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Greaseable polyurethane sway bar bushings

Duckworthe

Duckworthe

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Most people will need them. The sellers on here want 90-100 bucks per bushing and I have to "sorry, but that is just to much". That's why I made my own also. I used a existing round bushing and just cut it to slip over the swaybar and then cut a flat to match the original one. Bamm, 30 bucks and I was done. As far as greasing mine I really don't see the need, only at install. On my off road cars and trucks yes, because they can squeak and be annoying. But I will never hear them on this truck anyway. As for wear, I have put over 10k miles on mine so far and they have been great and no wear. But there no reason not to put in a grease fitting in them either! to each there own. We still need to meet up somewhere between Ca. and AZ!
 
Awesomeness

Awesomeness

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Duckworthe said:
As far as greasing mine I really don't see the need, only at install. On my off road cars and trucks yes, because they can squeak and be annoying. But I will never hear them on this truck anyway. As for wear, I have put over 10k miles on mine so far and they have been great and no wear. But there no reason not to put in a grease fitting in them either! to each there own.
Click to expand...
Greasability is actually important for engineering reasons, not stuff like hearing a squeak. The original rubber bushings are soft rubber, so that the mount can flex and deflect in a number of directions as the axle moves. With the polyurethane, the bushings are made harder which improves the performance of the stabilizer bar (because the mounts for it don't flex and "give in" as much, so it is better restrained), but then the bar needs to be able to move and spin a small amount within the bushing to adjust during axle movement. The grease allows that movement and protects the bushing from mechanical abrasive wear (it also prevents dirt intrusion and corrosion/rust that would otherwise add further abrasives into the joint).

Making them greasable added a little extra design time and mold complexity, but didn't change the cost of materials or manufacturing of the actual bushing. The grease fittings and drill bit in the kit only add like $10. So to me it's more of a question of "why would you NOT grease them?", than "why would you?". It's a sensible improvement.
 
Duckworthe

Duckworthe

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San Diego, Ca
I agree. Why not grease them. I greased mine also when I installed them. I think it is Awesome that you put in the ability to grease them on the truck. Hope you sell them on here to all our members at a reasonable price! Not $90.00 each! Great to see our own group coming up with better and better working products!
 
coachgeo

coachgeo

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Awesomeness... not having done this myself yet...... and since you have....... With yours can one swap left and right bushing and install the Grease Zerk on the backside of the bracket? Would swap sides even be needed?... or just turn them 180?

Asking cause of desire to keep Zerk potentially (though only slightly) more away from damage when off road.
 
Awesomeness

Awesomeness

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coachgeo said:
Awesomeness... not having done this myself yet...... and since you have....... With yours can one swap left and right bushing and install the Grease Zerk on the backside of the bracket? Would swap sides even be needed?... or just turn them 180?

Asking cause of desire to keep Zerk potentially (though only slightly) more away from damage when off road.
Click to expand...
Hmm, short answer is yes. You can turn the opening in the bushings to face rearward and install them that way. You would then just drill the grease hole on the front of the u-shaped bracket (there really is no front or back, it's symmetrical, so you would actually also just be pointing the hole forward). So it will physically "fit" that way, but I'm not sure if there will be any long term ramifications of having the cut in the bushing facing back... probably not much of a problem, but you never know, since that is the direction force is applied.

I wonder what pro's and con's turning them around will have. Yes, you would protect it more from getting hit against something while backing up, but you back up less than you go forward, so you're now exposing it to more potential abuse on the front (including just being brushed against grass and stuff). The forward facing grease fittings are protected a bit more by the axle, but if you're in rocks/debris big enough to hit the axle and sway bar wouldn't they be big enough hit it going either way?

Another option might be to either take the zerks out when they're not in use (and plug them with a bolt), or use the flatter zerks that are greased with a needle.
 
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coachgeo

coachgeo

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Awesomeness said:
..... Yes, you would protect it more from getting hit against something while backing up, but you back up less than you go forward, ....
Click to expand...
wait....... what??? I must have missed that. thought these were facing forward already and you would hit them when moving forward... not backward. Guess I miss perceived the pics.
 
Awesomeness

Awesomeness

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Typical intended installation is with the opening of the bushing (so that it can be installed over the bar) facing forward, and the grease fitting facing rearward.
 
Awesomeness

Awesomeness

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I have a pair that has been sitting in the intense Colorado sun for 3 years now, and has some light surface flaking. I've switched to an improved UV inhibitor additive, to make them even better and longer lasting.
 
VVFD

VVFD

New member
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Vanderpool, Texas
There is guy on the FB "Scott Hoffer" who posted on the "lmtv mtv military trucks" group that he is looking for some sway-bar bushings. Most everyone is sending him links to you. Hope you can help him out.

Also, did you get the 'duck-bill' drain I sent to you in early July?

-Al
 
Sgthoffer

Sgthoffer

Member
157
5
18
Location
West Virginia
Awesomeness said:
Just weeks after getting my M1078, the sway bar bushings fell apart, and were soon completely gone. I decided to make some heavy duty polyurethane replacements, and make them [optionally] greaseable.

Here's the CAD model so far...
View attachment 640394

I 3D printed a prototype, to test fit, and everything looks good.

What do you guys think? Do the bushings break apart often? Are others missing them too?
Click to expand...
Can I get a set of these sent to me? Let me know how to pay? I am in at Zipcode 26187.
Mine are completely shot and hanging out of the brackets.
 
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