HI Guys,

I've got a couple of hundered miles under the wheels of my car and was expecting this problem to go away. The problem is: my front suspension (which is inboard) is very creaky when compressed/de-compressed and the front end does not fully return to it's sag position if pressed down. I didnt fit the bushes into the wishbones so I'm wondering if there is a problem here. Are any parts within the bush assy supposed to move ? ie the bush, crush tube or shoulder bolt? Is a special lubricant required which may of or may not have been used?
I'm hoping to get this sorted as I expect it will have a detremental effect on the handling.

Any advice welcomed

Dan

Are your crush tubes shorter than your bushes?

This would cause the eye brackets to clamp against the bush restricting movement. And yes grease them up.

Get this sorted ASAP, not only is it annoying and detrimental to the ride, it also puts a lot of stress on the ends of the wishbones and the chassis brackets. There are several examples of wishbone and chassis failures that have been posted on here that have resulted from this.

1) Ensure the crush tube protrudes beyond the bushes as fesycresy says. Having the crush tubes too short is a very common mistake.
2) Check the fit of the crush tube within the bushes. Some manufacturers make the fit between the bush and the wishbone ridiculously tight, which compresses the bush and then makes the crush tube a ridiculously tight fit. It shouldn't be loose-you won't be able to move it with your fingers, but you should be able to clamp the crush tube in a vice and move the wishbone by hand with relative ease.
3) Poly-bushes do need lubrication, a silicone based grease works well.
4) If the crush tubes are made from mild steel they will rust and cause the crush tube to bind within the bush. Stainless crush tubes are a must.

[Edited on 18/1/12 by MikeRJ]

Already discussed..

Rusty Nuts is the king on this subject!

http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?tid=123345

http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?tid=126130

Bolts must be done up TIGHT. No longditudinal play, and free rotation.

Take arm off car, check in a vice and adjust the outer edge of the bush. Had to cut mine down by abt 40 thou. (yours will be different)
Using a vice to test is quicker than testing on the car. Once bush / crush tube clearance is correct, test on the car.
lube with Silicon Rubber Gresase. Comes in a tube from Maplins at abt £3. Its not shown on the website. only the aerosol cans, which is a liquid, and not as good as the grease.

Not a difficult job, just time consuming, will take a whole day to do all the bushes.

Thanks for your responses, my money is on the crush tubes being too short, will check it out tonight.