Suspension Bushing Lube, What to use? Options

[Lawrence]

I'm going to start reassembling the front of my car. What lube should I use on these bushings??

They are StrasseUSA units. JP said that he used silicon based grease?

-Rusty

[Drums66]

That sounds good! silicone saves the rubber, I think lithium grease is another good one for rubber and plastic? someone else want to sound off? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/tunez.gif)

[campbellcj]

IIRC my t-bars (or was it the bushings?) came with a little tub of a sticky grease to use. I don't know if it is teflon or silicone based but so far I have no squeaking or binding. (Of course the car has only left the garage a few times since then.)

[Jeff Krieger]

Lawrence, what kind of bushings are those? I went to StrasseUSA and couldn't find anything listed for a 914. What does everyone think of the Weltmeister bushings?

[Lawrence]

They are 911 bushings. The bushings should be the same. They have their special grease listed, but I don't want to wait a week to mail order it.

p/n's on the bushings are SP3040 and SP3042.

[MarkV]

I have seen some grease that may be what you are looking for. They sell it at the hardware store in the plumbing department. It is called High Temp Silicone Plumbers Grease; I think it is made to lube faucets w/ out washing away. Comes in a small tin about the size of a half-dollar. It kind of looks like clear RTV (opaque white).

If you use regular grease you may end-up w/ squeaky suspension.

[MarkV]

Says it's good for 450 degrees & won't wash out?

[J P Stein]

Rusry: Those are the same bushings that I got from GPR. I bought the grease and Geoff got it...long story.
Anyhew....the grease discribed by Mark sounds like the right stuff.

[Bleyseng]

Yep, its a silicon grease atleast the stuff JP forwarded to me. Have you done the groves inside the bushings?? They help to hold some grease in the bushing. Mine don't squeak, yet.

Geoff

[Lawrence]

Okay. I'll pick up some of that silicone grease. It's less than two bucks at Home Cheapo.

No, but I'll do the grooves tonight after my son goes to bed. It's his birthday, today. 7 years old.

How wide/deep should the grooves be?

[Bleyseng]

Mike Mueller posted that picture of the dremel tool to use. It cuts a groove about 3/16ths deep and 1/4" wide. I did two of them about 1/2" in from both sides. Make sure you assemble it beforehand so it doesn't stick or bind. If it does sand the bushings until they dont. I used just a little of the grease for the trial fitting. It cleaned off pretty easy so I could sand them.

Geoff

[Lawrence]

3/16 deep?

that's a joke, right? The front bushings are only 1/4 thick.

[JeffBowlsby]

Silicone attacks and degrades rubber gentlemen. find a non-silicone, non-oil based lube. Automotion used to list a plastic bushing grease in their catalog, doesnt PP have something similar?

[Lawrence]

Jeff, thanks for the tip.

I found a good brake assembly lube at my local FLAPS.

My landlord is all over my ass about getting the car together. I need to make some MAJOR strides in it today, and I can't wait on mail order.

This lube SHOULDN'T be super-secret stuff. I just need to know what its made of, and I'll go buy a generic.

[Bleyseng]

I didn't have one in my hand to measure but ok then, 1/8th inch deep or the size of the head of that dremel bit. Make 2 deep pockets with the dremel so there is a reserve of grease in the bushing.
hey, you'll see when you grease everything up and slide it together. Hehe, most of the grease is scraped off when you assemble it onto your hands. The grooves hold some grease inside atleast.
Hmm, the bushings I got from JP were Poly not rubber. Silicon grease was provided by the company to use with them.
Now, if you are installing rubber bushings that would be different.

Geoff

[Gint]

Found this old rennlist post and an answer from

Mike Scott:

The grease is available from HPH  (thanks Rich for having a single bushing on hand when I needed it!) and probably some list sponsors. I have some that I picked up at a Bug shop, called Pro-Thane, it's the same stuff. You definately don't want to use ANY other kind of grease, I've tried several, and the only one that works is the white sticky stuff...

Rich Herzog:

i'm partial to the very sticky, slimy, horrible Teflon-bearing bushing grease Performance Parts/Automotion sells.  i used it on all the polyurethane bushings (A-Arms, two antiroll bars, trailing arms) in my GTI and haven't heard squeak one.