Recently I noticed some front end clunking while turning the wheels in parking lots and while stationary. I had already replaced tie rod ends, but the feel and sound were similar. After using cameras to find out what was moving, it was coming from the rear bushings on the front springs. The entire rear portion of the springs were shifting side to side.
I checked to make sure the u-bolts were still torqued, spring pins in place and the bushings were still descent. Come to find out that this is a common problem with the Dakar OME springs. According to Kurt of Cruiser Outfitters, when these are made they insert a steel sleeve to insure consistent diameter of the spring eyes for the bushings. Over time these tend to loosen up and start to shift. After more searching, the way some have solved this is peening the sleeve, living with it and replacing the springs. An unconfirmed solution is using 76 series bushings which are larger and would not require the sleeve.
It started to really annoy me so I decided to see if I could weld them in place. Once removed, both sleeves were indeed loose and could slide the bushings side to side. Removed bushings, cleaned up the surfaces and welded the sleeve in just on the outside of the spring. I didn’t feel it needed to be overkill.
Reassembled it all back together and did the test turn. Quiet and smooth! Front end feels solid again.
