Rev_Night

iTrader: (3)

goddamn. these H&R bushings are taking forever to get here. Still not arrived yet.

audiophil350z

I did not see this mentioned, but Hotchkis sells a 14 oz silicon grease cartridge. I had creak from my front Hotchkis bar about 200 miles after installing. I ended up buying some thick silicon grease at Lowe's (for faucets). I put it liberally inside the fronts and the noise went away. I am doing Kinetix arms on front, so I will have zerk fittings on 4 bushings (front A arms, rear sways), so I bought the Hotchkis grease from Amazon for $28 (expensive, but the cheapest I could find). I will post after getting it. BTW, my assumption is that you should liberally grease the Hotchkis sway bars every time you do an oil change. As I find you really have to drop the plastic undercarriage plate for that, it takes about 10 minutes to drop the 8 bolts for the sways, grease them, and re-torque. I just let the bar fall down on my chest and it worked fine. I left the end links attached.

I am thinking about drilling/tapping for zerk fittings on the front sways. I assume you have to drill the bushings under the zerks through to the center so the grease flows to the bar surface. Has anyone done this mod?

Rev_Night

iTrader: (3)

I didnt install the zerks for the front. As for the plastic undercarriage, i ditched that long ago. I assume everyone else did too.

dcains

iTrader: (15)

You really want an undertray, as it serves an important aerodynamic function. There are a few threads here with details. I've got the Z Speed aluminum version, which is one of my favorite mods.

http://zspeedperformance.com/ZSpeed-...ld-zsp2001.htm

Rev_Night

iTrader: (3)

Ok, so, i haven't forgotten about this thread, just haven't had a chance to install the H&R bushings. I was finally able to do that today. The only thing of note is that, as specified by H&R, these bushings must be greaseless. So the bar where the bushings will go must be clean and dry, and where the bushing/bracket meet must be too. I had a ton of grease on my bracket and bar, so paper towel that stuff away. And the bushing was 36mm, the Hotchki's bar is 35mm, so my original plan was to use plumbers lubricant tape as the extra 1mm. That turned out to be not needed as even a single layer was too much. Also, the 36mm bushing fit just fine.

After installing it and driving it around, I don't hear any squeaks. However, it will take more then just a test drive around the hood to know for certain, so I will update this thread in a few days.

Rev_Night

iTrader: (3)

ok, after a few days of driving, i can confirm that there are no more squeaks or creaks coming from the front of the car. The H&R bushings solved my hotchki's noise, and I was still able to use the front on it's tightest settings.

dcains

iTrader: (15)

Wow, glad to hear these worked - I'm stoked to put my Hotchkis bar back on. I'm going to order some this week. Thanks again.

Rev_Night

iTrader: (3)

ok god ****ing damnit. I've noticed that the car squeaked alot more after a good rain, so thats why i figured i should use the marine grease. Then it was squeaking even with the marine grease, so i figured it was the bushing. The car, even with the older bushings, has been rather quiet the past two weeks and we havent gotten alot of rain. Anyways, the new H&R bushings are dry, and were silent yesterday and the past few days. Then last night we had a big rain, I drive the car, and SQUEAKS.

I'm beginning to suspect that maybe I'm not hearing the swaybar. How could the swaybar only squeak when its wet? What else is there on the car?

dcains

iTrader: (15)

Well, all I can say is that on my car the noise is definitely isolated to the Hotchkis bar and its chassis bushings. No a single noice with the OEM bar/bushings installed, and I'm using Powergrid end links on both. I'm going to try the H&R bushings anyway, first dry, then greased. If that fails, I'll try another set of bars, maybe solid instead of hollow?

Zquicksilver

iTrader: (5)

Interesting stuff, I also have a old truck sound from front when I go over bumps, but it could be a number of things... I bought a set of used Hotchkis sways years ago, the bushing collar, F/B had a Zerks? nipple on it for lube, is that an add-on of the previous owner?

Anyone know what kind of lube I should use? Some lubs don't work with certain rubbers, car life is so complicated, lol.
Answer...
https://my350z.com/forum/brakes-and-...right-now.html
post #4

guitman32

iTrader: (15)

The correct answer is at post #14, which is a follow-up to post #4.

You need a thick synthetic (non-petroleum) lube to lubricate the sway bar bushings, such as the silicone based Super Lube.

Zquicksilver

iTrader: (5)

^ Thank You

Rev_Night

iTrader: (3)

So, there could be many problems, but after so many greases and I still hear it, im going to guess the problem may be with the shock. I sent my two year old KW V2 paypal invoice to KW, and now i am awaiting to hear if it is covered under wtty. If so, i'll mail it out and reinstall, will post with results

guitman32

iTrader: (15)

Good of you to report back. Make sure to disconnect the sway bar to rule out the possibility of anything related to the sway. Its two bolts...disco the end links from the LCA...definitely try it to be sure.

Deteria

iTrader: (2)

I had my front lower control arm bushings changed out and that fixed it