oil your bushes
01-12-2006, 05:24 PM
#12
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You guys are all too serious. 
When I first read the title, I thought the KY/astroglide suggestion would've been the 1st reply. 
Joking aside, be careful that the petroleum-based rubber in the suspension bushings may not like the petroleum-based WD40. Actually, I don't think the factory rubber suspension bushings would freeze up. The bushing doesn't rotate around the housing or the metal sleeve it wraps around. Neither does the metal sleeve move relative to the subframe. In fact, the factory rubber suspension bushings function by "flexing" themself in such a way that the rubber always sticks to both the a-arm housing and the sleeve inside the bushing. There's no "sliding" between parts when in action so I don't know why they need to be lubricated.
If you're talking about aftermarket polyurethane bushings or swaybar mount rubber bushings, that's a different story. But in that case, you want proper lubricant instead of WD40 which will be easily washed away by water. If you're talking about alignment bolt seizure, that's another totally different story.
If you're talking about possible seizure between metal sleeve inside each bushing to the subframe, then at least I haven't seen such case. But that's most likely because I tend to try different alignment settings once in a while, which means the metal sleeves in the bushings and alignment bolts are kept freed up once in a while. I've heard slipped alignment settings because the metal sleeve in the bushing slipped with respect to the subframe but I've never heard that the metal sleeves get stuck onto the subframe.
When I first read the title, I thought the KY/astroglide suggestion would've been the 1st reply. Joking aside, be careful that the petroleum-based rubber in the suspension bushings may not like the petroleum-based WD40. Actually, I don't think the factory rubber suspension bushings would freeze up. The bushing doesn't rotate around the housing or the metal sleeve it wraps around. Neither does the metal sleeve move relative to the subframe. In fact, the factory rubber suspension bushings function by "flexing" themself in such a way that the rubber always sticks to both the a-arm housing and the sleeve inside the bushing. There's no "sliding" between parts when in action so I don't know why they need to be lubricated.
If you're talking about aftermarket polyurethane bushings or swaybar mount rubber bushings, that's a different story. But in that case, you want proper lubricant instead of WD40 which will be easily washed away by water. If you're talking about alignment bolt seizure, that's another totally different story.
If you're talking about possible seizure between metal sleeve inside each bushing to the subframe, then at least I haven't seen such case. But that's most likely because I tend to try different alignment settings once in a while, which means the metal sleeves in the bushings and alignment bolts are kept freed up once in a while. I've heard slipped alignment settings because the metal sleeve in the bushing slipped with respect to the subframe but I've never heard that the metal sleeves get stuck onto the subframe.
01-13-2006, 03:54 AM
#13
Moderator
Yes, they're called rubber bushings in torsion. We're not looking to lubricate them (as they are non-lubeable) just to prevent corrosion. WD40 will not harm them.
They can indeed seize. The bolt seizes to the inner sleeve of the bushing. The adjustable alignment bushing also seizes to the inner sleeve of the bushing.
The best thing to do would be to slide the bolts out and put a thin coat of grease on them.
They can indeed seize. The bolt seizes to the inner sleeve of the bushing. The adjustable alignment bushing also seizes to the inner sleeve of the bushing.
The best thing to do would be to slide the bolts out and put a thin coat of grease on them.
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