Since I picked my 03 sedan in November I have been noticing that the car pulls to the left a bit. When driving at higher speeds it also feels a little loose. Lastly, I hear annoying squeeks when turning the steering wheel to full lock and when going over large bumps at slower speeds.

I know the bushings are the known culprit for these problems, but when I inspected both the passenger and drivers side bushings I did not see any tears, rips, or leaks coming from either side. I also did not feel any play or movement in the compression rods. Can the bushings go bad without any visible signs?

I plan on replacing the bushings with the SPL ones eventually, and just wanted to get some feedback from you guys. Also, I'm going to hold off on getting an alignment until I get the SPL ones installed.

Thanks in advance for your replies.

 

the pulling is probably an alignment issue, so get that checked when you're ready. As far as squeak, i don't think that's the compression rod issue. The rod issue is more of a click or knock. As far as squeaking, try some silicon lubricant on the bushings. It'll take a couple hours/days to soak in. i hope that helps.

 

Good call on the alignment, I'll probally get it done early in the spring. In the mean time I will get some silicon lube and see if it helps.

 

The compression bushings rarely break and should last very long. When they do eventually wear, they will start making noises. But even when they start to wear out and making noises the performance only goes down marginally, if at all. The viscous gel in those bushings do not lose their consistency. They can withstand a few tons of pressure and not burst. They often break when the rubber housing starts to crack from exposure to the element, not stress.

 

Never grease bushings, replace them. The squeak is because the bushing have become worn and can no longer hold the sway bar firmly so the bar moves in the bushing. The compression rods if worn will make a loud thumping noise when going over bumps. Worn struts will also squeak when the car is bouncing.

If you have looseness in your steering have the suspension system properly checked by somebody who is qualified.

 

You CAN grease them, but use a synthetic grease. The Hotchkis swaybars I got said to be sure and grease the bushings with the synthetic grease that they supplied. It looks like petroleum jelly but NOTHING takes it off your hands.

 

They don't come grease from the factory so why would you think it is a good idea now. You do not want movement between the bar and the bushing, that would defeat the purpose of the bushing. They are designed to hold on tightly and flex with the suspension components and then return back to their original position. Soft bushing have a soft flex which gives a softer ride, harder bushing don't like flexing so the ride is much firmer.

I had a Acura RSX which had very squeaky rear sway bar bushings, against my better judgment I did what was recommended in the chat-room, I greased them, they got a little quieter and the rear suspension got a little softer feel and the squeaking came back louder. I ordered new bushing and I greased them with the clear grease that came with them. A day latter the squeak came back so I removed the bushing and removed every last trace of grease off the sway bar and bushing and then reinstalled them. The ride quality dramatically improved, the rear end felt much firmer and controlled and the squeaking completely disappeared. It's two years latter and still no squeaking.

Texasscout is right, it is very hard to remove synthetic grease, I used brake cleaner on the bar and hand cleaner, soap and water on the bushing with a lot of paper towels. Don't use brake cleaner on the bushings.

 

Maybe because mine have GREASE ZERKS built in? You DO want movement between the bar and bushing, that's why it's called a bushing. The bar MUST move radially so your suspension can work. I think you are referring to LONGDITUDINAL movement which is controlled by "stop washers" on my Hotchkis bars. I greased mine when I installed them and have had NO trace of noise and it handles like it's on rails.

 

If you want suspension isolation , use a bushing
If you want to allow movement you use a bearing.

The OEM factory stabilizer bar works entirely by the flexing of the bar, the bushing does not allow the bar to slip, it is an isolator bushing not a bearing.

If your bars bushing was designed to be greased because they included a nipple then continue to grease it when they squeak if that works for you. The OEM bushing was designed to be put in dry so don't grease them to try and fix a squeak caused by the bushing being worn out and allowing movement between the bar and bushing.

If the grease method to solve bushing noise doesn't deliver the results you want then try installing them dry as they do from the factory which does seem to work very well.

 

lol... if a sway bar has no ability to rotate, it wouldn't be a sway bar. It would function exactly like a spring, and its function would be futile.

Sway bars are all created round for a reason.

If movement is not desired, the bar would be a square tube.

 

THANK YOU! Some people just don't comprehend...

 

is it easy to change the brushing?

 

Yes, new ones are split on one side, you just unbolt the retainer and remove and replace the bushings.

 

^ The compression rod bushings have to be pressed in. From what I've read getting them off isn't that bad, but you have to use a hydrolic press to remove the old bearings and press the new ones in.

 

I concede that your aftermarkets must allow some movement withing the bushing because they want you to grease them for whatever reason, maybe because it makes you feel like you have a superior product. Exactly why they would want slipage between the bushing and the bar is a mystery to myself. By allowing the bar to rotate with the suspension it prevents the bar from becoming properly "loaded" defeating the purpose of the sway bar. The sway bar and the bushings twist when the suspension moves up and down storing energy which is trying to restore the suspension back to its original position by resisting the suspension systems movements (acting like a spring).
In the animation below imagine the bar rotating with the moment of the suspension and how it would be of absolutely no use in controlling the suspension system if their isn't any resistance. Then imagine the bar not rotating, instead the sway bar and the bushings twisting and storing up energy to resisting the up and down movement of the suspension system.
So for the suspension sway bar to work properly their must not be slippage between the bushing and the bar. To say otherwise is ignoring all logic and facts. The bushing squeaking is caused by the bushing no longer able to hold the bar tightly, greasing it just makes it worse. The only fix is to replace the bushing. Enough said already.


You can also buy the compression rods with the bushing already installed, about $160 a set. If they need replacing you will hear a loud thumping noise whenever you go over a bump, they do no squeak, struts do. I recently replaced my struts on a G35 because it made loud annoying squeaks anytime you went over any bumps. Before spending your hard earned money I would take it to somebody who can tell you what the problem really is.