Best (cheap) mod I've done yet...greasable sway bar bushings

Skyjump136 · **Joined:** Tue Jul 05, 2005 6:50 pm **Posts:** 1633

I was getting tired of pulling the swaybar off to grease it everytime it started making a racket. Today I stopped at Napa on the way home and bought some grease fittings, a tap, and a tap wrench (total $12). It took me about a half hour tonight to add zerk fittings to my sway bar bushings!

Basically, just pull the metal brakets off along with the rubber bushings (no need to take the entire bar off). Keep the bushing inside the bracket and hold it down on a workbench while you drill a pilot hole through the bracket AND the bushing. Then use your tap to create the proper threading for the zerk fittings you bought. Repeat for the other bracket/bushing. Reinstall your bushings and brackets and screw in the zerks. It should look like this when you are all finished...

Now I'm able to just hook up the grease gun, give it a couple pulls and glorious grease comes out in all directions.

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Fri Sep 15, 2006 10:58 pm

Ive always wanted to do that! Mine shut up after taking them off and cleaning them about as year ago. Ive not had any problems out of them since or I would of done that by now. Cannot believe someone else did that!! Awesome job!!

Matt400 · **Posted:** Fri Sep 15, 2006 11:09 pm

Good thinking...keep an eye on the rubber though because it may not be resistant to petroleum products so you might have to switch to a polyurethane bushing.

Skyjump136 · **Joined:** Tue Jul 05, 2005 6:50 pm **Posts:** 1633

Matt400 wrote:

Good thinking...keep an eye on the rubber though because it may not be resistant to petroleum products so you might have to switch to a polyurethane bushing.

Yeah, I thought about that...at least they're pretty cheap to replace if needed. If its something you're worried about you could just use a synthetic grease.

JJsTJ · **Posted:** Fri Sep 15, 2006 11:33 pm

We did the same thing long ago on the Daystar poly bushings as they are Way noisy, especially in the winter. It is a quick, easy, cheap fix for sure.
If your dealer sees it they sure do make a funny face. I had mine done shortly after lifting which was way before my free oil change was due. The oil guy called me over to ask about them. He said "I've never seen grease fittings on a Liberty before, did you put those there?" I replied "Yes, it keeps the bushings quiet. He replied "Oh, because you installed those and they are not stock, I can't grease them for you." I said, "Whatever, no biggie." and I proceeded to :roll:

Skyjump136 · **Joined:** Tue Jul 05, 2005 6:50 pm **Posts:** 1633

Quote:

He replied "Oh, because you installed those and they are not stock, I can't grease them for you."

Yeah, they thought I was crazy when I made a special request to have my upper ball joints greased...this will probably really throw them off! :lol:

Matt400 · **Posted:** Sat Sep 16, 2006 12:46 am

I think I will add this mod to my to-do list on our PT Cruiser, its pretty noisy.

Troysterr · **Posted:** Sat Sep 16, 2006 10:05 am

Great idea. I've added this thread to my Parts and Links site so that I don't forget to do it if an when my sway bar bushings start making any noise (I've had my KJ for over 5 years, no noise yet).

Skyjump136 · **Joined:** Tue Jul 05, 2005 6:50 pm **Posts:** 1633

You are lucky if you haven't had noise yet! That's the one thing I've had to replace. Even my original lower ball joints were fine at 45,000 miles (replaced under this recent recall regardless). Still have the original brake pads - 7/32 at 45,000! Swaybar bushings...squeeky, squeeky. The noise happens mostly in the winter though so that's why I'm doing this mod now.

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Sat Sep 16, 2006 10:29 am

Yea, mine did it in the winter also. I guess the rubber gets hard were its cold and drys out or something?

Skyjump136 · **Joined:** Tue Jul 05, 2005 6:50 pm **Posts:** 1633

That, and if you get snow there's probably a lot of road grime that gets up in there.

Guyute1210 · **Posted:** Tue Sep 19, 2006 4:41 pm

I live up where we get lots of snow and cold, but my bushings are as quiet as the day I bought it. It's only been through one winter though....

Neatus · **Posted:** Tue Sep 19, 2006 9:54 pm

Hmmm, mine are probably noisy but my stereo must keep me from noticing. I am going to do that when I get back. You can never have to much lube!

JIMMY JEEP · **Posted:** Wed Jan 23, 2008 4:09 pm

Were can i purchase the polyurethane sway bar bushes mentioned above? Oh and skyjumper what size are the zerk fittings ,lengh ,thread ect

Uffe · **Posted:** Wed Jan 23, 2008 5:03 pm

What? Why the bleeep do we even have those sway bars in there at all???

Removed them from my Nissan Patrol and offroading was more fun, cornering too

kolesy · **Posted:** Wed Jan 23, 2008 5:11 pm

Uffe wrote:

What? Why the bleeep do we even have those sway bars in there at all???

Removed them from my Nissan Patrol and offroading was more fun, cornering too

You ever drive your KJ with the front sway bar removed? Its not all that fun. WAYYYYYYYYYYY to much body roll for me. Pretty dangerous. That is why we have them.

Mike

scoobysnax · **Posted:** Wed Jan 23, 2008 6:52 pm

That is AWSOME! I would love to do that, sadly I’m not sure I’m handy enough for something like that. Or am I!

Can you walk me through this? In terms of replacing the bushings when you put a new one on there down you have to slid it all the way down the sway bar from one of the ends or does it have a slit in on one side that let’s you pop them open and over the bar and then wrap around it again once it’s in place?

Mine were making noise when it was 40 degrees. Now that it’s gotten down to the teens it’s to the point of embarrassment when I’m driving around. It sounds like a 1980’s full sized rusted out pickup truck. Even the ones in the back sound like they are making noise.

kolesy · **Posted:** Wed Jan 23, 2008 7:32 pm

There are no sway bar bushings on the back of the KJ. Gotta be something else coming from there.

JeepinG · **Posted:** Wed Jan 23, 2008 7:44 pm

How do you know what the threads are on the zerks to match a tap to it? I'm going to do this I can't stand the squeeking anymore, even with the radio blaring I can hear'em. But, I've never tapped a hole before (ba-dum-TING). Are all zerks made the same? What size tap do I get for this? How much smaller should the drill bit be than the tap? Thanks in advance for answers to any of my silly questions.

Rush345 · **Posted:** Thu Jan 24, 2008 3:18 am

JJsKJ wrote:

We did the same thing long ago on the Daystar poly bushings as they are Way noisy, especially in the winter. It is a quick, easy, cheap fix for sure.
If your dealer sees it they sure do make a funny face. I had mine done shortly after lifting which was way before my free oil change was due. The oil guy called me over to ask about them. He said "I've never seen grease fittings on a Liberty before, did you put those there?" I replied "Yes, it keeps the bushings quiet. He replied "Oh, because you installed those and they are not stock, I can't grease them for you." I said, "Whatever, no biggie." and I proceeded to :roll:

I'll follow your lead but if I install the zerks , and if questioned about them I'll simply say I was south of the border and had some suspension problems. After the repair I had zerks. "Must be a out of the States thing, do I need to contact my brother in Chrysler Corporate??"
If you can't dazell them with brilliance Baffell Them with Bu!! $#!T. Since it appearse that with most the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing. What's the worst they can do not grease it?? If you installed you can still service them. :shock:

Best (cheap) mod I've done yet...greasable sway bar bushings

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