Poly bushing : Not worth it ?

[WingZr0]

Did go with the poly bushings. Ride response is great but the more than frequent SQUEAKKKKK are killing me.

Crap, im getting some thrown in tomorrow and this is what you have to say

[Bonzi Lon]

It is my understanding that liberal lubrication will sequester squeeks, for a while.

Bonzi Lon

[five&dime]

I had the dreaded squeaks in my BMW as I have poly subframes and trailing arm bushings. My indy decided to use self tapping grease fittings and installed them where the two parts of the subframe bushing meet. Now he can just pump those suckers with grease whenever they make noise

Literally just had this done yesterday so I will keep you updated. He was able to get a good amount of grease in there on the first pump and said it oozed out of all sides so... job well done

[moritz55]

I went with Poly "Black" ones from MSA on my '73 240z. Did the Steering Coupler, Rack Bushings and all Transverse link bushings, mustache bar bushings and Sway bar bushings(I may have missed one or two..). I lubricated with Lithium Grease (becuase it's not moisture absorbant) and MSA provdes a clear (vasoline-like) grease with their kits. Only thing left to do is the rear Bump Stops when I get my new coil springs from Arizona Z.

My car rides at Stock Height as I have Tokico Shocks and Arizona Z coil springs.

I get a squeak once in a while from my rear when accelerating on bumpy roads. But never on normal roads even over pot holes. I do live in upstate New York and our roads are pretty riddled with potholes. My steering and front end is awesome and on highway I get super control and no drifting. I love it - it drives better than my original 71 Z.

My tires made the biggest difference on comfort and noise overall... I went from BFG g-Force Sports to Bridgestone Potenza A/S Pole Positions 205/65/15 .

Also after rebuilding my rear end - and aligning the rear Toe-In to spec on my rear, noise was even further reduced.

I think as you rebuild your rear end - try to assure your braces and mounting hardware is square so that your Toe-In is to spec after your new bushings are installed. 35+yrs of wear and stress causes many of vertical rear braces holding the transverse links in places to almost all be out-of-square. Thus a lot more noise and vibration is transferred to the body since the tires track poorly. Here is the link and read post #87 on what my experience was regarding my rear end rebuild:

http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33630&page=4

Anyway - good luck and enjoy the process of improving your 240z !

Edited October 13, 2009 by moritz55

[Zs-ondabrain]

Weirs, I only used a thin film of the supplied grease from ES and I've Never had ANY squeaks from the suspension. Oil and grease tend to break down rubber and poly materials. So I never use any other than the supplied grease.

Sorry to hear you have a squeaky rear.

Dave

[jmortensen]

Weirs, I only used a thin film of the supplied grease from ES and I've Never had ANY squeaks from the suspension. Oil and grease tend to break down rubber and poly materials. So I never use any other than the supplied grease.

I called Energy Suspension and asked about grease and they said any chassis grease would work and not degrade the poly. I put zerks in the outer control arm bushings in back, and they functioned well and made a difference that you could feel when pushing the control arms up and down by hand with no spring in the suspension. Unfortunately they don't work on the inners because the bushing cap isn't tight and the grease just comes out the gap. You can also drill and tap the sway bar brackets to grease there too, and you can shim up the strap that holds the sway bar bushing so that it isn't so preloaded and tight on the bar. Less stiction should = less squeaking, and being able to grease them up is for sure going to help.

[Darrel]

If you had immediate squeaking I would say your restorer didn't put any grease or lubricant when installing the bushings.

Definitely go with poly, even with stock rubber you aren't going to have a "mercedes" like feel.

[Walter Moore]

Between the exhaust note, and the stereo trying to keep up I can barely hear any squeaks... But then I have nearly 30 years in and out of industrial plants of various sorts. My hearing isn't what it once was. :classic:

[Zs-ondabrain]

I called Energy Suspension and asked about grease and they said any chassis grease would work and not degrade the poly. I put zerks in the outer control arm bushings in back, and they functioned well and made a difference that you could feel when pushing the control arms up and down by hand with no spring in the suspension. Unfortunately they don't work on the inners because the bushing cap isn't tight and the grease just comes out the gap. You can also drill and tap the sway bar brackets to grease there too, and you can shim up the strap that holds the sway bar bushing so that it isn't so preloaded and tight on the bar. Less stiction should = less squeaking, and being able to grease them up is for sure going to help.

And now I know. I just find it real interesting how 2 plastics, that almost look identical, can have adverse effect on the surface when introduced to Acetones, fuels and oils. Like I know that the white plastic on the turn signals can be cleaned with acetone, but the black plastic plate on the early combo switch's will immediately melt w/ acetone, as will the black handle and knobs. So I used hot water and soap and mostly isopropel? alcohol.

Good to know J. I might consider this while reassembling the 260Z. Thanks again as usual.

Dave

[tibZ]

Good advice coming through this thread. Judging by the comments I think I will stick with the rubber bushings when I get to the suspension rebuild. Our roads here in Ma. are horrible, plus I'll only be doing summer driving.

Does anyone out there offer a complete rubber suspension set?

Mike

[WingZr0]

Just a heads up it turns out I don't need my Master Poly Bushing kit for

my 77 Z after all.

If any one needs it I can sale for less than MSA.

All still in factory bags, otherwise they'll be on my shelf

Works for 74-78 BTW

(Edit: Sold them yo!)

~Z~

Edited October 23, 2009 by WingZr0

[Rich1]

Originally Posted by Tibz

Does anyone out there offer a complete rubber suspension set?

Here is a rubber bushing source (Z car source)

http://www.zcarsource.com/content/p/9/pid/48726/catid/7478/OEM_Rubber_Bushing_Kit__70_74___new

Price is quite a bit more than poly $354.

Edited October 22, 2009 by Rich1