Bearings, Bushings and Grease….

Neilk · 03-13-2003, 09:44 PM

I am in the midst of rebuilding my entire suspension and started wondering what I need to grease and what kind to use. I have noticed that certain greases are appropriate in one area but not the other…e.g. Neatrix bushings degrade when used with petroleum greases so I should use a silicon spray. Does that also apply to the swing arm and roll bar bushings? Do those need to be lubricated at all or should they be dry. Now the front A-arm bushings have some kind of “magic” grease. If I have any left over, should I use it on anything else?

What about the emergency brakes? I am replacing the rear wheel bearings. While I have the whole rear hub apart, is there anything to lube within the e-brake mechanism? If so what should I use?

What kind of grease should I use on the new wheel bearings or are they completely sealed and don’t need any grease.

Lastly, is there and difference between Mobil One synthetic grease (which is red) and LubroMoly lithium grease. Some of my CV joints were repacked with the Mobil One, should I be worried?

Sorry about all the questions. I would rather get things right now before I put everything back together rahter than have to decide wherther I need to start all over.

Thanks

Dave Ploss · 03-14-2003, 12:06 AM

Thanks for asking the questions....I'm starting my front suspension rebuild tomorrow and I was going to ask the same thing.

Good luck.

Dave

Neilk · 03-14-2003, 08:47 AM

Hi,

Dave, good luck. If I get my Neatrix spring plate bushings today, I hope to progress to the a-arms on Sunday.

Are you planning on installing zerk fittings or are you just aiming for a good squeak free fit?

Superman · 03-14-2003, 09:06 AM

Chuck Moreland sells a great set of front bushings, complete with grease fittings. I elected to waste several hours trimming rubber bushings and installing the grease fittings.

CV joints take special grease, and they will chew up lesser greases. Grind them to oil. I used to just use Moly grease on everything, but lately have become a big fan of that sticky, stringy amber stuff. That's the forever grease, and it's what I put on my suspension bushings during installation. I'll probably never have to use the grease fittings I installed.

Do a search on Chuck Moreland for good reading about suspension bushings.

Jdub · 03-14-2003, 10:05 AM

Super:

You are using grease fittings on rubber bushings? Or are they poly?

John

Superman · 03-14-2003, 10:27 AM

Well, the grease fittings are mounted in the metal cap that holds the bushing to the car. The bushings I chose are not the hard, plastic bushings, but rather the next level of firmness. Considerably more firm than the stock bushings which might as well have been made of foam rubber. The ones I used could be described as a very firm, or hard, rubber...not as hard as plastic.

The point I was making above is that I've learned that when you grease something that will never see grease again (or at least...you never want to have to grease it again), then use the sticky, stringy amber stuff. It's much more long lasting than either moly grease or lithium, grease.

Neilk · 03-14-2003, 10:31 AM

Super,

The grease I got from Pelican was white and was actually a "Performance Products" product. What grease did you use?

I was considering Chuck's bushings, but I was worried about harshness and vibrations being transmitted through the car.

Randy Webb · 03-14-2003, 10:32 AM

Mobil 1 is fine grease.
Use wheel bearing grease on wheel bearings.
re "Neatrix bushings degrade when used with petroleum greases so I should use a silicon spray." --> Do NOT use silicone spray, use a silicone grease (Dow Corning stopcock grease for burettes from a chemical supply house -- or pay more for the same thing in a "auto bushing container").
Get a Bentley or similar manual to read up on these things.

IROC · IROC's Garage

One thing to remember regarding the suspension bushings (especially the hard "poly" a-arm and rear spring plate bushings) is that the bushing must be "fitted" to the car. The bushings are pretty much round, but the suspension pieces on the car probably aren't. I used a wood file to remove material where needed to "shape" my bushings so that everything moved easily when assembled. That was about 8 years ago and they don't squeak to this day.

I also used some of that white, almost translucent "Teflon" grease that Performance Products used to sell. Very sticky, but works great.

Mike

Superman · 03-14-2003, 01:19 PM

The actual grease that I used was a dab of the "Optimoly" grease I had left over from my engine rebuild. There are other brands. This stuff is sticky, stringy and amber colored. Other greases are thinner than this stuff. This is the stuff you'll find all over the parts on a Porsche that have never been dismantled since the factory installed them. Some parts are expected to be greased one time, upon assembly, and that's it. For that, you use this sticky stuff.