Spraying your control arm bushing with WD-40

Jmac00

Jmac00

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Is it a good idea to spray all your rubber suspension mounts with WD-40? to keep them Lubed up?

it seems to me that would attract a lot of dirt? Is it a good idea or should you use silicone or leave them dry???
 
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Jmac00 said:
Is it a good idea to spray all your rubber suspension mounts with WD-40? to keep them Lubed up?

it seems to me that would attract a lot of dirt? Is it a good idea or should you use silicone or leave them dry???
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Separate from the problem of thinking wd40 is a lubricant, what moving parts on the factory bonded rubber control arm bushings need lubrication?
 
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No reason to be condescending to someone trying to learn something. The rubber bushings shouldn't move they are permanently bonded to the control arm. The clamping force on the brackets should keep them from rotating on the axle or frame. There are literally no moving parts to lubricate. With WD-40 or otherwise
 
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jjvw said:
Separate from the problem of thinking wd40 is a lubricant, what moving parts on the factory bonded rubber control arm bushings need lubrication?
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how the hell would I know, thats why I asked, hell Im not even sure what a control arm does, Im just trying to get all the squeeks out of the thing
 
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Jmac00 said:
how the hell would I know, thats why I asked, hell Im not even sure what a control arm does, Im just trying to get all the squeeks out of the thing
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You were being very specific. Now we know this is really about squeaks. Where are they coming from? The control arms?
 
Jmac00 said:
how the hell would I know, thats why I asked, hell Im not even sure what a control arm does, Im just trying to get all the squeeks out of the thing
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A spray lithium grease or silicone spray lube would probably do it. They are rubber and not polyurethane? Polyurethane is well known to squeak and its hard to stop its squeaks for long.
 
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ok, Im an idiot? what the hell are these called ??? I know they are not the control arms, but Im not sure what these are called ? I tried to get grease in them put the zerk seems to be plugged

20230225_171228.jpg
 
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Jmac00 said:
ok, Im an idiot? what the hell are these called ??? I know they are not the control arms, but Im not sure what these are called ? I tried to get grease in them put the zerk seems to be plugged

View attachment 403055
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That is a control arm. That is an aftermarket control arm that uses a split bushing on at least one end. If the grease zerk won't accept grease, then you need to replace the zerk. Or you need to disassemble the split bushing and grease it by hand. Spraying stuff at it won't do anything meaningful.
 
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That also looks like the old Teraflex twisty control arm that has a long history of seizing and tearing off control arm mounts even when the middle threaded portion doesn't seize.
 
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That's a control arm, specially it's the 1st generation control arm made by Teraflex. The grease zerk itself or the area be it is probably packed with old hard grease.
 
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jjvw said:
That also looks like the old Teraflex twisty control arm that has a long history of seizing and tearing off control arm mounts even when the middle threaded portion doesn't seize.
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great, I have been beating the crap out of the Tj on these rock, some of the trails are R E A L L Y rocky. I guess I better find some new ones, soon
 
Jmac00 said:
great, I have been beating the crap out of the Tj on these rock, some of the trails are R E A L L Y rocky. I guess I better find some new ones, soon
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You can do whatever you want to do. Now you know that those arms have long been known for their poor design.
 
Jmac00 said:
can I pull that apart and clean up, I assume it need to be a specific length.

It is, probably 2o+ yrs old, LOL
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Assuming they are the appropriate length for your rig, all you need is a tape measure before you start unbolting and unscrewing.
 
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jjvw said:
Assuming they are the appropriate length for your rig, all you need is a tape measure before you start unbolting and unscrewing.
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I think whoever put this Tj together knew what they were doing everything seems to work really well. I replaced the belt, belt tensioner and pully, and the steering damper ( that was fun) the shocks, and all the rubber body mounts.
 
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