mcgilles

I've always heard that one of the downsides that you have to put up with to gain the performance improvements of solid end links and poly bushings was a harsher ride and some additional "noise"
what type of noise might that be?
its been a couple weks since I got my C6 Z51 swaybars on along with metal end links (had stock 99 plastic ones) and pfadt poly bushings.
I'm hearing a minor clunking sound from the front end at times. circumstances:
drivway entrance ramps, entering at an angle, at higher speeds. not unsafe or unreasonable speeds at all, just saying if I'm going very slowly it doens't happen. doesn't happen all the time either, several driveways a day between home and work and in the last couple weeks it has happened 3-4 times.
what I hear is a definitive clunking sound. I can "feel" it also in the floor pans. almost feels like something is hitting the underside of the car. its not very loud. and never occurs at other times.
I'm certain everything is tightened down and torqued per the shop manual spec. I'll double check that anyway this weekend. but is there a chance that such a sound could be the normal side effects of the stiffer bars, metal links, and poly bushings that I've read about? if this is normal for this setup its not at all something I cant' live with. no big deal. just wanted to make sure its not indicative of a problem or an installation error.

mcgilles

try to bump it once at least...

Carcass

Poly bushings can be noisy,and greasing them often makes it worse.
Remove them,clean any and all grease off the bushing and sway bar,and apply a generous quantity of dry graphite lube to the inside of the bushing,trying not to lose most of it when you reinstall the bushing.
That will take care of the clunks-may have to re-do every couple of years,but it's not that big of a job,as you know.
The clunks don't hurt anything, they just annoy the hell out of me for some reason....
(if you don't have graphite,talcum powder will also work)

mcgilles

thanks! so that kind of sound is normal with them? still trying to wrap my head around how polybushings could make that kind of sound, but my main concern was to find out if that was the normal sound that's a side effect of polybushings. I've heard of it before but never really had anyone describe what to expect.

as long as it doesn't indicate a possible problem I'll just let it be for now. it happens rarely. if it becomes more of a worry I'll give your suggestion a try, I have a tube of graphite handy. I've also heard that teflone tape works well for swaybars. or worst case I'll go back to Gene and just pick up a set of the Stock C6Z51 rubber bushings and run those for a while. I don't track my car (at least not yet) so I doubt there would be any downside to using rubber bushings for me. they aren't hard to swap either.

leadfoot4

Depending on what you lube, or don't lube, the bushings with, they may or may not squeek. Personally, I use a product called "Super Lube".


The "clunking", at least what used to be called the common cause, was the loosening of the bolts that secure the links to the lower a-arms and swaybar. Make sure that they're about .0001% from being overtightened, and the clunking should go away....

mcgilles

Heard it twice today. almost sounds more like a pop at times. rather loud. I double checked the nuts. end link nuts to the control arms were tight. I was able to turn the end link to swaybar nuts a bit, the driver's side one in particular was a bit loose. we'll see what effect that has.

tblu92

I installed all metal endlinks and poly bushings front and rear--never hear any clunking---I always heard that the poly bushings and metal links may squeak more and ride harsher especially on a rough road--To me a clunking sound points to something else and not simply lubrication---
PS: The Energy Suspemsion dealer here reccomends using anti-seize as a lube---messy but no squeaks after 1 year

randy814u

Is your car slammed, cut height adjusters?

I had that kind of noise, replaced everything only to find out the metal on the adjuster was making the noise since there was no rubber left on it.

MRNZ06

My car is slammed and I have "clunking" happening when getting in /out of driveways, on turns mostly... No noise when driving.

So I'm not alone