ShadowImg Posted April 4, 2009 Share Posted April 4, 2009 So I finally got some Energy Suspension Prelube (Autozone can order it, even if they don't know they can) to attempt to eliminate my sway squeaking over bumps (especially when cold). I put the car up on stands in the rear, pulled the wheels (in the rear, I found it MUCH easier to work on the bushing collar mount points through the wheel well rather than under the car) and lo and behold... The sway bar had gone completely dry. The grease that was on there (stuff that came with the bar) had turned into what felt like dry clay. I rubbed as much of it off as I could, both on the bar and inside the bushing. Only to find out that the powdercoat had also been worn clean off the bar. I'm not really sure how "bad" this is and how long the bar will hold up against the elements at this point. I greased the living hell out of them with the energy lube after cleaning off the bushings, collar, and bar as best I could. I'm going to have to tackle the front here as well now for sure. The car only has 11800mi on it, and the bars have been on for maybe 6000 of that. Roughly 9 months now would be my guess. I have a feeling this may have been a contributor to the bar failures that have been posted about infrequently, and I may be headed to a bar failure myself. Anyhow, the reason I posted up is I would recommend pulling the collars and checking the bushings/bar every 6 months after seeing this. I haven't seen any suggestions to do so prior, so I'd like to hear comments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
808subaru Posted April 5, 2009 Share Posted April 5, 2009 Well, i have the hotchkis competition bars and they suggest 1 or 2x a year for re-greasing. It's not a big deal, as the zirk fittings have a nipple on them, so all you really need to do is hook up a grease gun and pump it. Pretty easy stuff. I have seen people run sway bars without greasing them ,and have seen no problems for years on them. I also have horror stories to share of unbelievable failures of endlinks and bar/bushing related items. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShadowImg Posted April 5, 2009 Author Share Posted April 5, 2009 The problem with the zirk fittings is I can't find any grease suitable for use with polyurethane bushings that come in a grease gun tube. Energy only sells their polyurethane lube in a tub or in small packets as far as I'm aware. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
808subaru Posted April 5, 2009 Share Posted April 5, 2009 I just purchase the marine grease tubes. It's strong and resistant to corrosion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btlegacy Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 I had an Addco sway bar and bushings on my 00 LGT back in the day and it was on there for about 18 months with no grease from the start and never squeaked the entire time. Sadly they don't make one for my 05 so I went with a Perrin which came with grease so I used it. 2005 Legacy GT 5MT Buy my stuff Here So I can build my 6.0L V8 Legacy GT Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rock2534 Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 I have the cobb sways, about 2 yrs now and they used to squeak really bad in the winter. I have the service guys at the dealer lube them up when I take it in. They said there is a lube channel in the bushing for that. They don't charge any extra and that seems to take care of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShadowImg Posted April 7, 2009 Author Share Posted April 7, 2009 I have the cobb sways, about 2 yrs now and they used to squeak really bad in the winter. I have the service guys at the dealer lube them up when I take it in. They said there is a lube channel in the bushing for that. They don't charge any extra and that seems to take care of them. This is correct, the downside is the grease they used is petroleum based, and will degrade the polyurethane bushings over time. Energy is the only place I've found that makes polyurethane safe grease, and it doesn't come in a gun tube to use the zirk fittings with. I'm sure it's actually not a very big deal to degrade the bushings, probably just means you'll need to replace them after a few years, but they're not too expensive and you can pick up a replacement set at Autozone. I believe the front bushings are 1in and the rears are 7/8in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatbastard Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 I had a front bar fail and get them relubed everytime I go for an oil change so I don't think it is a factor in the failures. But I think I will be replacing my bushings soon since the front bushings (on bar that failed) were pretty well worn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inigo Montoya Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 On my miata I had a problem with squeaking, I ended up wrapping the bar with teflon thread tape (plumber's tape) and then marine grease on top of that, it fixed the problem and have not had to touch them in almost 2 years now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fzanetti Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 Same thing happened to me, after installing Whiteline sways... Squeak like a bastard when it's cold. I also need to purchase some polyurethane compatible grease to lube it up! Flavio Zanetti Boston, MA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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