my Front suspension project, More questions Options

[Jaiden]

So after doing a few hours of research about everything possibly front suspension related I came across something that concerns me.

I have the whole front suspension out and I am changing out everything that I can including the A-arm bushings. Now I got the Bushings from PP they are the hard black plastic ones. Now from my many searches I find that these bushing cause a symptom called stiction, basically they stick and some people have used grease fittings to "band-aid" the problem.

Since My original budget is blown due to other repairs I really don't have the cash to throw down on the elephant bushing or the roller bearings so how bad is it really?

I mean if I install the bushings is it really going to become an issue or is this just a pet peeve of the ultra fast ax'rs or track guys.

I want the car to be fast on the AX and on the road so keeping the tires planted is very important but I can only do things one step at a time. Will I really have to tear down the front suspension in a year or will the setup work?

Ok enough rant. Back to work!!!

[rhodyguy]

in addition to the fittings, most people cut little spiral grooves on the inner surface of the bushings, with a dremel tool, so the lube has a means of getting throughout the bushings. how effective this is, i have no idea. i heated up the visa and sprung for the elephants.

k

[Jaiden]

I checked for the pelican article but could not find the info on putting in the fittings. Although it seams that it would be very straight forward but I just want to make sure I do the right thing and don't have to "redo" the bushings in a year!

[Jaiden]

come on guys help a brother out! (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/smile.gif)

[turbo914v8]

Ok here is the nasty. I had those same bushings all around my 914. They were a VERY BIG improvement over the stock rubber bushings. However I did not do the grease fitting modification. The squeaking will drive you insane. Totally Fu$king nuts.

[brant]

Seriously...
the poly bushings are not bad.
and yes an improvement over worn out stock ones.

If you don't do the grease zerks and spiral mods then you just need to take the front end apart and repack the grease once a year.

they will be more stiff than stock rubber, but for track use thats the intent anyways.....

if you do the zerks and spirals then you save yourself future labor and alignment costs over rebuilding every year.

I did the rebuild every year for many (8 or so) years because I like to do an alignment every year anyways.
but finally broke down and did the zerks and spirals.
I'm very happy with the outcome and no more squeeks or sticktion problems.

for an all out track only car there is an improvement to step up to rollers.. ride improvement as well as smoother suspension action. I like the rollers better... but on my street car I didn't have the money to afford rollers for it, and choose to buy a used motor instead.

brant

[Dr Evil]

I got em, I cut the spiral groove in them, no problems. No worries (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif)

[Mueller]

the hard solid plastic poly bushings work, a few key things to do:


-make sure that the stamped steel housings are round and not too oval


-cut the grooves like mentioned above

-make sure you have a nice slip fit between the a-arm and the bushing (bushing must be installed in the metal housings)

-I think your best bet might be contacting Chris @ CFR (Tangerine Racing) in the Resource section and see how much his front bushing kits are....from what I've read, they are properly installed into the metal housing with a zerk grease fitting and reamed to size.

[Jaiden]

Thanks alot guys!!!!

Ok so it's not as bad as it seems. What I got out of it is if you want to keep your sanity (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/screwy.gif) do the extra work with the grease fittings and the setup should work well although it isn't the prefered setup for ultra performance.

Got it.
Is there a part number or recommended specs for the fittings? also what is the recomended grease I've heard the Gorrilla grease term throw around as well as mobil 1 red grease. What should I start shopping for?

Thanks again!!!!

[1973914]

Red Line makes a very nice lube. Comes in a tub for about $12 or so. Peace of mind ha no price tag (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/wink.gif)

[brant]

Jaiden,

buy american zerks from napa.
they will need to be screwed in with a tiny american sized open wrench...

some will need to be straights...
some will need to be 45 angles...
probably 25 cents each...

couple of tricks:
1) use a zerk on every single bushing... that means 8 zerks total. (or else don't bother using any) you will need to map out how to fit them on the inboard rears before you drill. It can get tight in there, so leave enough space to get your small grease gun up in there and attatched to the zerks.

2) common mistake some people make... the point of rotation is on the inside of the bushing and not on the outside edge. Thus the grease zerk needs a channel to be drilled through the bushing to the inside face. And any grease channels you cut need to be on the inside face of the bushing. Smooth everything on this face. hone the inside to fit the pivot shaft. smooth the pivot shafts... do what ever you can to promote this being the only pivoting point.

finally...
for grease, buy something that comes in a tube so you can use the grease gun to pump it in there.. I doubt gorilla snot comes in a tube. i've personally used the red mobil 1 synthetic for about 12 years and really like it. Plus it easily available from places like napa.

brant

[Eric_Shea]

Here's an option that's kind of in between the 'nothing' and the 'zerk' fittings.

On my control arm packages I use the Dremel approach discussed here and run the grooves on the inside but stop short of going edge to edge. I preload the bushing and then put it on the arm. This keeps the grease in the grooves and trapped in the bushing. The theory is that it doesn't take much to stop the squeak. I run each at a diagonal at 12-3-6 and 9 o-clock positions. E.G.: / / / /

On the first set I did for my own car I ran the grooves on the outside. Brant hipped me to the proper surface and... here's a pic. Remove the excess bushing material and load with Red Mobil 1.

Hope that helps...