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So I have an 04 Z06 with 11K on it. Great car. But, previous owner put on Poly Urethane Bushings. Car creaks like crazy. Sounds like its a 100000 miles old. Brought it to dealer and said, how do we get rid of the creak? He said, put stock rubber bushings back on it. I said, will it handle as well as it does now. He said (direct quote here) "**** no".
So, to all you experts out there, help. What if anything can I do to keep the handling and lose the creak. He tried to lube them but that didn't really work. Any help really appreciated. Thanks all,
I would see if the previous owner had zerk fittings installed as part of the poly bushing upgrade. If that's the case, take a lube gun with grease spec'd for poly and away you go.
Dealer would not be good source for advice on high performance products.
Some poly bushing suppliers don't offer grease fittings because they think the customer doesn't want the extra work or is incapable of drilling and tapping the a-arms or sway bar clamps. It's less work to do this when first installing poly bushings but can be done later and should be done to avoid the eventual noise and wear. After drilling and tapping for the fittings, depending on the poly bushing design it might be necessary to create an internal groove in the bushing to distribute the silicone grease from the fitting around the metal insert. This can be done with a small stone wheel extended out on a Dremel to the inside of the poly bushing where the grease fitting is; after cleanup the fittings can then be screwed in. I used all straight fittings with a 1/4-28 thread except for the rear lower shock bushing which was an angular type for clearance.
Just for reference, Energy Suspension makes a "lubricant" for poly bushings, and I've used it with success. There's also a product called 'Super Lube', which I've used with good results.
I saw a prior thread some where on here where a member wrapped a layer of 3m fabric tape around the sway bar and mounted the poly bushing over it. Says it solved the problem.
I'll be upgrading my sway bars with either C6 Z51 sways or possibly the Steinjager sways and end links. When I do I'll try this 3m fabric tape. Figure I've got nothing to lose.
I saw a prior thread some where on here where a member wrapped a layer of 3m fabric tape around the sway bar and mounted the poly bushing over it. Says it solved the problem.
I'll be upgrading my sway bars with either C6 Z51 sways or possibly the Steinjager sways and end links. When I do I'll try this 3m fabric tape. Figure I've got nothing to lose.
I don't know about "fabric" tape, but there was some discussion here, at the CF, in the past, about using Teflon tape.
All these replies and I didn't see any mention of which bushings you're talking about... If it's the sway bar bushings, it's very common for the OEM rubber bushings to squeak after time. Mine were squeaking when I bought my car a couple years ago. I replaced them with poly bushings, used the provided grease, and haven't had an issue since. Whether they're poly or rubber, greasing the sway bar bushings is easy and will fix the issue.
Creaky Poly Bushings
If it's the sway bar bushings, it's very common for the OEM rubber bushings to squeak after time. Mine were squeaking when I bought my car a couple years ago. I replaced them with poly bushings, used the provided grease, and haven't had an issue since. Whether they're poly or rubber, greasing the sway bar bushings is easy and will fix the issue.