polyurethane suspension parts

[dj_joker_2002]

Anyone have poly bushings or any other poly parts on there van?
Just curious : how does it make the vehicle ride?
does it corner better? what company carrys them for our vans?
I have a broken front sway bar and I need to replace it so I figured I'd ask. Mark

[Rebel]

May want to check with Rob (safarirob). He did the install and I think he said if he had to do it all over again, he would not use the poly due to the squeaking.

[LaGrasta]

Personally, I don't care for poly, the noise, the ride, etc. yes, they last longer than rubber, but the sacrifice is awful. Rubber, more than likely, will last far longer than you'll ever own the vehicle anyway.

[SafariRob]

No, I'm not a fan of polyurethane bushings. I put them on my 89's control arms when I changed the front springs to Moog 625 units. They were quiet while the special grease was present, but that didn't last long and soon the squeaking was driving me crazy. I intend to remove the polyurethanes this summer and replace them with OEM-style rubber.
However, I first used the poly when I replaced the cracked front sway bar--both the bushings that hold the bar to the frame crossmember and at the link ends. I can't complain about either of them, though, and intend to leave them there. But it's interesting to note that the poly crossmember bushings on the sway bar have grease fittings, so it's no problem to keep them squeak free.

[Rebel]

Glad you mentioned the swaybar being ok Rob,,noticed I needed to change mine out when I put the dropped spindles on.

[91AWDAstro]

I know a few guys in the Olds club that did there bushings with Poly and same thing, not worth the demise in ride quality and noise. If performance is all you want then they are better because they don't compress as much under loads as rubber, but that is the very reason for the harsh ride.

[Mat Mobile]

I'm fairly satisfied with mine. I do not think it is worth it to change them just for the heck of it... It's a real PITA. SafariRob did it the right way though. I will adopt his method next time.

I don't ride my van around as much anymore so I can't complain about the squeeking... but it does squeak on one side. You really have to put a lot.

I wonder if it would be possible to add a grease fitting to the metal shel and make a hole or passageway to the center of the polyurethane to lube that bolt. :-k

[Rebel]

Matt, never tried that but don't see why it wouldn't work. Don't see how it would hurt anything at all do any of you other guys ?

[SafariRob]

Yeah, Matt's got the right idea--if the poly bushings had grease fittings the squeaking wouldn't be a problem.
I seem to remember reading somewhere about a graphite impregnated poly bushing that wouldn't squeak. If I were thinking of using poly, I'd look for that type.
But I've pretty much given up on poly for suspension bushings. I've come to the conclusion that a certain amount of bushing 'give' is necessary for a vehicle's suspension to be able to follow the irregularities in the road; flexing is typically not something you want the frame and body to do. As with everything else, a compromise has to be found between bushing stiffness and compliance.
Just my opinion on a topic I know little about.

[Mat Mobile]

Ok then, when my bushings start squeaking, I will add a grease nipple to them.

Just double checking my post to make sure there's no double meanings that could give Peter material...

[Rebel]

Just a little info I posted on another thread. At Advanced Auto, you can get TRW red poly end links for 5.95 per side and Autozone sells the Energy poly bushings for the swaybar for 12.95 per side.

[Mat Mobile]

BTW, I also got polyurethane end links and sway bar bushings from Carquest and they seemed to be polyurethane too. I think they were almost the same price as Energy suspension though...

[Rebel]

Just double checking my post to make sure there's no double meanings that could give Peter material...

[coolen]

i was hoping that someone was gonna post a link to "the best online" supplier for bushings. can someone provide? thanks