Creaking rear ER polybronze bushings

[nettles503]

I had ER polybronze bushings installed last summer and they've made a huge improvement in how the car handles. But with the weather warming up, the rears have begun creaking incessantly. I bought the PBs knowing that they would need periodic maintenance, which isn't a problem as far as I'm concerned.

The problem is that re-greasing them hasn't seemed to make much improvement in the noise. I've put what I thought was a lot of grease in there. Are there any tricks or best practices that I should be following?

Also, I read this post which has me a bit concerned that I may just have to live with the noise or swap out the bushings. Elephant Racing - Poly Bronze or Rubber Bushings?

Have any of you guys successfully solved this problem? Thanks in advance!

[Charles Freeborn]

That's the trade off. Rubber ones are quiet.

[sjf911]

I had PB that did this, I switched out to rubber and they squeaked even louder so ended up with Rebel Racing which cured the noise.

[mike635]

I had PB that did this, I switched out to rubber and they squeaked even louder so ended up with Rebel Racing which cured the noise.

Did you replace your PB bushings with the ER rubber bushings? I'm thinking about replacing my cheap URO bushings (that are failing after two seasons) with something better, trying to decide what to go with. I've heard nothing but great things about the ER rubber parts but don't want to have to do this job a third time a few years from now.

[nettles503]

Hey Mike -- no, I've left it alone. I regreased them and that helped somewhat. Then the weather here cooled off again, and the creaking has subsided. I'm probably going to live with it for a few years, as the car has plenty of more pressing projects that I want to tackle. But if I had it to do over again, I'd go with the Rebels.

[ozracer]

Did you spray the bushing and area with silicone spray that may lubricante it enough

[sjf911]

Originally Posted by mike635

I had PB that did this, I switched out to rubber and they squeaked even louder so ended up with Rebel Racing which cured the noise.

Did you replace your PB bushings with the ER rubber bushings? I'm thinking about replacing my cheap URO bushings (that are failing after two seasons) with something better, trying to decide what to go with. I've heard nothing but great things about the ER rubber parts but don't want to have to do this job a third time a few years from now.

Yes, I had ER rubber bushings front and rear. In fact, I still have my front rubber bushings in. They handle very nicely but the rear in my build had too much squeak.

[jclotz]

Had PB rear that squeaked and I couldn't quiet despite many efforts. Replaced with ER rubber and no more noise.

[mike635]

Thanks guys, I suppose there's nothing that's going to be perfect and noise free forever. I'm leaning towards the ER rubber bushings but wonder what the life expectancy is given the fact that they haven't been on the market that long (3 years??)

Mike

[GLASEM]

Have PB's on my 911............no squeaks................but I have grease zerks
Are your's zerkless?

[RSTarga]

I've had the ER rubber on my car since they brought them out, front and rear. Absolutley no squeeks and riding like new.

[nettles503]

Originally Posted by GLASEM

Have PB's on my 911............no squeaks................but I have grease zerks
Are your's zerkless?

I do have zerks on mine. What type of grease are you using? I had a bunch of RedLine synthetic left over from my wheel bearing repack and used that to grease my bushings as well.

[K Sykes]

Mine squeaked once. Greased them and it went away. I couldn't be happier with how they perform.

[McLaren-TAG]

Little hi-jack here. Installed Poly Bronze in the spring and just greased them. How much grease exactly is required? I pretty much squeezed until I saw the old stuff oozing out and wiped the excess.

Am I missing anything?

[Cooper911SC]

That should do it.

My poly bronze will occasionally creak in the rear. It happens mostly on transitions and seems more like "sticktion" than anything. Not ever a squeak.
I lubricate about every 5k with hi temp grease.

I use a pneumatic grease gun and find that about 10 "squirts"/pulses on the fronts are pushing out old grease.

The rears take about 30 or so.

Cooper

[toddu]

I've heard (or maybe read) to grease them while not under load. Mine don't make any noise.

Todd

[lateapex911]

I might give Chuck a call. He knows his stuff pretty well, and has always been super helpful when I've called, even when it was some bizarre question that had nothing to do with his business!

[Steve@Rennsport]

I've never had any squeaking issues with the Poly-bronze ones and that's a LOT of them.

When you grease these, its critical that the rear end is unloaded (off the ground) to permit grease to reach the top of the bushings where the greatest loads are. This is a MUST.

I use an expensive synthetic grease that we use in CV's and wheel bearings in race cars, however any high quality grease will do: Valvoline synthetic, Red Line, Swepco #101, Kendall.

[Chuck Moreland]

Steve's recommendation on greasing is good.

Noise related issues with the Spring plate Polybronze are almost always related to cover plate problems.

The most common problem has been inadequate spacing out the cover, which in turn causes pinching of the bearings. It's very important to following the installation instructions with respect to spacing out the spring plate cover to avoid pinching.

There are other potential problems related to the cover plate. If anyone needs tech support, feel free to contact me and I will help diagnose.

[ibeaudoin]

I have PBs front and rear. I grease them before every track events. Unloaded, Swepco 101. They become quiet until I hit the track again. 2 or 3 20 mins sessions and they start creaking again, mostly the rear ones. Worst when the track is wet.
Only feel/hear the creak when the car slowly moves, or stopped and getting out of it.
I followed the installation instructions meticulously.
I just live with it.