Polybronze bushings and the return of the Exxon Valdez

[evan9eleven]

Here’s one for you guys running polybronze rear bushings from Elephant Racing: have you had any issues getting them greased properly? Do you end up with an oily mess in the whole area? And which grease do you like best for the job?

In my case I’ve been using a crappy grease gun fitting for a few years, the result of which is more grease on the outside of the fittings then I get into the bushings. Thus the horrible oily mess you see below. However, even with careful greasing I’m thinking this scenario is unavoidable. Anyone else?

For what its worth I just ordered a Hazet pneumatic grease gun and a “Lock-n-Lube” fitting that locks on to the Zerk fittings for a tight fit. I also ordered a device to unclog the Zerks and some dust caps.

Any wisdom to share?

[trond]

i get the same result. And not a lot of grease into the bushings.... but who knows

[Ctopher]

I’m curious, what grease are you using? And what about excess, are you wiping clean what comes out?

[woodyTPA]

i put these in my restoration car that is still kind of apart. Makes me want to consider removing them. I am going to call Elephant Racing. I will post what I find out.

[911pcars]

Call me Capt. Obvious, but the grease looks too thin. Is it regular chassis lube?

[Iciclehead]

I have had a better experience with mine, but I did use what looks to be a much heavier grease on them.

I must admit that I wonder if an engineering improvement to put some sort of lip seal to keep the grease in would be possible?

Dennis

[75 911s]

Looks like you are over-greasing with the wrong grease. You need the high pressure moly red wheel bearing grease. It doesn't take much maybe a few pumps on the gun. Ensure the nipple snaps onto the zerk properly and is "Square" when you begin pumping which can be tricky given the entrance angle.

Also, I think it's once every 3k miles. I'd start by cleaning off all the grease and go for a drive. See how much leaks out after that single drive. Then push out the old grease with new moly red wheel bearing grease. That stuff doesn't drip or spread like what you've shown in your pic in my experience.

Edit: Also ensure your bearing isn't moving. A tell tale sign is when the zerk bottoms out on a mounting post because the poly is sliding in the housing. IF that is the case, remove the assembly and glue the polybronze bushings into the cover and chassis as outlined in the Elephant instructions so that the zerk stays in the middle after you check it post drive. Lastly, mount your spring plate sans torsion bar and ensure you have the bearing square using spacers on the chassis mounting post (washers) Some of the older cars require more than the newer cars (midyear and earlier should require washers). The spring plate will drop on it's own when the TB cover is torqued down (sans tb of course) - also needed a tiny bit of lateral play at the end of the spring plate as outlined in the instructions.

Point is, if those items are followed correctly then there should be no squeaks, thus no over greasing.

[island911]

Originally Posted by Iciclehead

I have had a better experience with mine, but I did use what looks to be a much heavier grease on them.

I must admit that I wonder if an engineering improvement to put some sort of lip seal to keep the grease in would be possible?

Dennis

Yep. The lack of engineering design on these has always perplexed me.

Here is a Ford Model A front suspension...

You can see the heaviness of the grease that pushes out to make a seal of sort.





Use much heavier grease on this old engineering. And know that it is still messy. That's just how it is.

[Otter74]

I find it hard to tell, but I do seem to have issues keeping mine greased properly. I use a heavy moly grease, and grease them every oil change (5k miles) with an ordinary grease gun with a ftting on a hose. As far as I can tell I seem to get more grease out around the nipple than in the bushing. I've got a creak in my right rear suspension that I traced to the right spring plate bushing but I am never sure how much grease I'm actually getting in it.

[Ctopher]

Originally Posted by Otter74

As far as I can tell I seem to get more grease out around the nipple than in the bushing.

Your either not lining up the zerk or you have a different size fitting then your nipple. Grease coming out of the nipple is not putting grease into the bearing.

CTopher

[bkreigsr]

Using a 21 year old accident to illustrate your problem?

..and Norway wasn't even affected ?

Make sure your zerks are clocked to a point where you can get a clean 'click' when the grease gun nozzle locks on.
(Ten o'clock worked for the driver's side and two o'clock worked for the passenger side.)

I used one of these:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D6P2KDY/ref=sspa_dk_detail_3?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B07D6P2KDY&pd_rd_w=2YytW&pf_rd_p=45a72588-80f7-4414-9851-786f6c16d42b&pd_rd_wg=o2nnQ&pf_rd_r=7RTTXHY4C00ZWNWS4974&pd_rd_r=4d869dc5-fab7-487d-aec1-15133c3936a1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExOFFUVDVZMDZIWk1IJ mVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNzkxNzMyN05LQU1VR1laQjVJJmVuY3J 5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA5OTM2NzhQOFpFMVo5WFFEQjkmd2lkZ2V0T mFtZT1zcF9kZXRhaWwmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9 Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl


..and then wipe clean with paper towels.

Bill K

[aston@ultrasw.c]

Big PITA.

Make sure the fitting is square as already stated and watch closely.

Don't just pump the gun blind, the grease will just go everywhere.

If you see any grease squirting out between the zerk and the fitting, stop.

When the stars are aligned, no grease escapes around the zerk, and after 3-4 pumps grease will start oozing out of the bearing!

[evan9eleven]

Thanks for all the responses everyone. I have to agree that there are several things I’ve been getting wrong here. 1) Too thin grease 2) Lousy connection between grease gun and Zerk fitting 3) Me pumping grease all over the place when struggling to get enough into the bearings.

So, two cans of brake cleaner, lots of compressed air, and a roll of paper towels later and I’ve got the offending mess cleaned up. It took some doing to get all the excess grease out from behind the assembly. So now thats done and I’m ready to do better on the greasing.

As mentioned I have a new Hazet grease gun on the way, and a locking connector for leak-free Zerk connections. Lock -n-Lube fitting is here if you’re interested.

Regarding grease, I have been using a “blue lithium complex” grease, which obviously isn’t good enough. What about black 101 Moly from Swepco, the usual stuff for CV joints? Still too thin? I ask as I have a tube of it, but will happily order the red stuff if needed.

Regarding the bearings moving: they are not. The Zerks have stayed oriented in the correct position for the four years these have been on the car. Everything was assembled per Elephant’s instructions, JB Weld and all.

Thanks again for all the tips and advice, much appreciated.

[aston@ultrasw.c]

I purchased a case of suspension grease "used for earth moving and mining equipment"

...about as good as the moly grease from my FLAPS

Plus I have a collection of "leak free" grease fittings, used once

[RWebb]

I use black 101 Moly from Swepco

ask Chuck if in doubt

[tirwin]

I was at Goldcrest Motorsports (local indy Porsche shop) last year. They do the work on Leh Keen’s safari cars. The safari suspension setup also uses ER polybronze. I asked them what grease they use and the guy told me he uses a grease that is made for saltwater fly fishing reels. Absolutely swears by it. Said he has told Chuck about it but I’ve never been able to find out what brand it is.

That inner zirk is always tricky. I’ve been using a Mobil 1 moly grease.

[evan9eleven]

I suppose there are probably several moly and other greases made for extreme environments that would work. I’ll see what I can get here in Norway. I emailed Chuck at Elephant to ask him what his favorite is, and his reply was:

“This stuff is good”

[911pcars]

Originally Posted by tirwin

I was at Goldcrest Motorsports (local indy Porsche shop) last year. They do the work on Leh Keen’s safari cars. The safari suspension setup also uses ER polybronze. I asked them what grease they use and the guy told me he uses a grease that is made for saltwater fly fishing reels. Absolutely swears by it. Said he has told Chuck about it but I’ve never been able to find out what brand it is.

That inner zirk is always tricky. I’ve been using a Mobil 1 moly grease.

A saltwater fly fishing reel doesn't sound like a high stress application like a suspension pivot point, but the product seems fine. I hope that tech wasn't going off on a tangent with another answer. Maybe the guy used a HD rod/reel to catch the whale that swallowed Jonah.

Sherwood

[tirwin]

I’ll bet that’s the same stuff the guys at Goldcrest were talking about.

I found the spec sheet on their website:

https://www.belray.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Bel-Ray-Waterproof-Grease.pdf

[tirwin]

Originally Posted by 911pcars

A saltwater fly fishing reel doesn't sound like a high stress application like a suspension pivot point, but the product seems fine. I hope that tech wasn't going off on a tangent with another answer. Maybe the guy used a HD rod/reel to catch the whale that swallowed Jonah.

Sherwood

“Made for” was probably the wrong word choice. He probably said “got the idea from” or something to that effect. Anyway, it was unusual.