bigbeefneef

I have a 2001 SS and the suspension is making an awful noise lately... Im guessing Im in need of new bushings all the way around but Im not sure. Cruising it is not too bad but when I go over bumps or get in/out of the car it make a creeking/squeeky sound. The sound comes from the front and rear of the car so im asuming its the bushings. Any help would be great just to get this fixed seeing how it is a very annoying problem. I HATE the sound and just want to see what I need to do to get it fixed! Thanks guys

Breathing Fire

New bushing would help IMO. You could also get some grease in the existing bushings. My TA used to do the same thing. Mine actually had worn groves in the bars by the time they were replaced.

obie86

How about some new struts and shocks?

WhiteKnight '01

Don't know why you asked for advice if you already know what to do.

BMR Tech2

iTrader: (5)

It's always a great idea to visually inspect your car when you change the oil. Shops will charge you an inspection fee, but you can jack it up and take a look pretty easily. See if your bushings aren't cracked. How many miles are on the shocks? Are all bolts tight? That sort of thing. Start there before buying anything. No need to spend money to solve a problem if it could be a simple fix.

Should you find anything broken or worn, that's when you ask yourself if you want to upgrade or replace with another stock part.

- Kevin

Qcon

iTrader: (11)

My car sounded like an old pirate ship when going through dips, over bumps, etc. After I replaced the sway bar and end link bushings, the creaking completely disappeared.

i'm sofa king

is it possible to visually inspect the rear bushings?

Raoul-Duke

iTrader: (6)

Ive got 75k on the clock on my 01 and Ive been thinking about changing the bushings for some time now. I heard you want to stay away from polyurethane bushings on F-bods.

Can I get a stock bushing kit from somewhere easily?

Has anyone changed them and notice a serious difference?

Element

iTrader: (5)

Changing the bushings alone can be a pain in the ***. I tried to press the stock bushings out of the factory upper a-arms and wound up bending both. For some things, like the panhard rod and rear control arms, when you look at the price of replacement bushings (either poly or OEMs) and the work to press the old ones out and the new ones in, it can be better to just buy a new aftermarket piece.

Poly isn't horrible as long as the natural movement of the suspension piece doesn't put it in a bind. Rear control arms and the panhard rod are a good example - they only articulate in a right angle from the bushings, so there's no lateral stress put on the bushings. Poly has a tendency to bind more than OEM/rubber with lateral stress or if not greased properly, so something like the front lower control arms, you're better off with either new OEM bushings, or going with a rod-end setup that won't bind.

Replacing old worn bushings with new ones can make a marked difference if the old bushings were dried out and rotting, especially control arm and sway bar bushings.

BMR Tech2

iTrader: (5)

Yeah, just get the car in the air and check out the visible portion of each bushing. It's a better idea to actually remove the bolt and drop the part down and see the surface of the bushing that way. But if you see any cracking, replace the part.

- Kevin

Raoul-Duke

iTrader: (6)

I see, So Poly is okay for front and rear sway bars and rear lca's but you'd go OEM for the rest?
Yeah I know my rear sway need to be replaced. I'll prob just get new sway bars for handling purposes as well.

i'm sofa king

if you dont have a lift, can you just crawl under and look?

also, anybody have some instructions online anywhere for how the replace the rear lca?

Element

iTrader: (5)

If I were only doing bushings, that's probably how I'd go. For a lot of the stuff, I'd replace the entire thing (panhard rod and rear control arms, as an example) since the aftermarket parts aren't significantly more expensive than new OEM bushings and the amount of time it can take to drive/burn/cut the old bushings out and press the new bushings in.

It's a bit of a debated subject; some people prefer the harder poly bushings as they have less deflection than OEM rubber ones, some people prefer OEM because they're a bit quieter and less prone to bind in some situations, and other people like rod ends everywhere as by design they can't bind or deflect, but do give a rougher ride.

SparkyJJO

iTrader: (11)

No, not really. Their primary motion is up/down, yes, but that only happens if the entire axle moves up and down. If you angle the rear axle at all (which is what most bumps and turns will do), the axle twists under the car. You want at least the axle side of the bushings to be able to have twist capability if you drive the car on the street routinely.

If you're simply drag racing the car most of the time then poly/poly are fine. But if you do mostly street you really do not want poly on the axle side of the rear control arms.

Technically, when the axle twists the arms also have to angle inward also, so for the best articulation you don't really want poly on the body side of the arms, but generally you're not throwing the axle at its absolute max twist (full compression on one side, full extension on the other) so poly on the body side is probably OK.

I'm not a fan of rod ends for a daily driver because of their inherent noise. For a street car like that I'd stick with rubber for the most comfort, or step up to a UMI Roto-joint or Founders swivel joint (or similar) if you want even better articulation without quite as much noise that rod ends will give you.

Also, technically the panhard does move in a lateral arc because the control arms force it to, but again it isn't a large amount and I suspect it would be like the body side of the LCAs - some side-to-side motion but there is a good chance that in most cases it isn't enough to warrant a more expensive bushing. I'd be tempted to stick with rubber on it however if I had the option.

Element

iTrader: (5)

With a panhard rod setup, there is some side-to-side, which is one of the biggest inherent flaws with that type of suspension setup. When I ran poly/poly LCAs though, I never found them to bind a whole lot during normal driving - keeping them well-greased was probably a big part of that. I never got any noise with rod ends, aside from a bit of increased road vibration, until the ends needed replaced.

With a stock panhard rod, I think the rod itself flexes enough that it doesn't put any side load on the bushings; an aftermarket PHR is going to put a lot more load on the bushings, but I agree that a hybrid setup is probably the best for most people - same with the rear LCAs.

A lot of bushing selection should be based on what the intent of the car is; a well-mannered daily or occasional cruiser would be perfectly fine with fresh OEM rubber bushings, while someone who wants a bit more performance but good manners could be better off with poly in some locations.

Raoul-Duke

iTrader: (6)

So cars upward of 500rwhp poly is the way to go? or is it really best to go hybrid (roto/poly).

My car right now is just making 360rwhp but within a year itll be closer to 420rwhp. and then upwards of that down the road. I made the mistake of getting straight poly lca's.

I was going to sell them and get a hybrid poly/roto lca because it does squeek even when greased but should I just hold off considering later on the double poly would then benefit me with more power added?

SparkyJJO

iTrader: (11)

It isn't so much power as much as usage. Poly would be not be good on a 500HP car for road courses. I'd do your poly/roto idea (or do roto both ends perhaps, I've toyed with that idea).

Raoul-Duke

iTrader: (6)

So the fallback I would have with double roto is the road noise?

Is poly or roto noisier?

Element

iTrader: (5)

Depends on what you want to do with the car. Drag race? Autocross? Just a quick weekend cruiser? It also depends on your tolerance for noise and bumps. Most suspension stuff barring shocks/springs and sway bars isn't really power dependent (and those more if you're going drag setup with big power than anything else); a stock-power car can benefit as much as a 600rwhp car from better aftermarket parts when it comes to suspension. There are some guys on here who are, or were, running stock suspension with upwards of 500rwhp; some people have replaced every single stock suspension piece without ever touching the engine.

Poly/rod-end or poly/roto gives you a good combination of decreasing deflection while not being as harsh as rod/rod. With the poly on the body side, road noise and vibration will be a bit more noticeable, but not a huge amount. Rod/rod or roto/roto will give you the most benefit, since they're essentially impervious to bind and deflection by design, but they will transmit more road noise and need to be checked (rod ends have a finite life and roto-joints will need to be tightened up to account for wear). Brand-new OEM bushings will give the quietest and most compliant ride, but with no handing benefit at all.

Personally, every piece on my car barring front upper control arms are rod-ended. I went poly up the upper front because it's an up and down movement only, and the rod-end adjustable version was inordinately expensive for what is a pretty simple chunk of metal. It transmits a bit more road noise (I think, hard to tell over dumped duals) but there's no bind, no deflection, and it allows everything to be adjustable (there are poly/poly and roto/poly adjustables also).