Sitting Uneven

[Captain Obvious]

No lube on the rubber. That's exactly how the rubber bushings are supposed to work. The suspension movement is derived by torqueing the rubber part of the bushings. Here's some pics I whipped up a while ago to try to show how the rubber bushings operate. This is what makes them different in application than poly:

http://www.classiczcars.com/topic/49405-front-end-alignment/#entry449585

 

Lube won't do anything good for you. At worst, it'll do bad things to the rubber. I would grease or anti-seize the bolt going through the center of the bushing just to help prevent it from rusting into place in the future, but for the rubber portion? No.

 

On edit: Here's one of the pics from that other thread just so one resides here as well:
 

Edited February 24, 2015 by Captain Obvious

[Captain Obvious]

I don't think the people that designed the urethane bushings put a ton of design effort in to them.  They're just stiffer and cheaper than the stock rubber parts.  Same durometer urethane compound, a bunch of different shaped molds.  Easy money.

Yeah, easy money. They're brightly colored, have a reputation for "performance", and are often cheaper than the OEM bushings they replace. Ooooooo... shiny, "better performance", and cheaper to boot! What more could a 20 year old want? Add that to the list of "stage two" mods that he's made to his car and impress all his friends. Easy money!

 

I'm not poo-poing poly at all. It's just that if you don't understand how they're supposed to work, you're likely to cause more problems than you're solving. Suspension is one of my weakest skills and I'm so glad this part came together for me. Really helped me understand some of the bonehead moves I've made in the past. 

[Zedguy]

Thanks again. Lots to work with here....and I am not feeling as concerned. Blue stopped over for a few hours last weekend and I think we both felt pretty confident that it was not structural and we will work it out. 

 

We worked out a reassembly plan for the car....so I am getting very excited about moving forward on the project, and finally finishing it. :-)