oh oh -- thanks for posting this thread -- it's prompting me to look into
the home-made donuts I used to replace the disintegrating bushing I found
when I replaced my radiator last year.  Had taken a couple of wraps of some
kind of tape that sticks only to itself over my finger and then rolled it
off my finger to make something that looked like an o-ring.  Tried a couple
of times until it was a reasonable size.  Maybe ganged a couple of little
donuts together to take up the space.

On Mon, May 10, 2021 at 11:33 AM Eric Caron <ericcaron96@comcast.net> wrote:

> Hi Alistair,
>
> The bushings I replaced looked just like the new ones except they were
> highly compressed in the center. They became almost paper thin.  One was
> ripped almost through.  Even though they felt just like the ones I replaced
> them with I hope the new ones from Bus Lab, are a better material.
>
> I’m pretty sure when new the old ones would have felt and looked just like
> the new ones.  Quality of materials is a common disappointment for me.
> There is no reason they should have failed so quickly other then the
> material was not up to the task.  If these fail, I’m tempted to make my own
> out of a old silicon pot holder.
>
> Eric Caron
> 85 GL Auto
>
>
>
> > On May 10, 2021, at 10:51 AM, Alistair Bell <albell@shaw.ca> wrote:
> >
> > Eric,
> >
> > The rubber bushings that fit over the studs on the rad?
> >
> > Did they fail by going hard or did they crack?
> >
> > Nice to get the rattle so easily fixed :-)
> >
> > Alistair
> >
> >> On May 10, 2021, at 5:58 AM, Eric Caron <ericcaron96@comcast.net>
> wrote:
> >>
> >> Hi folks,
> >>
> >>       I know others chase down rattles so I wanted to share a success.
> >>
> >> My fix was fairly simple compared to Alistair.  I think he mentioned a
> rattle and now he is talking about a new engine.
> >>
> >> Anyway, when returning from our first outing about 100 miles away, the
> van would rattle on dirt roads.  Mostly quiet on smooth roads.
> >>
> >>       The rattle was in the front of the bus.
> >>
> >>
> >> The solution came from Dennis,  He told me to check the radiator to see
> if it was moving slightly at the top.  It was.
> >>
> >>       He had used locally sourced bushings and they looked great  and
> exactly like the originals. but they failed .   I had to search several
> vender sites and finally found them at Bus Lab.
> >>
> >> Hopefully these last.
> >>
> >> Dennis also sent me the info on how to replace and I enjoyed the small
> fix.
> >>
> >> For me this is a reasonable job but something new and I learned a lot
> in the process.
> >>
> >> So, if you hear a rattle in the front when going over bumps or dirt
> roads, you might be able to make that go away with a simple update to the
> radiator bushings or just tightening it a bit.
> >>
> >> Thanks Dennis and others including help from a friend to find the
> correct and out of stock bushings!
> >>
> >> eRic  Caron
> >> 85 GL Auto
> >
>