Yesterday I noticed an odd clunking/rattling noise under the front end. I got under the car last night and found my Energy Suspension shifter torque rod bushing (big round one that bolts onto the transmission) was shot to hell, crumbling to pieces with LOTS of free play. The bushings have been on my car for about 5 years now I guess. When I first installed it, the factory rubber bushing was at least 7-8 years old and it didn't have that much free play.

Just an FYI, I'll have pics up later. I couldn't imagine having a full master bushing kit on my car, they would all disintegrate after a few years. Poly bushings = for daily driver cars.

Now I have to either order a new OEM rubber bushing or get a new set of poly ones. I might go ahead and get new poly ones anyway, because I like the way the shifter feels with them.

 

and i always thought they were supposed to last forever. i was actually considering getting the full bushing kit, right now i have the shifter bushings and engine mount inserts.

 

I've seen pics in the ITR forum or maybe the suspension forum of some guy's ITR w/ the full master kit. After a couple years his control arm bushings looked horrrrrible.

 

Pics of the torque rod bushing, or what's left of it:





As you can see in the first pic, the hole in the middle of the bushing has worn away to be much larger than the stud it goes around, so there is lots of freeplay, and the washer on the other side of the bushing is also loose and clanging around, even when the bolt is tight.

 

That's terrible. The worst part about it is that they advertise that their bushings last forever.

No bushing is going to last forever, but I feel they should surely hold up better than that. I also have the ES shifter bushnigs and love them. This, as well as other horror stories about poly bushings, will keep me away from using them in any major suspention component.

 

Did you lube them correctly and make sure they stayed lubed?

A dry poly anything will deteriorate with lots of friction. Makes sense?

 

damn im going to check mine right now lol

 

hmmm guess its a good thing i have most of my stuff replaced with oem and never got the master bushing kit.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ek forever guy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Did you lube them correctly and make sure they stayed lubed?

A dry poly anything will deteriorate with lots of friction. Makes sense?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Neither the transmission case nor the torque rod sees any major movement, other than just normal engine movement and vibration. It's not like suspension bushings which are in constant motion as long as the car is rolling along the ground. I don't even think these shifter bushings came with any sort of lube like suspension bushings normally come with.

 

^^ My prothane shifter bushings came with a tube of lube.

 

Honestly I don't remember. These are Energy Suspension, and if they came w/ lube I'm sure I put it on there, because I'm not one to skip that sort of thing. But really it shouldn't make much difference as there's almost no movement at all associated with the shifter bushings.

 

yep so did mine and i greased the hell outta it to get it in, just checked now still greasy

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by bsdc2 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">yep so did mine and i greased the hell outta it to get it in, just checked now still greasy </TD></TR></TABLE>

How old are yours?

Sometimes I think my car should be the test mule for long-term parts use. I know of so many people on these forums who go through different parts, and even different cars so quickly. But the stuff I have, I stick with it. I have:

almost 150,000 miles on my Koni shocks
150,000 miles on the same K&N air filter
nearly 100,000 miles using GM Synchromesh Friction Modified (changed about every 25K)
these ES shifter bushings for the past 5 years (which we see have not held up)
an AutoZone short shifter for nearly 6 years and well over 150,000 miles
the same Philips HID ballasts for about 4 1/2 years now

 

^ damn thats a testament to quality parts my shifter bushings are only about 3 months old but im going to check them more often now...well see after a year how they hold up

 

To be honest I never noticed this before yesterday, and I'm under my car all the time. Only reason I noticed it was because I was checking for loose parts/bolts and noticed the free play in the shifter torque rod. I couldn't really see the bushing itself because of the washer covering it and then the small heat shield over that.

I still might put in new poly bushings just because I like the way the shifter feels. I may actually end up getting both new poly and new OEM rubber (only about 10 bucks for both OEM rubber bushings) and just trying both and seeing which one I like better.

 

damn it, i just bought these. and now im thinking if i should even put 'em on. maybe i'll just sell them.

 

I've never like poly bushings. OEM for the win.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by PatrickGSR94 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I still might put in new poly bushings just because I like the way the shifter feels. I may actually end up getting both new poly and new OEM rubber (only about 10 bucks for both OEM rubber bushings) and just trying both and seeing which one I like better.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I really like the poly as well for this application. After the first shift I was sold. Full master kit installed on my teg except for the rack bushings which I haven't gotten to yet. So far no issues.

Edit: Maybe send the photos to Energy or Prothane and see if they'll replace them.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by stumpyf4 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Edit: Maybe send the photos to Energy or Prothane and see if they'll replace them.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I bet they might.

Give em a call. See how the warranty information works.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ek forever guy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

I bet they might.

Give em a call. See how the warranty information works.</TD></TR></TABLE>

eh not really worth my time for a $12 bushing set.

 

Holy crap thank goodness I only put the bushing thats under the shifter thats hold by two 12's. Dont know whats it called.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by PatrickGSR94 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Honestly I don't remember. These are Energy Suspension, and if they came w/ lube I'm sure I put it on there, because I'm not one to skip that sort of thing. But really it shouldn't make much difference as there's almost no movement at all associated with the shifter bushings.</TD></TR></TABLE>

mine definitely didn't come with lube, however, i got the black ones, which are supposed to be 'self lubricating', whatever the hell that means. i probably won't own the car long enough to see them disintegrate but i'll definitely keep an eye on them.

 

^^ yeah, this is the first time I've heard about them "disentigrating."

And that's after 5 years. When I took out my OEM ones they looked pretty dried/worn out too.

These bushing are tried and tested, many people highly recommend them as a worthwhile upgrade.

 

i've only had them for about half a year, it's possible that after 5 years the same thing will happen to mine.

 

^ it's a component that's designed to wear out.