Rear spring bushing squeak

[Little Bill]

Anyone else had this problem ? A buddy with an '05 3500 has a persistently squeaking spring bushing in the right rear leaf spring. Tightened it with a 3 foot cheater but didn't help. He took it back to the dealer and the best they could do was SELL him a can of spray lube! Dealer said they had a few come in for the same reason and they sold them spray lube, too. That ain't the right fix.



My guess is that the steel tube in the bushing is out of spec on length (too short) and it's twisting with the rubber and scrubbing bolt. I'd like to find someone else that had this problem properly resolved by a dealer.

 

[rbattelle]

By "spring bushing" do you mean the bushing at the end of the spring that secures the spring to the frame? If so, why is squirting some lithium in there not the right solution?



If you're really motivated, just make up a new steel sleeve for the bushing. Piece of cake. [Probably want to use something like 4130]



Ryan

 

[Little Bill]

If the rear spring bushings and rear shackle bushings were supposed to be lubricated, they would come with zerks. The advent of rubber and urethane suspension components is supposed to eliminate that need.



Anyone had these components replaced under warranty ?

 

[EZGZ]

Urethane sqeaks and has no give to it. I hate it for that reason.

 

[rbattelle]

With all due respect, I think you're making a mountain out of a molehill. I don't blame DC for saying "apply a little lubrication" and refusing to replace. I mean, "tightening it with a 3-ft cheater" sure as heck isn't the "right fix" either, but you were quite willing to do so. When you have a squeeky door hinge do you tear out the door and replace the entire pin, or just add a little oil? Door hinges don't have zerks, but they're definetly meant to be lubricated.



If you're sure it's the tie hole bushing, machining your own replacement and installing it sounds like a cake walk (as I mentioned).



Ryan

 

[Little Bill]

With all due respect, I think you're making a mountain out of a molehill. I don't blame DC for saying "apply a little lubrication" and refusing to replace. I mean, "tightening it with a 3-ft cheater" sure as heck isn't the "right fix" either, but you were quite willing to do so. When you have a squeeky door hinge do you tear out the door and replace the entire pin, or just add a little oil? Door hinges don't have zerks, but they're definetly meant to be lubricated.



If you're sure it's the tie hole bushing, machining your own replacement and installing it sounds like a cake walk (as I mentioned).



Ryan

Dude,



Your right, as usual. Using a cheater to try to clamp the the steel tube between the shackles to stop it's rotation, per design... What was I thinking ?



I'll advise my buddy to continue to spray every 3-4 days as this is the frequency of re-occurance. I'll also tell him it's not a defective part, just a normal maintainance item. He's probably not holding his tongue right while lubing.



Tear out the door hinge ... you're funny. I haven't followed your other 6000 posts but if they're anything like this one then they likely only helped you feel 'smart'.



Anyone else ?



- Bill

 

[rbattelle]

I'll advise my buddy to continue to spray every 3-4 days as this is the frequency of re-occurance. I'll also tell him it's not a defective part, just a normal maintainance item. He's probably not holding his tongue right while lubing.

What's he using for lubricant?



Ryan

 

[BHolm]

Couldn't you just pull the bolt and slip in a washer or two per side? Could your friend get the dealer to try this fix for him? Or you guys could get the 3ft cheater out again.



I would have to agree that this sounds like someone making a big deal out of nothing. The reason there are so few responses to the post is that nobody has ever, to my knowledge, tried to fix this "problem" or "design flaw" you write about. For goodness sake man, it is a 1-ton truck, not a BMW or Mercedes. Though I would agree that with the current pricing on pick-up trucks we maybe should expect better in some areas.



Why not just follow Ryan's suggestion and pull the steel tube, and get one cut just a little longer? Do you really need, or want, the dealer to handle that? I personally stay as far away from the dealer as possible. Never been satisfied with their work.

 

[Little Bill]

Ryan,



Wynn's Viscotene - from WynnUSA, "a semisynthetic lubricant that

displays tenacious resistance to water wash-off.

chemical attack and steam exposure. It is blended

with extreme-pressure and anti-friction additives to

reduce vibration, noise and wear in numerous

applications over a broad temperature range and

in harsh conditions"



Brent,



Yes, there are annoying little squeaks in most trucks. This one I can hear when the guy turns in off the main road road a half mile away.



This is my farriers truck, not mine. He asked me to look around for similar problems and now I have (same as when his DMF and U joints were beginning to fail). It's his decision to take to dealer or tackle himself. If he asks me to fix it, I'll fix it.

 

[Hoefler]

The squeak most likely is coming from the spring stack. As the stack compresses, each leaf will slide up under the one above. They install nylon slipper pads between them on the end of the leafs. This is more than likely where the squeak is coming from. I would not use any grease product or oil, it will just collect dirt, cause excessive wear to the pads and make it worse. Use a dry lubricant, a lubricant that has a drying effect that when the vehicle it is applied with evaporates and leaves the lube behind, like graphite.

 

[Little Bill]

Thanks, Hoefler. That was my first suspicion and the first thing I looked at. It's definitely in the spring bushing, confirmed by dousing with the above mentioned lube. But I'm with you, not wild about lubing rubber or plastic parts that were not designed for lubrication. Makes a mess and often swells/softens/hardens/degrades the non-metalic parts.

 

[Baja_Mike]

Just so you know most vehicles now do not have a sliding sleeve in the middle of their bushings. They are meant to bind and this is one way that manufacturers tune their suspension. That's why it's hard to tell with a newer vehicle that a shock absorber is bad because the rubber bushings are in constant bind when the suspension is not at ride height. You can see a prime example of this when you rack the trucks on a lift, pull the shocks off. You'll see that your axle will drop to a certain point and won't go down anymore. Now loosen the shackle bolts and front spring hanger bolts. You'll notice the axle drop further. So basically what I'm saying is if your inner sleeve is rotating there is probably an issue with it and you should verify by looking at the other side, most likely it will not rotate.