89dieselkong

Should there be any movement in the ends of the track bar? I replaced the rubber bushings with polyurethane ones a while back. There is a creaking noise coming from that area. When I turn the wheel back and forth when the truck is stationary, I can see a small amount of flex/movement in the TB ends. Not sure if this is normal or not. The noise is coming from that area so it is either the TB or where the steering shaft goes into the pump I'm thinking.

jhenson

Your trackbar should be pretty solid. I replaced my rubber bushings for the urethane jobbers and had to go back and re-tighten the bolts after a couple of weeks. I made sure to put some grease on the outer faces of the new bushings 1. to make them easier to slide into place and 2. to hold down on noise. Polyurethane bushings have a tendency to start squeaking after a while if they're dry. My old Bronco has had every rubber bushing replaced with the Energy Suspension pieces and, man, offroading can almost drive you nuts listening to all the squeaking from the dry bushings against metal surfaces .

.boB

The poly bushings don't eliminate flex, just reduce it. It's a good comprimise between rubber and steel.

89dieselkong

Thanks for the responses. I am going to chaulk it up to needing a little lube to eliminate the squeeking. I think the flex I'm seeing is normal.

turbohi

i just replaced my bushings with the poly bushings as well..drove around the block and noticed some noise..had the wife turn the steering wheel for me and found that the bolt wasnt tight enough...holy cow. with a two foot cheater bar and my feet on the tire i got another 3/4 turn...now no more noise (for now). and the truck drives like new..yet still a little bit of flex...be it very little.