My sway bar bushings on my '79 are origional - and dead. I looked around and Mid America was the only retailer that sold grease for the poly bushings. So I put my order in and when everything arrived the order had a note attached that stated they couldn't ship the poly grease because its considered a 'hazardous material'. I sent them an email asking them what grease I'm supposed to use. No reply.

I feel like 'Meat Loaf' on the Apprentice - (if you watch the show.)
MAD puts the grease in their catalogue , has a price for it, gives me the bill with shipping, and I don't know I'm not going to get it until I open up the box. We're only talking about 1 1/2 oz here. Geez.

Had they said the grease was hazardous I would have ordered the rubber bushings and been done with it. M.A.D. - were done!

So I went on the internet to see whats recommended.
Some say marine grease. Others says 'Dont use marine grease!'
Some say Lithium grease. Others says 'Don't use Lithium grease'
Some say synthetic grease with Moly. Others say don't use Moly!
I even read one guy wrapped his sway bay with silicon tape first, then put the bushings on.

So - to the guys that have used poly bushings what kind of grease are you using? And I don't want to have to remove and re-grease every year. Theres got to be some kind of grease thats actually made for these poly bushings.

 

And had you asked here, I would have told you that poly bushing were of no advantage there whatsoever- even more so than the usual spots they get used in. I could also explain why stock rubber bushings were a much better choice from the engineering point of view, but that would go off topic.

No supplier can ship that grease or similar 'hazmat' products across the border without a ton of paperwork. Not their fault.

Depending on where and how much your drive the car, any grease may need to be replaced now and then so it doesn't matter a whole lot which one you use. Poly is resistant to all types of conventional grease .

 

Bloody hell.

After much searching around town for a "Silicon based , synthetic, water proof grease" - I found that no one handles it. I found one on ebay. Its the real stuff. $15 for a tube. $20 for UPS. Shoulda got rubber.

 

Bloody hell our friend we used to camp next to in Fl used to say that but with an English accent.

Sounds like the grease is more expensive than the rubber bushings.
Do you guys have NAPAs,they should have some rubber ones.
Has anyone tried candle wax on the polys ?

 

OK, I'm asking. Why not use poly bushings for the sway bar? I have all new rubber bushings in the front and rear suspension. It seems to me that poly sway bar bushings would "quicken" the sway bar's action, that is, make it respond more quickly, and give it more anti-sway (lean) action than a rubber bushed one. I thought it would be a simple and easy way to improve car. I'm here to learn, not argue. Thanks.


Pete

 

I've always used Bel-Ray waterproof grease. Made for off road cycles so... Get it at any mc shop that sells dirt bikes. Good stuff

 

Ha! Sway bar grease.......sounds like blinker fluid, or muffler bearings...... Call them and say you want to return them for a fuul refund, shipped at there expense.


Scott

 

The sway bar and rear spring outer cushions are the only places I would use poly because those spots don't need the twist resistance provided by the rubber.
I'm also listening to learn.

 

I agree on the rear spring cushion and would add the sway bar outer links- but the main sway bar bushings (where they attach to the frame) DO benefit from the twist resistance of a rubber bushing. In the case of straight ahead driving when the suspension is required to deflect, the bushings progressively add to the total force required to achieve movement, the equivalent of a stiffer spring. In cornering, the resistance of the bushings is equivalent to having a thicker/stiffer sway bar. This is the same principle as any of the other locations where rubber bushings are an asset.

Yes, the actual amount of force rendered is small in the overall scheme, but eliminating it is not an 'upgrade'.

 

You can get a tiny tub of silicone grease from any local SCUBA shop. It's used to lubricate o-rings. Shouldn't be more than $5 or $6.

 

Call me Bubba if you want,...I used teflon plumbing tape on my front and rear sway bars probobly twelve years ago, and haven't touched them since. No squeaks..................

 

Don't cut yourself short.
Some Porsche used teflon lined bearings on kevlar in their sway bar mount blocks.
Lots of very high end cars used similar and a lot of race cars used actual bearings.

If you want to lube the poly ones, you can just use the common silicone dielectric grease.

 

I believe most any plumbing store would also carry silicon grease for the same reason. In fact, I believe I have a small blue tub of it that I purchased from my local Ace Hardware.

 

Thats what I had read too. Had I known it was going to be such a PITA I would have gone with rubber and been done with it. Well I've ordered the grease from ebay so whats done is done. Maybe on my next vette I'll replace them with the rubber ones

 

I was able to find silicone grease. I was able to find synthetic grease.
I was able to find waterproof grease. And every combination of two. But only one supplier that combines all three. And that wasn't in Canada. Only Flea-bay. And he says they ship this "Haz-mat" to Canada either UPS or USPS.

 

I think you're over-thinking the problem. I bet any grease would work just fine. But if you want to use silicone grease, which is probably the most benign, any hardware store would have it for a couple bucks. Personally, I'd just spray some white lithium in there, or some silicon spray lubricant and not give it a second thought. You're talking about such a minor thing.

Mark G

 

Well I just hate squeeks and I don't want to pull it apart every year to reapply. Had Mid America stated in the catalogue that grease is considered a Hazmat and as such they wouldn't sell me any, I would have just bought rubber. Man that ticks me off.

 

GM sells Dielectric Silicone Grease in 1 oz. tubes. Part number 12345579. I just looked it up in GMPartsDirect, and it's listed there.

Dielectric means the grease is an insulator, so you can use it on electric circuits. One use is on spark plug boots, so they don't become stuck to the porcelain. Another use given in my ZO6 Service Manual is for a coating for weather stripping to keep it soft and pliable - that's why I have a tube of it in my garage.


Google dielectric grease for more info and uses.

Dielectric silicone grease is as near as your local GM dealer.


Pete

 

i had some squeeks before i took my vette apart.im going the easy route and putting on louder exhaust pipes so there wont be any squeeks.

 

Good grease for rubber and plastic is ordenary Vaseline.

Another grease i use a lot on plastic and rubber etc is the Molycote 111.