i am in the process of putting ball joints on my 92 firebird and my sway bar bushings were pretty worn out and i was wondering if it is worth the extra money to buy the polyurethane bushings or just use rubber ones

 

Get poly bushings. They will last much longer than stock rubber and have less deflection then rubber. Poly graphite is another option. It supposedly gets rid of the squeaks associated with plain poly. I believe Prothane makes poly graphite bushings.

 

do they actually make a diference in the handling at all

 

Yes, they're great. Just make sure you lube them up or they won't last as long as rubber. I've had a couple go loose on me and cause rattles. 20k miles and it was time to replace. Lube em up and they're great.

 

I like ES (note my sig). However, you might consider the greaseables from Top Down or Spohn and avoid the squeak business altogether.

JamesC

 

what should i use to lube them it says do not grease on the package for the endlinks

 

Endlinks don't see the same friction forces. They only see compression. If they're squeeking then you need a new suspension or a new car. Any type of grease seems to work. Probably go with the silicon based stuff. Lithium grease could work but it's too thin, get the thick stuff.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong but endlinks don't require greasing. I have never in my life greased a set of endlinks and have run into zero problems doing so.

 

thats the only part that i bought energy suspension thats why i was wonderin when they said greasing i only had to put them on because i broke them when i was takin the front apart to change the ball joints

 

here is a helpful hint i found out the hard way dont buy the master kit from energy suspension. you do not get what you pay for. you will either save money or get more for what you pay for if you piece it together.

 

its amazing how they get away with that isnt it

 

Yeah, don't lube up the end links. Use Formula 5 lube which is what they give you with bushings or get a big tube of the sticky stuff from Spohn, I grease everything up with that stuff.

And yes, ES or other brands of poly bushings are definitely worth it. You can buy rubber parts but for a buck or 2 more, get the good stuff.

Ed

 

JPrevost "Yes, they're great. Just make sure you lube them up or they won't last as long as rubber. I've had a couple go loose on me and cause rattles. 20k miles and it was time to replace. Lube em up and they're great."

I have poly bushings throughout on my GTA which were installed by the previous owner ~20K ago. Should I plan on replacing these routinely or onyl when they perish?

How often should you lube them?

Gordon