rear leaf rubber bushing grease?

[Wolfman00]

so i swapped my bushings from my old leafs to the new ones as normal. and used alittle grease to pop them in. looks like one has swelled up some. i popped it out and cleaned it, nothing trapped in there, but when torqued down it kinda swelled again. kinda strange.
i’ll put up a pic later.
already ordered a new bushing.
i read that grease can cause rubber to swell? and i should have used silicone based?
school me so i’m straight.

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[Rp930]

Dow Corning 111. Amazon. You can use it for a lot of things. Good to have around.
A little goes a long way.

 

[Racket]

I'd go for poly bushings with grease in the stock shackles. $70-80 or so.

I don't know about greasing rubber.

 

[Canadian Ranger]

so i swapped my bushings from my old leafs to the new ones as normal. and used alittle grease to pop them in. looks like one has swelled up some. i popped it out and cleaned it, nothing trapped in there, but when torqued down it kinda swelled again. kinda strange.
i’ll put up a pic later.
already ordered a new bushing.
i read that grease can cause rubber to swell? and i should have used silicone based?
school me so i’m straight.

I forget the exact chemistry, but it goes something like this.....water & oil don't mix, so the bushing was made from a water based rubber and grease made it swell.
My brother cleaned his 'plastic' kayak with an oil based cleaner one time and it twisted like a corkscrew, he switched to a water based cleaner on his new kayak and didn't hurt it. Same principle applies to your bushing.

 

[Wolfman00]

I'd go for poly bushings with grease in the stock shackles. $70-80 or so.

I don't know about greasing rubber.

i’m having trouble finding poly ones

 

[Wytchdctr]

Oh god. If that is true there is no telling what I jacked up. In my efforts to stop the flock of birds chasing me noise .. the entire underside of the truck is covered in random grease and grease-like things. Rust shouldn't be an issue. Now I need to go make sure I didn't make something swell up...

 

[Racket]

i’m having trouble finding poly ones

For factory springs I think the two better options are SuperPro out of Australia - I can't help with part numbers there but they seem to be premium material. Or Dobinson's here in the US which I had considered but didn't purchase before putting in my Euro springs.

These are for full sets and the front bushings take a little work to get out.

Here's what I found on SuperPro's website for shackles only but I don't think it's US dollars and if this is a single shackle vs. the pair. I haven't bothered inquiring.

 

[Ranger_Rocks]

Poly bushings last longer than rubber. They are also hard and provide less cushioning.

 

[Wolfman00]

Poly bushings last longer than rubber. They are also hard and provide less cushioning.

that’s where i’m on the fence, longevity or comfort.
its an easy repair…so comfort sounds good

 

[Wolfman00]

i’ll snag a shot this afternoon.
the one bushing i ordered is on national backorder.
dobinsons has their kit, but ideally i need the shackles too, to be able to actually grease them

 

[Racket]

i’ll snag a shot this afternoon.
the one bushing i ordered is on national backorder.
dobinsons has their kit, but ideally i need the shackles too, to be able to actually grease them

I'm not sure the replacement shackles are that necessary.


Edit: Just grease them up with Dow Corning 111. I wonder if Dobinsons sells just the shackle bushings. My ROW multileaf springs had one set of bushings that were harder than the rubber ones. If there is some factory bushing that is different than the rubber ones that came without grease I think it may not need the greasable shackles or front bolts.

 

[Wolfman00]

I'm not sure the replacement shackles are that necessary.

i guess it’s more of a “if i’m in it, do it all”

 

[Wolfman00]

 

[myothercarizahearse]

that's it? roll with it. I thought they were split and marshmallowing. you have plenty time and miles

 

[Wolfman00]

that's it? roll with it. I thought they were split and marshmallowing. you have plenty time and miles

yeah…that’s it haha. so just send it? the one side just looks funky to me.
just took it apart, dry fit everything, no idea what it does that only there. otherside looks normal

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