So, what exactly are car trailing arm bushes?
If you’re driving around Hamilton, cruising down Peachgrove Road, or winding through the back streets of Rototuna, you probably haven’t thought much about your car’s trailing arm bushes. Totally fair! But here’s the thing – these little bits of rubber and metal make a massive difference to how your car handles all those potholes outside Chartwell, speed bumps in Te Rapa, and stop-start traffic down Ulster Street.
In a nutshell, trailing arm bushes are chunks of rubbery stuff that hold the trailing arm (that’s part of your suspension) onto your car’s chassis. They soak up heaps of the shocks and vibrations you cop from the road, especially on those rough Hamilton side streets. Keeps your ride comfy and your tyres wearing even.
Learn more about trailing arm suspension >
What knackers out trailing arm bushes?
It’s a mix of Hamilton’s classic road conditions and good old NZ weather. You know the drill – you’ve got heatwaves in summer where rubber parts can harden and crack, then wet, foggy winters out Gordonton or Horotiu way where everything’s just a bit damper than you’d like. These bushes cop it all: twisting, stretching, and years of thumping from potholes, driveway curbs, and all those speed bumps they’ve put down in Flagstaff.
Usually, we see a lot of wear when you’re carrying heavy loads or doing heaps of city driving. The rubber just gets tired, cracks, or tears. Sometimes it’s just age, other times it’s all that heat off the road in somewhere like Cambridge on a toasty afternoon. Not only can they go hard as rocks, but the bush can actually split apart. If it gets bad enough, you won’t pass your Warrant of Fitness (WOF Hamilton). So yeah – they’re more important than they look!
What are the signs your bushes have had it?
Most folks notice clunking or banging when they hit a bump or brake at the lights in Dinsdale. That’s often trailing arm bushes letting go. We had a customer with a Nissan X-Trail the other week – she said her car felt floaty taking corners by The Base, not as “locked in” as usual. That’s another big sign: worn bushes let your car’s weight throw itself around in turns, so you get less grip and a sketchier ride.
Another classic: uneven tyre wear. One fella with a Suzuki Swift from Tamahere came in with shredding on the inner edge of his rear tyres. Turned out to be slopped-out trailing arm bushes. If the suspension isn’t taut, your tyres wear out way sooner, and that’s never cheap to fix.
Trailing arm bush repairs in Hamilton – we’re on it!
If you reckon your car’s not handling like it used to or you’ve just been pinged on your WOF, don’t stress. We deal with this stuff week in, week out – Toyotas, Mazdas, even the odd Kia or Peugeot from Morrinsville or Ngaruawahia. One of our techs will suss out what’s going on, swap out the bushes, and get everything lined up right so you can hit Wairere Drive or SH1 again without any clunks or wobbles.
Getting your trailing arm bushes sorted means better control, longer tyre life, and a smoother ride through the worst of Hamilton’s bumps. At Grimmer Motors, we handle all suspension repairs right here, so if you want your car to behave itself on those twisty country roads or city lanes, just give us a shout.