prothane total bushing kit, after install.

[Got Boooost]

Hi guys,
I installed the total prothane bushing kit, minus the lower front strut bushings and upper control arm pivot bushing (used eccentric bushing from road race engineer), and now the back of my car is squeaking lots, I lubed up all the bushings prior to installing them, is there a break in period on these bushings? Will this squeak work its way out?
Also for the guys who have installed this kit, how stiff did you find your car afterwards? Mine is incredibly stiff, I can barely compress the suspension by pushing down on the exterior of the car. I didn’t think these bushings would have affected the up and down movement of the suspension like it has, for me anyways, is this normal? Or is this apart of a break in period? So far I only have about 80kms on the car since the install.
thanks for the help

 

[SpiderGST]

They will always make noise due to stiffness and the material. It will affect the up and down movement also. Enjoy the stiff suspension and taking 90 degree turns at a good amount of speed my master kit will be here tomorrow and my solid subframe bushings will be here next week. It also depends what spring/strut setup you have.

 

[jtmcinder]

No.

One of the purposes of switching from bonded sleeve-rubber-sleeve bushings to urethane or spherical is to allow the suspension to move MORE freely. In a dream world, the only resistance to suspension movement comes from the springs and shocks.

And raising the "stiffness of the material" does not automatically mean more noise. Well-lubricated sphericals can be as quiet as OE rubber, as long as we're not talking about all the new noises you'll get from the chassis.

OP: after finishing the installation of the bushings, but before putting the shocks & springs back on, did you cycle the suspension up and down, checking for binding and/or squeaks? That's the time to deal with this stuff. It should have moved much more easily than before, because you were no longer having to twist the rubber inside all the bushings.

 

[untouchablecc]

I did the complete rear install on my car about two years ago. Do you have adjustable shocks? Mine were set on 5 and I could not go down the road without feeling like i was on a pogo stick on some of these PA roads. I turned mine down and it really helped out with the ride quality. Im thinking of switching to energy myself. The bushing did wear in after about three weeks and it goes down the road like a normal car but i never had any squeeking at all. Like the last post i would be looking for something thats on a bind because the suspension should move easy.

 

[Got Boooost]

After the install, I never cycled the suspension up and down, and I don’t have adjustable shocks. after the install before I drove the car I tried pushing down on the car to compression the suspension from the outside and it barely moved, worse then it is now, so it has gotten a little better. I torqued everything to manufacture spec, except for the trailing arms, there wasn’t enough room to get my torque wrench on the bolt, so I made sure it was nice and tight.
I have some silicon grease in a spray can, do you guys think it would help if i spray all the bushing?

 

[jtmcinder]

You're not going to like this.

I would put the car on jack-stands and remove the wheels and the shocks & springs. Then I would cycle each corner of the suspension by hand, trying to locate the places that are binding. This often involves loosening pick-up points one at a time. It's a total pain. But to have gone through the hassle of swapping all those bushings just to end up with a suspension that binds worse than originally is just too awful to contemplate.

Note: some people pop the compression arm off the knuckle to do the tests in the front, since kits don't replace the inboard pick-up on this piece. If you find that popping the compression arm off the knuckle takes care of the entire problem, then the only solution is to swap the inboard end of the lateral arm for a spherical.

 

[Got Boooost]

You're not going to like this.

I would put the car on jack-stands and remove the wheels and the shocks & springs. Then I would cycle each corner of the suspension by hand, trying to locate the places that are binding. This often involves loosening pick-up points one at a time. It's a total pain. But to have gone through the hassle of swapping all those bushings just to end up with a suspension that binds worse than originally is just too awful to contemplate.

Note: some people pop the compression arm off the knuckle to do the tests in the front, since kits don't replace the inboard pick-up on this piece. If you find that popping the compression arm off the knuckle takes care of the entire problem, then the only solution is to swap the inboard end of the lateral arm for a spherical.

I was afraid of that. I have a set of new shocks coming for the rear, so I was planning on removing them anyways, looks like I have some more work to do yet to get it right. I think I'll leave the front for now as I only have one new poly bushing up front and all the noise I hear is coming from the rear.
I appreciate the help.

 

[ACM]

Rear suspension - note that there is a very small window of free movement in the rear, due to the design. The rear intentionally twists the bushings, creating the 2G's version of active toe. When fitted with Prothane/ES bushings that twisting is resisted quite robustly - and that means a substantial loss of travel. The rear ride height has to remain roughly stock to allow useable, non-binding travel.

 

[meliketoball]

Oh gawd, I wish I had a shop, press, torch, and vice so I can install new bushings!

How's it ride, btw?

 

[romeen]

Oh gawd, I wish I had a shop, press, torch, and vice so I can install new bushings!

You can remove the stock bushings using a drill, chisel and hammer. A vice is nice to hold the control arm, etc while drilling but not necessary. It's really quite easy. Also, the Prothanes (opposed to the Energy Suspension) are split bushings so they are very easy to install. No press needed.

 

[Got Boooost]

Oh gawd, I wish I had a shop, press, torch, and vice so I can install new bushings!

How's it ride, btw?

I find it stiff, however I only have about 150kms on it, so it might break in a little yet. Like ROMEEN mentioned it’s not hard to do, I never used a press or torch, just did it in my garage over winter with a drill and reciprocating saw. However I did have lots of bolts that were seized, so I ended up having to cut them out and order new ones from the dealer. I ended up spending more on replacing bolts, e-brake cables and toe control arms then what I spent on the total kit. but in the end i say its well worth the time and money

 

[WillRaceForBeer]

I'm surprised this hasn't been asked, but did you put grease (white lithium) on the inside of each bushing, as well as the sides (which in some cases rub against metal)

Also, on a tangent: It just occurred to me that you could probably cut the energy suspension bushings in half for easier installation and probably not affect their performance in any way. Anyone think it would cause issues?

Mine are already installed though, what a PITA using a vice!

 

[T is for TURBO]

I'm surprised this hasn't been asked, but did you put grease (white lithium) on the inside of each bushing, as well as the sides (which in some cases rub against metal)

Good point. Any part of the pushing that touches metal needs to be lubed. I don't know about the prothane kit, but the energy suspension comes with bunch of lube.

Also, on a tangent: It just occurred to me that you could probably cut the energy suspension bushings in half for easier installation and probably not affect their performance in any way. Anyone think it would cause issues?

Mine are already installed though, what a PITA using a vice!

Really? It took me longer to cut the old ones out than it did to put the new ones in. The only one that was a kind of a pain in the ass was the rear lower control arm (the middle one) I have not done the fronts yet, so I can't speak for those.