Welcome to the Corvette Forums at the Corvette Action Center!

Squeaks in da Suspension!!

krscholz

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 11, 2008
Messages
129
Location
Caldwell, ID
Corvette
75 Corvette Coupe, 383 Stroker
I recently rebuit the entire front end and now I've developed a squeak that won't go away. I've sprayed WD-40 on it and was told that's not a great idea b/c of the rubber bushings. Any ideas on what to do and what product I should use?
 
No, I used good-ole rubber bushings that were pressed in and Im sure there not twisting.
 
on the motor cycle forums i frequent it used to be recommended to not use WD40 to clean the chain because of the rubber O rings. finally someone did some tests and after a month of being submerged in WD40 there was no change in the O ring. Keep in mind though WD40 is not really a lubricant. It makes a better cleaner because it is so thin. It wont hurt but it wont really lubricate either.
 
Did you wait until the entire weight of the car was on the suspension, at normal ride height, before you tightened the upper and lower control arm bushing bolts?
 
Thanks for the input. That was my thought on WD-40 as well. I just purchased some heavy duty Silcone and will try that this weekend to see what happens.
 
Oh @#$%! Perhaps I didn't for the lower but I'm pretty sure I did for the top bushing. Regardless, its done and the car has settled. Are you suggesting that I loosen and retighten the nots on the bushing?
 
Yes I did this morning. It is the upper control arm bushings.
 
Yes I did this morning. It is the upper control arm bushings.

Loosen the bolts at both ends of the upper control arm shafts and back them off about 3/8", jounce the front end up and down several times, and re-torque the bolts.

:beer
 
WD40 - WD (water displacement) is not a petroleum based product. It really doesn't distort rubber.
 
WD40 - WD (water displacement) is not a petroleum based product. It really doesn't distort rubber.

Not so sure about that:

WD-40's main ingredients, according to U.S. Material Safety Data Sheet information, are:

* 50%: Stoddard solvent (i.e., mineral spirits -- primarily hexane, somewhat similar to kerosene)
* 25%: Liquefied petroleum gas (presumably as a propellant; carbon dioxide is now used instead to reduce WD-40's considerable flammability)
* 15+%: Mineral oil (light lubricating oil)
* 10-%: Inert ingredients

The German version of the mandatory EU safety sheet lists the following safety relevant ingredients:

* 60-80%: Heavy Naphtha (petroleum product), hydrogen treated
* 1-5%: Carbon dioxide

It further lists flammability and effects to the human skin when repeatedly exposed to WD-40 as risks when using WD-40. Nitrile rubber gloves and safety glasses should be used. Water is unsuitable for extinguishing burning WD-40.
 
well going back to my motorcycle expertise, kerosene is the factory recommended solvent to clean the rubber O rings in between the chain links so if wd40 is akin to kerosene then it is definetly rubber safe.

also here is the link to the test i mentioned earlier.
StumbleUpon WebToolbar

long term submersion in wd40 (and anothere inkerosene) of a small rubber part showed now noticible or detectable ill affect.
 
Loosen the bolts at both ends of the upper control arm shafts and back them off about 3/8", jounce the front end up and down several times, and re-torque the bolts.

:beer
Thanks very much. I'm going to give that a try and let you know.
 
No. There are no sliding surfaces to lubricate. The outer and inner points of the rubber bushing are held firmly in place and the movement of the control arm is achieved by 'twisting' the rubber inside the bushing.

The rubber is in a neutral position only with the car at normal ride height. That's why it's not a good idea to 'put a car on blocks' over the winter with the suspension hanging.
 
To expand on what Mikey noted, here's a little "Bushing 101" for those who may not be familiar with how OEM rubber suspension bushings work - see sketch below which is a cross-section of a typical bushing.

The outside diameter of the outer steel sleeve is pressed into the holes in the control arm, and is locked solid in those holes - it doesn't move relative to the control arm.

The rubber portion of the bushing (diagonal lines) is bonded permanently to the inside diameter of the outer steel sleeve, AND to the outside diameter of the inner steel sleeve; there is no relative motion between either the outer or inner sleeve and the rubber.

The ends of the steel inner sleeve are serrated, forming "teeth" where the ends of the sleeve contact the frame (for the lowers) or the shoulder and retainer washers on the cross-shaft (for the uppers).

When the pivot bolt is tightened, the teeth on both ends of the inner sleeve bite into the frame, and the inner sleeve is locked solid in place and cannot rotate.

With the outer sleeve locked solid in the control arm and the inner sleeve locked solid in the frame, and the rubber bonded solid to both the outer and inner sleeves, all motion of the control arm takes place within the rubber portion of the bushing, stressing the rubber in torsion as the control arm moves up and down from its normal ride height position, where there is zero torsional stress in the rubber. There is no relative motion between any components of the bushing, thus there is no need for any lubrication.

That's why the Shop Manual and the Assembly Manual make it very clear that the suspension MUST be at normal ride height when the through-bolts are torqued, so the rubber portion of the bushing is in a "neutral" or zero-stress condition with the car at rest.

That's why it's a bad idea to store a car with the suspension hanging free - it places the rubber in the bushings under maximum torsional stress for an extended period, which will cause premature shear failure of both the bonds and the rubber itself.

:beer
 
Fill me in. Why not use poly??? I see them available in Eckerds and other places.
 

Corvette Forums

Not a member of the Corvette Action Center?  Join now!  It's free!

Help support the Corvette Action Center!

Supporting Vendors

Dealers:

MacMulkin Chevrolet - The Second Largest Corvette Dealer in the Country!

Advertise with the Corvette Action Center!

Double Your Chances!

Our Partners

Back
Top Bottom