Sway Bar Bushings greasing?

Evening guys and gals!

I’ve done some suspension work on my Tacoma to eliminate an issue of clunking. Had seemingly fixed the issue by replacing the Sway Bar bushings and adding some wheel bearing grease to the bar itself[where the bushings make contact]. Creaking noise remained so I went back under and turned them around[slit facing to the front, I think]. For a while the sound was lessened. It was less audible but still there. Overtime it got louder until I was back at square one again. I decided to buy and spray some B’laster Silicone spray as I did with the grease[after cleaning the surface] and this time having the slit face the rear.
The creaking noise became this very irritable high pitched squeaking. Like sterile rubber on rubber parts dry humping each other on the dance floor. DIY videos on YouTube show lubricating the sway bar. Some internet results say no.

What is the answer? Does the sway bar contact point need lubrication? Does the orientation of the slit matter? What grease, if actually needed, is best for this?

BTW, the replacement parts I got were from Autozone. Rubber, not Poly.

 

you can grease rubber, but it’ll break it down faster and shorten it’s lifespan…

Take em out, get them squeaky clean (Dawn dish soap and brush), then try regular old Vaseline.

 

I had the clunking noise at low speed going over bumps the end links where bad. I also changed the sway arm bushing with oem ones the slit faced towards the rear the factory ones have a little square at the bottom don’t know about aftermarket ones I installed them right out of the package no grease. I also have a 2020 4 runner so I just installed them the same way

 

Generally speaking on Tacomas, front sway bar end links go well before the bushings. Did you verify that they are still in good condition? The bushings are not lubricated from the factory and should not need to ever be lubricated in normal use. Aftermarket bushings? That's a whole different can of worms because they are not designed and manufactured to the same standards as OEM. (Translation: They might need to be lubricated.) As for which way the slit in the bushing faces, that should not make a difference.

Here's another thought. Have you verified that the sway bar bushings are even the real problem. The noise you describe could be a tie rod end or ball joint that has lost all of its lubrication and is now metal on metal.

 

I did just that and cleaned the sway bar/bushing contact point of all the grease/lubricant residue. But I opted to not use anything on it. Just dry mount as rpktaco mentioned above. No squeaking whatsoever now. I hope I’m not celebrating too early haha.
Thanks for your replies!

 

That was one item suggested by a Firestone mechanic. Replace the sway bar end links. They did have a bit of play on them but replacing them did not make the squeaking go away. At least now they’re new. I did replace the passenger side inner and outer tie rods as it was leaking fluid due to a torn boot. The driver side still looks good but I think I’ll replace it soon. Couldn’t be any ball joints as anything with a ball joint was replaced [UCA, LCA]. I did, however, notice that the driver side sway bar gets a little too close to the spring seat while the passenger had a finger’s worth of space. I did not see any metal shearing or contact points though.
Thanks for your reply! Hopefully I’ve remedied the issue.

 

Don't use marine grease, bearing grease, etc. Use actual bushing grease from Energy Suspension, Prothane, etc. It's super tacky and slippery. You can even get it on Amazon.

$14 Energy Suspension - 9.11104 8 OZ TUB OF FORMULA 5 PRELUBE

https://www.amazon.com/Energy-Suspe...spension+bushing+grease&qid=1625340717&sr=8-1

 

wheel bearing grease
which is petroleum-based
like putting gasoline in a plastic cup overnight that will dissolve it
onto your rubber bushings

even though plenty of rubber-safe alternatives such as silicone grease exist for cheap

nice

wheel bearing grease
for use to grease wheel bearings
that have metal races and metal ball bearings inside, getting lubricated
It's almost as if...wheel bearing grease...was specifically designed to be used in metal wheel bearings...

ah
recommending he remove his petroleum-based grease
to install another harmful to rubber petroleum-based grease intended for household use

NICE

DING DING DING that's usually what it is
This truck does not develop noticeable play felt with pliers in the ball joints
it cannot be seen with the naked eye
and they (or loose bolts) can click loudly over bumps

If you have 100k or more
your bushings are shot
your wheel bearings
and your ball joints
Just like on any other vehicle

You should replace them
they're not expensive
eBay/Amazon price examples:
-new control arm, $30
-new wheel bearing, $60

I believe the factory repair manual procedure describes setting up a dial indicator gauge to measure for play within a ball joint
it's much easier, faster, and more common sensical, to just go "Well at this miles and age, this part is probably bad. At $30 new, let me just go ahead and replace it."
aka Front End Rebuild

 

I just recently replaced my old sway bar bushing with new ones without adding any grease for lubrication. After driving for about 2-3 weeks, I started to hear the clunking noises which coming from the sway bar bushing. I crawled under the truck and added some Valvoline Multi-Vehicle High-Temperature Red Grease and the clunking noises went away. My question is, is it fine to put grease in sway bar bushings?

 

it is fine to throw sway bar bushings and sway bar in dumpster

 

That valvoline is probably petroleum based. This other energy suspension stuff is probably your best choice.

$33 Jet-Lube Silicone Compound DM - Military Grade | Moisture Proofing | NLGI #3 | Food Grade Lubricant

https://www.amazon.com/Jet-Lube-73550-Dielectric-Cartridge-Translucent/dp/B007IBAC9S?pd_rd_w=XMehC&content-id=amzn1.sym.8300047d-cdab-4038-92e8-d589d534357f&pf_rd_p=8300047d-cdab-4038-92e8-d589d534357f&pf_rd_r=4JY2S251V2HPEK59THMG&pd_rd_wg=nRjsw&pd_rd_r=db3293f1-6fbd-4ed7-8fa8-9e52c626cf98&pd_rd_i=B007IBAC9S

This is my go to do all. Primarily, I use it for assembling hydraulic cylinder seals into their seats. Also anywhere an oring touches metal.

 

Like @TacoTuesday1 mentioned. loose bolts are often an overlooked culprit. My torque wrench is one of my best investments.
If you're getting torque specs off the world wide webs, check multiple sources and find some consistency.
Plenty of fluff #'s lingering around.

 

I just recently replaced my old sway bar bushing with new ones without adding any grease for lubrication. After driving for about 2-3 weeks, I started to hear the clunking noises coming from the sway bar bushing. I crawled under the truck and added some Valvoline Multi-Vehicle High-Temperature Red Grease and the clunking noises went away. Now, the clunking noises are coming back, so what am I doing wrong here?

 

running a sway bar

 

Normally speaking, lubrication eliminates a squeak, not a clunk. A clunk is more a symptom of something being loose. You said you replaced your sway bar bushings. How do the sway bar links look?