Replacement Bushings

Does anyone have experience with "Energy Suspension's" polyurethane bushing
and sway bar suspension components? I am thinking of using them to replace
my worn PT Cruiser bushings.

Richard.

 

If you use them, skip the pretty colors and get the Polygraphite items,
otherwise the squeaking will drive you nuts. Energy has a good reputation
for a no-BS, quality product.

 

They'd be the last sway bar bushings you would need to buy for that vehicle.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
adddress with the letter 'x')

 

I have installed poly components on several cars... first was a '69
Valiant. I bought Polygraphite from PST and it squeaked, even with the
"gorilla snot" grease in there. I was later told to scuff up the
moving surfaces before installation to expose some of the graphite in
the bushings. Live and learn. Next car was an '84 Scirocco; the only
bushings I could find for it were red colored polyurethane without
graphite. This time I took a tube of powdered graphite and worked it
into the rubbing surfaces of the bushings before installation until
they were nice and uniformly silver-grey and didn't use any grease at
all - and they never squeaked over the 80K miles I drove the car before
I sold it. I have no experience with Energy Suspension other than I
installed their sway bar bushings on my dad's old Chevy pickup (got a
sway bar from a truck with a HD towing package and retrofitted it to my
dad's standard half-ton, makes a nice difference in handling!) they
would bind up after a while and break the brackets until Energy finally
came out with a larger, more compliant bushing with grease fittings;
after using those, no problems.

nate

 

I've used energy suspension bushings on two cars. They're very good
parts, but be sure to get the graphite impregated type (Polygraphite
brand) rather than plain polyurethane. Especially on sway-bar bushings,
plain polyeurethane will make squeaking/squawking noises after the
initial lubricant gets washed away.

 

Thanks for the tip on keeping them from squeaking, Nate. I put the
polygraphites on my Concorde a year or two ago. I am in the process of
replacing both sway bar end links (I have one end link removed to prove
to myself that the end links were indeed repsonsible for the latest
klunking noise - the asnwer is: yes they were) and noticed that the
polygraphites are making a little noise when the sway bar rotates. I
didn't know they could bind up - mine are the smaller-bodied version of
Energy's bushings.

I've been trying to decide what kind of grease to pump into them (they
do have the zerk fittings), but I'm going to try your trick of rouhging
them up and rubbing graphite into them.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
adddress with the letter 'x')

 

Keep in mind this bar came out of a 32 year old pickup that had been
sitting for a while, the sway bar was a little rusty where the bushings
rode (the bushings were apparently shot before it was parked.) I did
anticipate issues and filled the small rust pits with some JB-weld
before installing, but apparently they still weren't smooth enough. I
doubt you will have the same problem with the new bushings. Had I
realized I was going to have issues, I would have just drilled the first
set of bushings for a zerk fitting and been done with it.

If they have grease fittings, I'd just give them a shot of whatever is
in your grease gun when you change the oil/do the ball joints etc. I'm
kinda partial to Redline CV-2 because it sticks like you wouldn't
believe and can be used for CVs and wheel bearings as well (I use a
bearing packer, and it's a PITA to have two grease guns) but it's also
expensive and as they say "not sold in stores." Mobil 1 also sells a
synthetic chassis grease and that one you probably can find at your
FLAPS. I don't know that I'd bother with any extreme measures with a
greasable bushing, but it's up to you.

nate

 

Used never seize on mine ,, been 2 years... no squeaks yet..(no clunks
either) but really wasn't sure if it would damage the material.. but was
more worried about all the squeaks I read about.

 

I was thinking of using synthetic break lube on the bushings before I have
them installed. Seems to be kind enough on the "rubber" break parts and it
sure stays in place.

Richard.

 

I've used energy suspension bushings on two cars. They're very good parts,

Just sent your comments to Energy Suspension and they informed me that, with
the exception of just a few appropriate applications, their bushings, be
they red or black, do not contain carbon (your reference to graphite). They
say that the few applications that would benefit from carbon get them. The
set I was just sent came with a tube of bushing lube which they tell me
should last the life of the bushings.

Richard.

 

Instead of turning over hundreds of dollars to the dealer I order the energy
Suspensions bushings and put them in tonight. With hand tools it took a bit
over an hour to do both sides. The clunks are gone. How do they figure 2.5
hours labor and a $450.00 bill to do something this easy?

Richard.

 

Coincidentally, I just discovered the same thing in a phone conversation
this very week with Energy Suspension about the black sway bar bushings
not having graphite in them. Also this week I discover that my Energy
Suspension sway bar bushings (2 years old) are totally worn out - that
the thumping noise in my Concorde was being caused by them rather than
the end links which I just replaced (probably needed replacing anyway at
130+k miles, and at $18 each, no big deal).

The web sites of the distributors of Energy Suspension's products are
*very* misleading on this point (re: graphite not being in the black
sway bar bushings). One of them argued with me on the phone about it
when I called to see what they had to say about it.

TRW makes what appear to be some very nice replacement ones at $9 a pair
for my Concorde - going to be installed this week end. Not sure what
they are made of, but not the usual factory rubber
(http://300mclub.100megs42.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=8081). Lifetime
warranty.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
adddress with the letter 'x')

 

Did they come with brackets with the zerk fittings? If so, make sure
you grease them (see my other post).

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
adddress with the letter 'x')

 

I spoke a few days to soon. I just discovered that my Energy Suspension
bushings are totally shot.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
adddress with the letter 'x')

 

Lifetime warranty. Do you want their phone number?

Richard.

 

Well the link ends for the sway bar don't need zerk fittings, and the two
large bushings are just that bushings, you don't get brackets and so you
don't get zerk fittings. They did come with a tube of lube. If I only get
another 40,000 miles out of them I won't cry since they were easy to change
out. I called and told them to change the info on their web site since it
implies that the bushing sets come with new fittings, and bolts. They tell
me they only come with their generic sway bar sets. Very confusing to say
the least.

Richard.

 

For some reasom, I missed the life time warranty on their web site. I
have their phone number - talked to them earilier this week when I found
out about the black bushins not having graphite in them. I will call
them back and get a refund. I wonder if I have to ship the old ones
back. For the little that they cost (around $14 or $16), it may not be
worth the trouble and cost of shipping.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
adddress with the letter 'x')

 

Moog makes end links with zerks on them (in their line Problem Solver™).
People go all a-ga-ga when they find out you can get those with zerks.
Here's a write up I did complete with pictures on the 300M Enthusiasts
Club forums: http://300mclub.100megs42.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=8050.

As far as the Energy Suspension bushings, I have a Concorde - they do
not make an exact drop-in bushing for the LH cars, so you I had to get
their "universal" set that comes with its own brackets that you modify
to fit the chassis holes - that's what you were saying (re: "generic").
Those brackets have zerk fittings. For my pictures of those, see the
first picture in this thread on the 300M Enthusiasts Club forums:
http://300mclub.100megs42.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=8081

If you read that thread, you'll see that I'm going to give the TRW
OEM-type drop-ins a try - at this point I think they'll work better.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
adddress with the letter 'x')

 

The problem with the Cruiser is that Chrysler did a poor deisgn job. The
link end bolt does not lineup with the hole in the sway bar end, forcing the
end bushing to pull and distort and not seat flush on the flatend end of the
sway bar. This is why the link end fail so often in this application.

Still can't figure out how the dealer wanted over $400.00 to do what took me
under an hour with hand tools and $40.00 worth of link ends and bushings.

Richard.

 

Hey - you can't blame them for trying, can you? 8^)

BTW - I just installed those TRW sway bar bushings tonight to beat the
cold weather coming in tonight. Thumping on bumps is totally gone.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
adddress with the letter 'x')