Keaton944

You know when you change your oil and try all you can to minimize oil spilling all over this thing when you remove the oil filter. Well either no one took as much precaution as I have or despite all the towels and wal-mart sack trick i still managed to get oil all over this rubber bushing thing and well it has expanded and now cracked.

This needs replaced on both my 86 and 87. Obviously only on the passenger side where the oil filter spills oil all over it.

My question is, what is this bushing called? And what is the rod called that it supports? The rod goes to both wheels control arms.

I'm hoping with the problem with oil spilling on these yall will be like ohhhh ya thats a so and so people have to replace them all them time b/c of the oil =)

Anyways here are the pics.

Thanks,
Keaton

zeusrotty

Sway bar bushing.

Keaton944

less than 5mins! thanks i love you guys.

Dougs951

And its your power steering fluid eating it.

Keaton944

nice, some reading on these explains why i was starting to experience some body lean when making corners.

Keaton944

What makes you say power steering Doug? The stuff on it appears to be old oil. doesnt look like PS fluid and i dont seem to be loosing PS fluid or notice any leaks or floor drips around/under the PS when its parked. Sometimes the 87 will be parked for weeks at a time before i drive it during the winter. I mostly just start it and drive it a little to keep the battery charged and what not.

The 86 gets driven every day.

Grandpa#3

Buy a cheap Metric Caliper to measure the diameter of the sway bar to know what size to order. Dawn Dish Soap helps ease on the bushing and washes off.

Cheers,
Larry

mhr

Thanks LARRY!

Have a new pair of bushings for my car that I picked up yesterday and was thinking about what to lubricate with.

Not to hijack the thread bit this is another question that is very on topic, what about the bracket. it is one piece so do I just bend it open gently or is there another way. As you can see in the picture mine is swelled up from leaking oil so getting the old bushing out of the bracket will take a nice sized opening.

Sorry about the lack of focus

Grandpa#3

No problem removing the rubber bushing. Just bend the clamp out enough to slide the old bushing out where you can cut it with a box blade. You might need a drift to hammer it out if it is stuck. Remember to always cut away from yourself. Clean the sway bar good so the new bushing slides on OK.

Cheers,
Larry

pettybird

look again and you'll see the PS pump is right above it. it might not be leaking now but given the 944's power steering system it USED to leak. regular motor oil doesn't eat rubber like that.

Mine was worse than yours--it was SO bad it wouldn't stay in the housing any more and I was able to tear it off the bar with my bare hands!

Keaton944

ya, the PS pump and hoses and the oil pressure gauge were all covered in oil when i got the car. Whoever had it before was sloppy on the oil changes.

But i see what you mean, in the case of the pictures posted of the 86, it is so bad it is coming apart. On the 87 it is just swollen.

I guess i should park the 86 and get this changed out before its gets worse and comes completely apart.

JohnKoaWood

They arent covered in oil, they are covered in Dextron ATF (the recommended fluid to use in our PS systems).

If your system has PS fluid in it, that MAY be contributing to the weeping that is causing your bushing degredation... (Both the ATF and PS fluid are hydraulic fluids, and each attacks rubber, makes it swell and crack, then degrade and eventually fall completely off... just a little experiment.. pour some ATF in a glass, and drop in the remaining rubber bushing once you get it off... over time the bushing will totally disintegrate.. put the other side in motor oil... over time you will have an oily bushing, but it will retain its shape without degredation)

The seals, orings, and such in our PS systems are Viton, and are resistant to ATF.. not so much to PS fluid...

I just rebuilt my 951 PS system last year, and it has been totally leak free since, I reserviced the system with ATF.. and only use ATF in my 944 PS systems...

Keaton944

Interesting, thanks John. Now all these post about wanting to convert to manual steering are starting to make sense =)

Tedro951

I'd replace all the sway bushings while you're under there. 2 inner, 2 outer and the 2 pieces on each side of the end links.