1SWT95Z

Hey guys hope you can shed some light on this for me. I have a 1995 Z28 with 172,000 miles on it. I put Eibach Prokit springs and Monroe struts in at 100,000 miles. Now some 70,000 miles and almost 10 years later I have a squeaking in the front end. I can hear it whenever the car is moving. Today I just tried to push down on the front end and it finally made the sound with the car sitting still on both the driver and passenger sides. Does this indicate the struts are wearing out? Is there any other place in the front suspension to lube up besides the sway arm bushings? Can the struts be lubed up?Thanks for any help.

mike171562

iTrader: (4)

Could be any part of your front suspension. You need to get underneath and have a good look while somebody else pushes down on the front.

I don't think you can lube your struts

jam01

no you can not lube struts, sway bar bushings and other suspension pieces. but with those miles i would think it is time for a new suspension setup.

1SWT95Z

thanks for the replies guys. what are the most common parts that are usually replaced in the front end? I'm kind of a dummy when it comes to suspension stuff. Are bushings the main things that usually need replacement? I think I'll need rear shocks as well. I can push on the rear of the car and it bounces up and down about 3-4 times. So I assume the rear shocks are worn as well.

eseibel67

iTrader: (10)

You most certainly CAN lube sway bar bushings if they are squeaking. Remove them, clean them, and lube 'em up with white lithium grease.

OP: Your rear shocks are shot.

sjsingle1

iTrader: (1)

a bad strut mount mount isolator?

JD_AMG

First our 4th gen cars do not have struts, they are coil over shocks (struts do not use upper A arms like we have).
Second the monroe shocks are total garbage, new or used, and even worse when paired with lowering springs. A cheapo off the shelf replacement or stock replacement isnt going to get you anywhere because you need a shock that is valved for a higher spring rate and less travel. Bare minimum would be something like bilstien HDs or KYB AGX's, but still neither offer optimum dampening for lowering springs.
The squeek noise could be bushing up from, my guess would be the sway bar "D" bushings that are between the mounting bracket and the swaybar.

Element

iTrader: (5)

The shock bushings themselves could be shot, too. If the swaybar bushings are still stock, they're fubar for sure.

Monroes with a Prokit...ouch.

1SWT95Z

well I've already greased the front and rear sway bar bushings. they both need to be replaced but i thought greasing them would buy me a little time. I know there are better choices out there than Monroes but at that time that was all I could afford(about to start college). So that being said, are KYB rear shocks and front coil over shocks pretty good for the money? I'm planning on getting a set of tubular or boxed LCAs from BMR. Also, what would you guys recommend for a bushing kit, the Energy Suspension master kit?

Element

iTrader: (5)

KYBs are decent stock replacements, that's about it. With lowering springs, you really need the proper shocks to make everything work right. Even a set of HD Bilsteins would be a lot better than KYBs. However, anything is probably better than high-mileage Monroe shocks.

Are you still on stock ball joints and tie-rod ends?

The master kit is ok, but you'd probably be just as well off just buying replacement sway bushings and end-links and new OEM rubber (poly is evidently known to bind) front control arm bushings.

1SWT95Z

so do you think new stock front and rear control arm bushings and a prothane or energy replacement part for the other bushings? i see that byunspeed has front and rear SLP Bilsteins for $403.70 right now. that sounds like a good deal. i might only be able to swings the KYBs though. Do you recommend the Gas-A-Just or GR-2 KYBs? I have replacement tie rods, about 4 years old and stock ball joints(i beileve).

Element

iTrader: (5)

Prothane and ES seem about the same (at least in my experience, someone else might be able to say otherwise). If you're going to replace the rear control arm bushings, you'd almost be better just buying new non-adjustable poly-end LCAs....buying the stock bushings and having the old ones pressed out and the new ones pressed in wouldn't be much cheaper than buying new LCAs.

One thing to look at on the shocks, the SLPs only have a 90-day warranty (something short like that), while the HD Bilstiens have a much better warranty. I think Strano has HDs for about $420 or so. He'd be able to tell you the difference in valving between the two, also. Couldn't tell you the difference between the GR2s and the others, although I think the GR2s are the better of the two.

If you've got stock ball joints at almost 200k miles, that's definitely something to look into replacing.

1SWT95Z

element, thanks for helping me out with this. i really don't know a lot about suspension stuff. i'm also trying to spend my money wisely. about the LCAs, i was considering just getting a set of non adjustables. I saw J&M has a set of non adjust with the "poly-ball" ends through byunspeed for $108. I figure just about all of the non adjust LCAs are about the same quality. i was just concerned about what bushings each company uses, if one company has a better and quieter bushing. who sells the bilsteins with the longer warranty?

Element

iTrader: (5)

No problem, gotta start somewhere.

I'm sure there are different "blends" of poly, but I've never seen much comparing the poly bushings between different vendors. I'd imagine if you keep them greased, any of them will work well enough.

Sam Strano, at stranoparts.com, sells the HD Bilsteins.

JD_AMG

So did you remove the D bushings that hold the swaybar to the car, grease the inside of them and then put them back on? (you have to remove them to grease them)

Forget about buying the LCAs and bushing kit and spend the money on good shocks, that will make WAY more of a difference.

1SWT95Z

Q1: yes i removed the bushings and greased them and put them back on
Q2: if i can afford the shocks and LCAs at the same time i'll do them both but for sure the shocks will be next. did you guys notice a big difference after putting on new shocks or installing a new bushing kit?

Element

iTrader: (5)

Shocks are going to be a dramatic difference, especially if you get a better shock than Monroe like Bilstein. I'm sure the KYBs would still be a decent improvement.

Sway bushings are going to help, but shocks would definitely be the first thing to do, then bushings and LCAs.

JD_AMG

X2 with the above post. Swaybar bushing will be practically unnoticeable compared to good shocks. The factory shocks (or in your case cheapo replacements) are terrible from day 1(and only get worse from there) because they are not valved very good.
For me putting on just koni SA's made a bigger difference than both my springs and swaybars (35mm front / 22mm rear swaybars, not just the bushings) combined.