lubricating poly bushings

I have read that poly bushings need to be lubricated to prevent wear, but never an explanation on how. Do they need to be removed and greased, or just sprayed with a spray lube? and what type of lube is best for them?

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Weren’t you supposed to lube those up before you installed them?

yeah, but the directions on the Ingalls site say if the lubricant washes away, they need to be relubricated. I’m wondering how often this happens and how extensive the relubrication needs to be. At the moment I am interested in rear camber kit and rear sway bar links and bushings.

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I’m taking all my poly bushings out, re-lubing, and re-installing them soon. I’m not sure if they really need it, but I figured it would be a good way to go through the entire suspension of the car and make sure there weren’t any problems. Not sure if that’ll help you, but it’s just a point of reference.
Also, do you have poly bushings now, or are you asking because you’re interested in getting some? Also, the amount of times you have to re-lube them, probably depends on the weather in your area.
-nino

the only ones I have right now are the shifter bushings, I am interested in replacing bushings as I work through my suspension, and wondering if they will be too much trouble for a daily driver with very occasional autocross use. We get a decent amount of rain and snow here, bad for most everything.

If your car is in the rain and snow a lot, it probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to change out the bushings. Whether you use poly or OEM($$$), it’s up to you.
-nino

I’ve been using marine & trailer wheel bearing grease from lowe’s to lube up my bushings. It’s ~3 bucks for a decent size tube of it. Best of all, it’s water resistant. Good stuff. :thumbup:

Poly bushings are definitly worth it IMO. I’m almost done installing an ES master kit. I started putting them in after my H&R sports/KYB AGX install, and they’ve definitly stiffened up the car. The main things I’ve noticed with the car is quicker steering response, and less body roll. With new OEM trailing arm bushings and the kit, my car has at least doubled in stiffness since after I put in shocks and springs, and I still have stock sways! ES kits are definitly worth it. :up:

This is the easiest way to remove the old bushings and metal outer sleeves:

1.) Use a common propane torch to burn out the old rubber. Hold the flame on the inner sleeve for ~3-4 minutes, until the surrounding rubber catches fire and starts burning off. After the flames die down a bit, use some pliers to pull out the inner sleeve. Keep using the torch on the rubber until you can scrape it out with a flathead. Don’t worry, it won’t turn into a big gooey mess. The rubber just turns into crumbly ashes.

2.)After you have access to outer sleeve’s metal, there’s a couple things you can do to cut out the sleeve. If you’re a balla, use a dremel to cut the sleeve out. If you don’t mind the wait, you can use a hacksaw if you take it apart and assemble it with the blade in the hole. I’ve used both methods, and the dremel is a LOT easier, but if you don’t have the money for one, the hacksaw will work.

Once you have the old bushings and sleeves fully removed, lube up the new ones and press them in my hand. If they don’t want to go in, you can align the part and the bushing in between 2 2x6s, and step on it. This method works really well. I’ve pressed in bushings that I didn’t think I could do at home doing this. If you need more clearance for the part, set it up on the edge of some steps. You can also use a light hammer for the easier ones.

Thanks for the info, I do own a Dremel and have access to a press. What I am still wondering is if these will need to be relubricated often. I don’t have time to be completely disassembling my suspension a few times a year to grease bushings.

It’s not going to be a few times a year. It’ll be more like once every 1-5 years depending on how often you want to do it.
-nino

i read on wes vanns page he uses zerk fittings, what the heck are those. im gonna run a search on what those are.

Im about to go 2 years with my ES bushings and I dont see any plans on re-lubing it…its my daily driver and i put close to 15k a year on it…i check it time to time every time i change my oil and they seem to look ok. just my .02

okay, so with help of a machine shop, or a good drill, you can install zerk fittings into the part youre putting the ES bushing into. all it is, is a nipple where you snap your grease gun into and it pushes grease into the hard to get into spot where your polyurethane bushing may be squeaking…

a little overboard, but eh, if you got time seems like its quality job. if you use silicone lube all over it once, that should be able to last awhile.

all this talk about burning, cutting, blah blah blah…

isn’t it easier just to press the shit out and in? :stuck_out_tongue:

can’t press them out when replacing them w/ ex bushings, because the ES kit uses the oem outer shell and it is bonded to the rubber, so yes, you have to burn, cut, etc…

When I first put them in. i just covered them in grese… now everytiem I avhe the car up for good measure. i spray it with a heavy duty silicone spray compount and drench them from all angles. they always still look fine and never make a noise… And they’ve been through a winter of snow and lotsa rain as well. :cross:

more reason to get the prothanes (cost is very comparable too). :up:

OK, thanks for the info everyone. Guess I’ll be looking for some poly bushings to start installing.

That’s only true for the rear trailing arm bushings. The rest get pressed out and the poly bushings slide in.