced once (the axle is to be marked with white paint when the first bushes are replaced) so it's not something that would prevent people DIY-ing.. since they would not see the bulletin.
I dunno why the axle can't take multiple bushes.. but logically, sooner or later the axle-bush fit must become looser and it's just the interference fit keeping the bushes aligned with the seams. I guess it's more about liability than fleecing Mr Punter.. but that's more to do with liability laws than Fiat.
Ralf S.
