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Petervw
Samba Member
Joined: July 04, 2005
Posts: 1020
Location: Sarnia Ont. Canada
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 Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 2:08 pm Post subject: |
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| Andrew A. Libby wrote: |
| Petervw wrote: |
| the Febi seems to be identical to the "Un-named" brand that "importecparts.com" is selling for under $10, but without the Febi logo on it...now where the logo was or should be, it looks like someone removed the name and left a "smudged" mark instead... |
Quick, buy one and report back. The pics at importedcarparts have been wrong before. At Autohausaz.com they say that it's Meyle, but picture the Febi style.  If Importedcarparts has the right ones, then that's a great deal.
Andrew |
I can't speak on behalf of the "bushings'" at Importec..but I have purchased many times over the years for several vehicles in the family without disappointment when choosing products that they supply with pictures |
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Christopher Schimke
Samba Member
Joined: August 03, 2005
Posts: 5390
Location: PNW
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| Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2008 1:27 pm Post subject: |
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They say that curiosity killed the cat, but I just couldn't stand it. I had to find out what was inside the Febi bushings...so I cut one of my new ones apart to find out.
No real surprises but I do think that the Febi's might last longer as they do in fact have a lip seal molded into the rubber to help keep the crap out and grease in. The lip on the narrow side is really hard to see in the pictures, but it's there. They also have a waffle like pattern to retain the grease. Overall, the Febi's do look like a better engineered product. If anybody wants to send me one of the cheap Importecparts.com bushings, I would be happy to cut that apart too.
_________________
"Sometimes you have to build a box to think outside of." - Bruce (not Springsteen)
*Custom wheel hardware for Audi/VW, Porsche and Mercedes wheels - Urethane Suspension Bushings*
T3Technique.com or contact me at [email protected] |
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r39o
Samba Polizei
Joined: May 18, 2005
Posts: 9800
Location: San Diego
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| Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2008 1:36 pm Post subject: |
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Can we figure out a way to make these serviceable?
What I mean is a mod that would allow us to grease these things?
Meaning adding a zerk fitting?
Or ??????
_________________
"Use the SEARCH, Luke" But first visit the Vanagon FAQ!
1990 Multivan EJ 22, Rancho trans 0.82 4th, Small Car front AC, CLKs w/ 215/65-16, homemade big brakes 303mm, Konis, Recaros, etc....
Click to see my ads for Cup holders, Subaru clutch fix and CLK wheels (no wheels currently) |
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?Waldo?
Samba Member
Joined: February 22, 2006
Posts: 9752
Location: Where?
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| Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2008 2:12 pm Post subject: |
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Chris, you're a nut. 
In a good way. 
Andrew |
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hiram6
Samba Member
Joined: September 29, 2006
Posts: 1880
Location: Beautiful South
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| Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 3:28 pm Post subject: |
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Hey guys, an update on these. I ordered four from RoackAuto's website over the weekend, and their online inventory said they were in stock. Got a call from someone there today, it turns out they only have 3, and have no prospect of being restocked.
That's it.
Fat lady singing.
I took the last three, and will have to settle for a lesser bushing for my fourth.
Unless anyone wants to share. 
_________________
1985 Westy, 1.9L automatic (Daisy)
1996 Mazda Miata
1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.9 Limited
You can't lie around on the beach and drink rum all day.................unless you start first thing in the morning. |
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tencentlife
Samba Member
Joined: May 02, 2006
Posts: 10075
Location: Abiquiu, NM, USA
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| Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 4:47 pm Post subject: |
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Your fourth bushing is that one loogy just cut apart.
_________________
Shop for unique Vanagon accessories at the Vanistan shop:
https://intrepidoverland.com/vanistan/
Please don't PM here, I will not reply.
Experience is kryptonite to doctrine. |
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hiram6
Samba Member
Joined: September 29, 2006
Posts: 1880
Location: Beautiful South
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| Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 4:55 pm Post subject: |
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| tencentlife wrote: |
| Your fourth bushing is that one loogy just cut apart. |
Ha!! Don't think that didn't cross my mind!!
(shaking fist) Damn you Loogy, damn you!!
_________________
1985 Westy, 1.9L automatic (Daisy)
1996 Mazda Miata
1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.9 Limited
You can't lie around on the beach and drink rum all day.................unless you start first thing in the morning. |
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tencentlife
Samba Member
Joined: May 02, 2006
Posts: 10075
Location: Abiquiu, NM, USA
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| Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 4:58 pm Post subject: |
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He might be cursing you, since I think he cut one of four he had. If that's true, now you're both stuck with three.
_________________
Shop for unique Vanagon accessories at the Vanistan shop:
https://intrepidoverland.com/vanistan/
Please don't PM here, I will not reply.
Experience is kryptonite to doctrine. |
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captainpartytime
Samba Member
Joined: December 04, 2005
Posts: 715
Location: Mission Viejo, CA
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| Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 5:00 pm Post subject: |
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I noticed the same thing. I went to rockauto.com to buy four of them last week and forgot my credit card. Went back to order them yesterday and they were no longer pictured on the website! Anyone have any others leads on where to pick up some Febis?
_________________
-Kerry
1982 turbo diesel Westfalia |
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Christopher Schimke
Samba Member
Joined: August 03, 2005
Posts: 5390
Location: PNW
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| Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 7:22 pm Post subject: |
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| tencentlife wrote: |
| Your fourth bushing is that one loogy just cut apart. |
I know, I feel like such a heel! But I'm no dummy, I ordered my replacement (and confirmed it was in stock) before I cut it apart. So in reality, I actually bought Hiram's fourth bushing. Sorry Hiram!
To be honest, I don't even all of the Febi bushings installed yet so all of my hype might go down in a ball of flames if they don't work out like I hope. Looking at their design, I can't see them being any worse than the Meyle's though.
I've been playing around with one of my old bushings trying to add grease fitting to it. Adding the grease fitting isn't really the problem. The problem is getting the grease to go where you want it to go. The bushings have no natural path to allow the grease to travel between the rubber and the inner sleeve. As a result, it takes the path of least resistance which happens to be between the plastic sleeve and outer metal sleeve. I'll keep thinking about it, but so far, I have come up short on a way to practiclly service the bushings.
I was thinking that what guy could maybe do on a new set of Meyle bushings would be to clean as much of the external grease off of the bushing and then seal up both ends with a small amount of silicone (or similar) to help keep the crap out and the grease in.
Another idea would be to take a new bushing and cut the end off just like I did in the picture. Then a guy could machine a new washer that would take the place of the removed peice and act like a cap but would be installed sort of like a washer under the long bolt on one end and the nut on the other. This would allow a guy to remove the cap of each bushing which would allow the inards to be removed and greased. I know it sounds like a lot of work to have to remove the whole upper control arm just to grease the bushings, but to be honest, as long as nothing is rusted together, removing the upper control arm only takes about 10 minutes including jacking up the van and taking off the wheels.
What do you think? If I made some of these washer/caps, would anybody buy them?
_________________
"Sometimes you have to build a box to think outside of." - Bruce (not Springsteen)
*Custom wheel hardware for Audi/VW, Porsche and Mercedes wheels - Urethane Suspension Bushings*
T3Technique.com or contact me at [email protected] |
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riceye
Samba Member
Joined: March 09, 2006
Posts: 1661
Location: Caledonia, WI
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| Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 8:36 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| Hey guys, an update on these. I ordered four from RoackAuto's website over the weekend, and their online inventory said they were in stock. Got a call from someone there today, it turns out they only have 3, and have no prospect of being restocked. |
I just ordered up four Febi bushings at 9:35 am (CST) 1-15-08. They had to ship out of two locations, doubling the shipping cost, but they appear to have a few more on hand.
_________________
'87 Westy Weekender - daily driver on salt-free roads
There's gonna be some changes made.
“I find that things usually go well right up until the moment they don't.” - Ahwahnee
"Quality isn't method. It's the goal toward which the method is aimed." - Socrates, later quoted by R.M. Pirsig |
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riceye
Samba Member
Joined: March 09, 2006
Posts: 1661
Location: Caledonia, WI
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| Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 12:39 pm Post subject: |
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Update!
1:30 CST Just got a call from rockauto.com. They only have one bushing in stock.
Hiram6 - call them quick! 608-661-1376
Had to cancel my order. I turned down the Dana-Spicer substitute they offered for only $64.99! Looks just like a Meyle in the picture on their site.
_________________
'87 Westy Weekender - daily driver on salt-free roads
There's gonna be some changes made.
“I find that things usually go well right up until the moment they don't.” - Ahwahnee
"Quality isn't method. It's the goal toward which the method is aimed." - Socrates, later quoted by R.M. Pirsig |
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hiram6
Samba Member
Joined: September 29, 2006
Posts: 1880
Location: Beautiful South
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| Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 1:48 pm Post subject: |
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No good. Just spoke with them. The "one left on the shelf" doesn't exist. Their online inventory seems to be somewhat of an approximation.
Oh well, I'll keep looking.
Thanks for looking out for me, though!!!
_________________
1985 Westy, 1.9L automatic (Daisy)
1996 Mazda Miata
1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.9 Limited
You can't lie around on the beach and drink rum all day.................unless you start first thing in the morning. |
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Franklinstower
Samba Member
Joined: September 21, 2006
Posts: 1895
Location: PNW
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| Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 6:05 pm Post subject: |
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| Andrew A. Libby wrote: |
| Petervw wrote: |
| the Febi seems to be identical to the "Un-named" brand that "importecparts.com" is selling for under $10, but without the Febi logo on it...now where the logo was or should be, it looks like someone removed the name and left a "smudged" mark instead... |
Quick, buy one and report back. The pics at importedcarparts have been wrong before. At Autohausaz.com they say that it's Meyle, but picture the Febi style. If Importedcarparts has the right ones, then that's a great deal.
Andrew |
I bought the unamed brand for $10.00 bucks each. This is what they look like:
The package says FEQ (First Equipment Quality), made in CHINA. I will install them and report back.
Paul
_________________
'89 Westy - EJ25/22 Frank 4.44 5mt
'75 Miami Blue Sunroof FI Standard Bug |
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Christopher Schimke
Samba Member
Joined: August 03, 2005
Posts: 5390
Location: PNW
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| Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 6:47 pm Post subject: |
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Wow! From the outside, those are an exact copy of the Febi's. Did you get them from Importecparts?
_________________
"Sometimes you have to build a box to think outside of." - Bruce (not Springsteen)
*Custom wheel hardware for Audi/VW, Porsche and Mercedes wheels - Urethane Suspension Bushings*
T3Technique.com or contact me at [email protected] |
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Franklinstower
Samba Member
Joined: September 21, 2006
Posts: 1895
Location: PNW
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| Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 8:39 pm Post subject: |
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| loogy wrote: |
| Wow! From the outside, those are an exact copy of the Febi's. Did you get them from Importecparts? |
Yip.
Placed the order Saturday evening and they arrived today.
I also picked up there lower contral arm bushings.
http://www.importcarparts.com/
_________________
'89 Westy - EJ25/22 Frank 4.44 5mt
'75 Miami Blue Sunroof FI Standard Bug |
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Franklinstower
Samba Member
Joined: September 21, 2006
Posts: 1895
Location: PNW
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| Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 9:48 am Post subject: |
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| loogy wrote: |
| Wow! From the outside, those are an exact copy of the Febi's. Did you get them from Importecparts? |
Hey Chris,
I was just thinking, If you want to cut one of these apart and look at the guts for comparison, I would be happy to trade one of your febi's for one of mine?
_________________
'89 Westy - EJ25/22 Frank 4.44 5mt
'75 Miami Blue Sunroof FI Standard Bug |
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r39o
Samba Polizei
Joined: May 18, 2005
Posts: 9800
Location: San Diego
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| Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 11:00 am Post subject: |
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Ther MUST be something that can be done to make them easy to service.
There just MUST be.
(Taking them apart does not appeal to me to service them....)
Chris, continue with the thinking cap on, please.....
_________________
"Use the SEARCH, Luke" But first visit the Vanagon FAQ!
1990 Multivan EJ 22, Rancho trans 0.82 4th, Small Car front AC, CLKs w/ 215/65-16, homemade big brakes 303mm, Konis, Recaros, etc....
Click to see my ads for Cup holders, Subaru clutch fix and CLK wheels (no wheels currently) |
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riceye
Samba Member
Joined: March 09, 2006
Posts: 1661
Location: Caledonia, WI
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| Posted: Sat Jan 19, 2008 10:42 am Post subject: |
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I ordered up four bushings from autopartsworld.com.
Item #: L2030-28177
Description: Control Arm Bushing, First Equipment Quality
Price: $9.29
Quantity: 2
Item #: L2030-28177
Description: Control Arm Bushing
Price: $9.47
Quantity: 2
They are the same part number, but two are from China (the First Equipment Quality), and the other two show the word "Germany" molded into the rubber. It appears that there was at least one more word preceeding "Germany", but they have been ground off.
Looks like there are subtle differences between the two, mostly just small rubber bits that were not cleaned off of the asian ones.
They will be installed in spring, when the weather warms. -5 degrees F here this morning.
Please don't ask me to cut them apart!
_________________
'87 Westy Weekender - daily driver on salt-free roads
There's gonna be some changes made.
“I find that things usually go well right up until the moment they don't.” - Ahwahnee
"Quality isn't method. It's the goal toward which the method is aimed." - Socrates, later quoted by R.M. Pirsig |
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ChesterKV
Samba Member
Joined: February 07, 2005
Posts: 1725
Location: El Cerrito, CA
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| Posted: Sat Jan 19, 2008 10:45 am Post subject: |
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| riceye wrote: |
I ordered up four bushings from autopartsworld.com.
Item #: L2030-28177
Description: Control Arm Bushing, First Equipment Quality
Price: $9.29
Quantity: 2
Item #: L2030-28177
Description: Control Arm Bushing
Price: $9.47
Quantity: 2
They are the same part number, but two are from China (the First Equipment Quality), and the other two show the word "Germany" molded into the rubber. It appears that there was at least one more word preceeding "Germany", but they have been ground off.
Looks like there are subtle differences between the two, mostly just small rubber bits that were not cleaned off of the asian ones.
They will be installed in spring, when the weather warms. -5 degrees F here this morning.
Please don't ask me to cut them apart! |
I think FEQ ! is what a person yells when it fails after only 500 miles 
Let us know how it holds up...I need to rebuild all that stuff on my van soon.
- Chester
_________________
1984 Wolfsburg 7-passenger stock sunroof
1992 Subaru Legacy EJ22 boxer motor installed.... van is now sold.... currently playing with a 1987 Toyota MR2 with 1.6 liter twin-cam motor. Better than the Subaru boxers....... I'm impressed. Well, okay, in an "apples and oranges" kind of way.  |
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