Power steering cylinder bushings

[Conductorblg]

My 68 D200 has factory power steering. The bushings in the tie rod mount of the power steering cylinder had disintegrated to the point the cylinder shaft would move nearly an inch without moving the tie rod. The only auto parts store I could find that still listed the power steering parts for these trucks was NAPA and they still have the repair kit (bushings, cupped washers, sleeve, and a new nut) listed in their computer. Although their computer, if you can get the clerk to the right page, has a picture of the kit, it shows out of stock with the part number and price greyed out. I bought a a pair of rubber bushings from them that looked close, but were shaped wrong and just did not work. They were nearly five bucks for the pair.

Next stop was a local auto parts place, that when they had been a speed shop, carried the Energy Suspension line. Looking through the few items they had still in stock yielded a set of urethane stabilizer bar bushings that looked like they might work, packaged as End Link Grommets #9.8108R. As these were red, I suspect the R indicates red. The full set of 8 are likely a lifetime supply using them two at a time for this application and cost about $10.00. A trip by the hardware store on the way home provided a couple of thick galvanized washers the right diameter for under a buck.

The inside diameter of original bushings matches a metal sleeve that slips over the cylinder shaft and extends through the bracket bolted onto the tie rod. The Energy Suspension bushings match the shaft diameter, but have a small lip on one side that is about the same diameter of the original sleeve and the shape of the bushing allows this lip to position the bushing in the bracket as if that sleeve were still there. The hardware store washers bracket the bushings to keep them from being chewed up from normal shaft movement. My original retaining nut appeared to be in good shape, so it was reused.

Having all the diameters match coupled with the urethane having a much higher density than the original rubber, and noting the openings in the bracket are dished for the bushings, I feel confident this will work long term. The several hundred miles put on the truck since doing the repair seem to bear this out.

[martincom]

Thank you for sharing your solution. Summit Racing has them in stock, in black (8.8106G). I ordered a set and I'm going to replace mine as preventative maintenance.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/ENS-9-8106G