I just did a bushing Install on my GS-R (build thread here and bushing how-to here), but one of my bushings is squeaking.

The outer toe compensator bushing (where the compensator attaches to the trailing arm) did not seat correctly in the compensator. It broke loose while I was doing my final tightening, and now it moves freely in the arm. As a result, there is a pretty loud squeak every time the suspension compresses.

My questions:

Is there a safety or control issue if this bushing is loose in the arm?

Can I get rid of the squeak with grease, or should I just get a new arm and try again?

thanks

 

Weekend bump for the suspension gurus.

Can I fix this with grease or do I need to pull the arm for safety reasons? I also don't want my toe getting messed up by this.

 

I have never heard of this before, but I don't know if I would drive my car until I got a new arm in with the bushing moving freely like that.

 

Replace he faulty part.

 

In theory, yes. Maybe you'll be able to feel it, maybe not.

No - new arm if it's damaged or just a new bushing if the arm is in good shape.

 

Thanks for the replies. I'm not sure what happened with this bushing but I may have warped the outer collar during installation.

I'm gonna call PIC today and see if they'll send me a new bushing. Otherwise it's easy enough to have Honda send an arm.

Is there any way to mark the position of the compensator so that I can remove and re-install the arm without having to have another alignment done?

 

In theory, yes. Mark where the bolt is currently positioned on the chassis.

In reality, the amount you'll be off from just eyeballing the measurement will put the alignment off. Possibly enough to want a new alignment, depending on how **** you are in regards to alignment settings. If you're in the middle of the specified range now, you'll probably be "close enough". If you have the alignment tech set it to 0 rear toe (like I do), you might end up with a slight toe out, which is probably best to avoid on a street car.

 

That's what I was afraid of. Bummer! I was hoping to not have to pay for that again. Better to spend the money now than to rip through my tires or worse make my car unsafe to drive.