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Old 01-10-2019, 02:11 AM   #1
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Body mount rubbers

Hello all.
Just wondering if anyone has replaced the thin body-mount rubber pads on a bluebird. Some of mine are pounded right out, while others seem to not carry any weight at all. Was thinking I'd like to find some thicker urethane of some sort and replace them all. Would think the whole issue would be quieter and somewhat softer riding? Thicker and softer should let them share the load better?
Any thoughts/experience?
Thanks in advance:
One_Eyed_Jack

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Old 02-22-2020, 03:59 PM   #2
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I'm curious to know about this as well.....
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Old 02-22-2020, 07:09 PM   #3
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Originally Posted by one_eyed_jack View Post
Hello all.
Just wondering if anyone has replaced the thin body-mount rubber pads on a bluebird. Some of mine are pounded right out, while others seem to not carry any weight at all. Was thinking I'd like to find some thicker urethane of some sort and replace them all. Would think the whole issue would be quieter and somewhat softer riding? Thicker and softer should let them share the load better?
Any thoughts/experience?
Thanks in advance:
One_Eyed_Jack
Urethane comes in many flavors (urethane durometer) but if you find universal body mounts the urethane is usually harder than the oem rubber it's replacing.

I do also have some mounts sliding out of position...

A thicker mount might change how the chassis clamps slide on the frame rail during a head-on collision. I wouldn't go much thicker than oem. Could just be some of your clamps are loose?
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Old 03-27-2020, 12:02 AM   #4
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There is little to no info out there on this and others chassis related items. I find it amazing that guys spend so much time and money designing and putting together these buses and then have no regard for body mounts, motor/trans mounts, spring rates or shock absorber/suspension design to prevent these roll jolting earthquakes from turning their creations into squeak box rattle traps.
The bluebird body mounts are 3/16th corded rubber, other buses use up to 1/2” equivalents, I’m sure u could find a urethane sheet to cut your own out of that has the right durometer to fit your needs. As long as things clamp down properly, I’d would try thicker and a bit softer myself to improve the ride, if it didn’t workout it’s pretty cheap and easy to reverse as bluebird body rubber mounts are .50 each. Also, weighing your rig and getting progressive thin leaf spring stacks custom made specifically for your bus weight, as well as using high fluid volume high quality shocks in pairs per wheel with lighter valving, will make your ride a dream come true compared to what most people live in their skools.
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Old 03-27-2020, 02:11 AM   #5
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You are so right that there is little attention spent of the ride quality. We have added adjustable air springs to the front axles and this has improved the ride. It is still a jarring ride when the rears are involved in a bump ... but the fronts help stabilize the rears. I would love to put some sort of adjustable air spring in to replace the air springs currently installed. That's a project for another time though.
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Old 03-27-2020, 05:51 AM   #6
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The guy I hired to rebuild my floor placed the two new crossbeams resting directly on the chassis rails, with no padding at all, despite my discussing the need for this every time we spoke. The floor section was wedged in place under the existing floor, but I was able to pry it up enough to insert pieces of 1/4" 70A rubber held down with custom clamps. I would have gone thicker (the original pads are about 3/4" thick but there was no way to pry my beams up any further.
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Old 03-27-2020, 05:58 AM   #7
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I do also have some mounts sliding out of position...
On my bus, every third or fourth crossmember on the underside of the floor is formed from the two c-channel edges of adjacent panels, spot-welded together (the other crossmembers are just regular c-channel) to form what looks like an i-beam. For reasons unknown to me, the pads under these beams are always on one side (rather than centered), so over time the beams here start to twist in these spots. Not a huge deal (yet) but I'm going to see how easy it is to wedge an additional piece of rubber under the other side of the beam and straighten it out.
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Old 03-27-2020, 09:02 AM   #8
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Originally Posted by musigenesis View Post
On my bus, every third or fourth crossmember on the underside of the floor is formed from the two c-channel edges of adjacent panels, spot-welded together (the other crossmembers are just regular c-channel) to form what looks like an i-beam. For reasons unknown to me, the pads under these beams are always on one side (rather than centered), so over time the beams here start to twist in these spots. Not a huge deal (yet) but I'm going to see how easy it is to wedge an additional piece of rubber under the other side of the beam and straighten it out.
Interesting observation -- I'll have to check that out.
Might have something to do with how the chassis is designed to slide on the frame to absorb fwd impact...


I'm a long way from worrying about "ride quality" on my bus.
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Old 03-27-2020, 10:55 AM   #9
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The original frame pads on my bus were the old skool rubberized canvas material then used for drive belts turning flat drum pulleys. Since I had the frame out anyway I decided to replace that worn out material with strips of dense rubber floor cove molding like you see in old houses. 10 years later it is still in place and shows no sign of wear or aging. If you squint a little you can sort of see the white molding in the top of the frame in the following picture.
Jack

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Old 03-27-2020, 11:05 PM   #10
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Wow, a frame-off restoration! Nice! I would so much like to do this.
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Old 03-28-2020, 09:38 AM   #11
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I was finally able to upload this pic to Postimage.org so here goes. Jack

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Old 03-28-2020, 09:40 AM   #12
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Is there a specific term for those crossmembers that connect the two chassis rails? I keep calling them "crossmembers" but I wonder if there's a better word.
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Old 03-28-2020, 11:36 AM   #13
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I think crossmembers is the proper term. The term is used by gmpfitter.com when they discuss frame lengthening.

Here is a quote: "Extending the frame will also require relocation and/or addition of crossmembers. If the extension is within the limits of the optional
wheelbases of the respective model, the exact crossmember locations and dimensions are given in the respective model sections of
this book. If the modified wheelbase exceeds the optional wheelbases of the respective model, the following guidelines must be
adhered to."
Jack
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Old 03-28-2020, 04:03 PM   #14
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I was finally able to upload this pic to Postimage.org so here goes. Jack

.

Your frame was in immaculate shape!


@Musigenesis: Wouldn't you love to paint the frame above than yours???
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Old 03-28-2020, 04:10 PM   #15
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Your frame was in immaculate shape!


@Musigenesis: Wouldn't you love to paint the frame above than yours???
I don't think so ... I believe ol trunt would beat me with a crowbar if I splattered yellow paint all over his hoses and whatnot like I'm doing with my bus.
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