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Poly swaybar bushings - anyone tried some "universal" ones?

14K views 35 replies 17 participants last post by  AAIIIC 
#1 ·
Today I was under the car to install some Hotchkis adjustable swaybar endlinks. I ended up failing in that endeavor, as my 1/2" drill bit wasn't up to the task of doing so much drilling. :rolleyes: So, I ended up leaving the passenger side front endlink off and lo and behold, the clunking I've been getting from the front suspension disappeared! :thumbsup: From what I could see on the driver side, the swaybar mounting bushing is pretty tired, so I think that's where the noise is probably coming from.

I know someone had posted a thread encouraging people to get Energy Suspension to manufacture various bushings for us, but it looked to me like the swaybar bushings up front are pretty much the universale style. (The brackets are a little weird, but the bushings themselves didn't look like a special design.) Searching around here it appears the front swaybar is 26.5mm. Energy's universal bushings skip from 25mm to 27mm, but Prothane makes 26mm (in black or pimpy red).

So, before I buy a set, has anyone tried a set of universal poly bushings for the swaybars? I'd hate to waste the money if someone else has already done the homework and figured out they don't fit the stock brackets properly.
 
#2 ·
Subscribed. I just found set of 8 of these universal sway bar/endlink urethane bushings in my garage that I've never used :) I'd like to use them if I can.
 
#3 ·
If I can find a vendor with them in stock I think I'll be ordering some today. For $20-25 shipped it can't hurt to experiment. Summit and Jegs both have them on back order, so I need to find some place else.

The ones I'm looking at are Prothane 19-1182.
 
#4 ·
I am lowered via eibach, z06 endlinks and stock sways. I don't have any clunk in my suspension. My sway bushings looked alright when I put the endlinks in. It might be a possibility that putting poly bushings in might increase a clunk if it isn't coming from the sway bushing itself. Just a thought.

As for a squeaky suspension which some guys have, a poly bushing might help there. I think (don't quote me) that the hotchkis sways have a bushing that can be lubed, need to find some pics that I believe that lollygagger posted. I can see the rubber bushing when torqued down on the sway might give some squeaks.
 
#5 ·
Rubber bushings are used by the OEMs because they don't squeak. The poly bushings are much more likely to squeak - you have to keep them lubed to prevent that from getting annoying.

And I'm hoping that the Hotchkis endlinks will help reduce/eliminate the clunking I've been hearing. I imagine the stock endlinks are at or beyond their normal range of motion with my lowered ride height, so that's probably a big part of the clunking.
 
#6 ·
Good heads up on the poly squeaking, didn't think of that. There is a lot of items moving in the suspension as it travels on bumps, so narrowing down a clunk can be tiring experience. I hope the endlinks work out for you.

Deedub, you getting any clunk or squeak in your suspension? Or do you just want to utilize some parts that you bought but haven't had a reason?
 
#7 ·
No clunk or squeak here, just curious if I could use them or not.
 
#10 ·
The Hotchkis endlinks are installed up front and have taken away probably 75% of the noise. I think the stock endlinks were probably at the limits of their range of motion with the car lowered ~1", so that probably degraded them and made them noisy.
 
#12 ·
Use grease in between the bar and the bushing when you install em. Also around the tops of the bushings where they meet the brackets as well. <-that's the part that will be interesting to see if these bushings fit the OEM brackets or not.

I suppose you could drill a hole in the tops of the new bushings and OEM brackets and tack weld a zerk on.....then you'd have the ability to grease them at will. (if they end up fitting)
 
#13 ·
I ordered 19-1182 (26mm) for the front, and 19-1164 (21mm) for the rear. I haven't even looked at the stock rear bushings to see what they look like, so that may have been a waste to order those. Honestly, I'm not too hopeful on the fronts, either, but I figured it couldn't hurt to place the order and see what I get.
 
#15 · (Edited)
The Hotchkis C5 endlinks are a little cheaper than the Powergrid ones. They run about $270 for a set of 4 from Summit or Jegs (it's part #1797). I've only installed the fronts so far:





They're beefy - 1/2" studs. I'm assuming the Power Grid endlinks use stock diameter studs, as I haven't read anything about people having to drill out the control arms and swaybars to install them.
 
#17 ·
$25 for 4 rod ends means those rod ends are basically garbage. I don't mean that as a jab at you, Shredder - a lot of people don't realize how expensive good rod ends are. Even $25 for a single rod end is a pretty low end product. Those endlinks would start wearing out and making noise within a matter of days or weeks.

That's why the Hotchkis and Power Grid endlinks cost so much. Obviously they're making a decent profit, but they're also using good components, which are expensive.
 
#23 ·
$25 for 4 rod ends means those rod ends are basically garbage. I don't mean that as a jab at you, Shredder - a lot of people don't realize how expensive good rod ends are. Even $25 for a single rod end is a pretty low end product. Those endlinks would start wearing out and making noise within a matter of days or weeks.
AGREE!!!! The Fecking ends for my trailing arms and toe rods were ridiculous! Granted I went all top of the line, but when you spend 400 in parts PLUS tubing....

Just so you know, those metal to metal endlinks WILL and DO make clicking sounds on every bump. Theres an 05 out here with a blower, sounds like a sewing machine on bumpy roads - and its not from a cam! The lowering setup he ran uses no inner lined heims and ends (cheapie ish), and he actually had to have the entirety reverted back to stock cause he hated it so much!

As for generic poly, its better than beat up rubber! I don't see a problem with running universals, or even making your own endlinks, I see it done on hot rods, pro tourings all the time. The squeak can be eliminated with either high end grease from suppliers or good old home depot lithium grease. Yay 3 dollar fixes.:highfive:
 
#18 ·
AAIIIC, you have the KW and the Hotchkis sways... when you put the new endlinks on and made the sway bar more straight instead of angled up to meet the stock endlinks, how close is the bar to your shock. On my car it almost looks like they will touch when I swap out end links.
 
#19 ·
Actually, I just have stock swaybars. The endlinks I bought separately, based on reading that NormV had used them on his salvaged car. (What's strange, though, is that the links I got look nothing like the links he got from Hotchkis.) So far, so good with them - haven't heard any unusual noises indicating that the new position of the front swaybar is causing any problems. Perhaps this weekend I'll get around to doing the rears.

No word yet on the bushings. The place I ordered from earlier this week said it would be 3-5 working days to get them, then they'd ship them to me.
 
#20 ·
Gotta quick question... I couldve searched but im right here... when lowering with h&r's I was planning on using zo6 endlinks

I was going to buy a pair from luke for the front, do i need them for the rear as well?

I was going to switch out the sways as well to hotchkis, how do their bushings hold up? should i use the hotchkis endlinks or zo6's?
 
#21 ·
O- you only need them for the front. I asked the same thing. Hotchkis bushing suck imo. I have to change them from what I guess will be once a year, I alos put 20,000 miles a year on the ol'gurl.
 
#22 ·
Bump. What was outcome of uni bushings purchased?
Multiple searches here plus outside the forum, and I can"t find a place to purchase front sway bar bushings alone...without a whole kit. Any ideas? Tried D3, Specter, Hotchkis, Lindsay, etc.
 
#24 ·
Bump. What was outcome of uni bushings purchased?
Got the bushings just before I moved from WA to VA and they're now sitting in my garage. Just based on my initial eyeballing of things, the fronts will definitely take some work to make them fit - I don't think they're as tall as the stockers, so they wouldn't fill up the bracket properly. I haven't really taken a look at the rears.

I'm at a track event this weekend, but perhaps next weekend I can get under the car and take a closer look at things.
 
#27 ·
DID THEY WORK!!!???
I am looking for replacement poly bushings for my CTS-V sway bars.... But can find any information of what or if anyone found one to fit the funky brackets?
did the " 19-1182 (26mm) for the front, and 19-1164 (21mm) for the rear " work????
 
#30 ·
I think I've bought every poly bushing out there, trying to get something decent around my sways but they always look and sound like they've got wiggle room in them after a few weeks. I think this is one of the weakest links in the suspension.
 
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