My 2014 Cougar came with the CRE3000 system. Two years ago when I changed out my axles, I was prepared to also change out the equalizers. Like you, I thought, "Heck, they must be worn and in need of replacement after all these years"... I contacted Morryde, asked the question, "How do I know if my CRE3000 system needs replacement?".. They responded with a request for photos. I sent them and they told me "the rubber bushings look good, you do not need to change out your CRE3000 system"... They also sent the CRE3000 Owner's Manual and said the rubber inspection is located on page 5.
If you're referring to my photos, yes, there were no wet bolts in the OEM configuration. When I changed out the axles, I replaced the 4400 pound OEM axles with 6000 pound axles, 3000 pound springs, wet bolts/bronze bushings, Morryde XFactor cross braces, upgraded brake wiring for the entire run, enhanced spring hangers and thicker shackles (came with the Morryde wet bolt kit)...
I installed three XFactor cross brace beams, one at each spring hanger. I had cracks in the "Lippert welds" on one of the rear spring hangers, so I had a local fabricating company reweld that cracked hanger and also weld steel plates on the outside spring hanger on all positions. The plates extend from just above the wet bolt hole to about 2" above the existing weld. You could consider it a "patch over the outside spring hanger to better tie them to the frame. I didn't do the inside spring hanger plate because my XFactor mounts were the old style and a thicker plate wouldn't allow the mount to sit properly against the frame/spring hanger... So, the welder recommended just doing the outside that isn't affected by the wet bolt installation or the XFactor installation...
