My Struggles & Reviews with the Compression Rod Polyurethane Bushings
In for updates - i need to replace my bushings again. Last time I got a squeak. This time I'm getting a clunk. I was under my car trying to figure out WTF was loose. Found the compression rod to have way too much play. Inside part of bushing is torn.
The SPL bushings that you have are the old ones. If you email SPL they'll send you these O-rings that help to soften up or even get rid of entirely the creaking and knocking and etc. The downside is that you have to constantly keep them lubricated like with PB blaster once in awhile or something similar. Silicon spray on grease seems to last longer before you have to reapply. The benefits from the SPL bushings though are enormous. Well at least for me anyways. HUGE difference going from piece of crap OEM bushings to the SPLs.
I ordered the Whiteline Bushings. I have heard nothing but good things about them. I saw these guys at SEMA back in Oct as well. They explained and showed me all the good things.
Also, for those bushings that you bought (OP) - the ebay listing shows the direction of install.
Also, for those bushings that you bought (OP) - the ebay listing shows the direction of install.
My whiteline bushings started to squeak. It sounded like a flap/squeak. I pulled them off this past weekend and there was a small tear in it (not sure if it affects performances. I installed the Armstrong bushing and used prothane grease.
Flapping went away but still was squeaking. Replaced my swaybar bushings on Sunday and squeak is now gone. Front suspension is all tidy now. Need to work on the rear this weekend.
Honestly, I think the prothane grease (19-1751) helps a lot in getting rid of the noises.
The SPL was a little too stiff for me, but it gave me the best performance on the corners. The Energy Suspension ones got noisy after a while, but can be helped with grease. Whitelines tore atfer 6 months, but it probably doesn't affect performance. The Armstrong bushings are nice in that they are one piece and the ends don't seem to separate from the rod itself under load (it drove me crazy on the energy suspension bushings, since water could get in there between the bushing and the metal.
Well see how they are after a few months of driving. If these don't last, I may go back to OEM.
Flapping went away but still was squeaking. Replaced my swaybar bushings on Sunday and squeak is now gone. Front suspension is all tidy now. Need to work on the rear this weekend.
Honestly, I think the prothane grease (19-1751) helps a lot in getting rid of the noises.
The SPL was a little too stiff for me, but it gave me the best performance on the corners. The Energy Suspension ones got noisy after a while, but can be helped with grease. Whitelines tore atfer 6 months, but it probably doesn't affect performance. The Armstrong bushings are nice in that they are one piece and the ends don't seem to separate from the rod itself under load (it drove me crazy on the energy suspension bushings, since water could get in there between the bushing and the metal.
Well see how they are after a few months of driving. If these don't last, I may go back to OEM.
^That's encouraging to hear the Armstrong bushings are holding up well. My ES bushings have also torn, and by the looks of firefox's pics the Whiteline bushings don't appear to be any better. I'll be picking up a set of Armstrongs in the spring.
For those that have installed these, how hard are they to press into the compression rod? By the look of them the tapered top and bottom are larger than the inner bushing diameter. Since they are one peice, did you have any trouble pressing them through the compression rod?
For those that have installed these, how hard are they to press into the compression rod? By the look of them the tapered top and bottom are larger than the inner bushing diameter. Since they are one peice, did you have any trouble pressing them through the compression rod?
Last edited by MikeDG; Dec 5, 2012 at 11:43 AM.
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^That's encouraging to hear the Armstrong bushings are holding up well. My ES bushings have also torn, and by the looks of firefox's pics the Whiteline bushings don't appear to be any better. I'll be picking up a set of Armstrongs in the spring.
For those that have installed these, how hard are they to press into the compression rod? By the look of them the tapered top and bottom are larger than the inner bushing diameter. Since they are one peice, did you have any trouble pressing them through the compression rod?
For those that have installed these, how hard are they to press into the compression rod? By the look of them the tapered top and bottom are larger than the inner bushing diameter. Since they are one peice, did you have any trouble pressing them through the compression rod?
Once I had the old bushing out of the arm, I put a little grease around the inside of the arm and the Armstrong bushing went through just fine.