I have heard from many that when assembling the suspension, using a lubrication is a must. I have read about builds using Dow Corning 321 Dry lubricant and have read some using Valvoline Cerulean. I am about to get started on the suspension and wondered when to use what.
Suspension Lubrication
- Thread starter mksetter
- Start date
Howard Jones
Supporter
I think that some may disagree with me but I think the best practice is to keep rod ends dry and CLEAN. Oil or anything that will collect dust will just wear the machined surfaces that much faster.
Dust shields are a good idea and I would recommend them if you are so inclined. Off road guys use them a lot to protect the shinny pieces from rocks and swarf. Just remember those guys are taking everything apart after each race.
Heim Joints / Uniballs : FK Dust Boots / Seals - Dune Buggy Parts, Sandrail Parts, VW Parts - MooreParts.com
or
Seals-It WS6250 Heim Joint Rod End Seals, 5/8 Inch Hole, Set/6
For track cars that are getting pushed hard inspection requirements are the 1st priority and shields cover things up somewhat.
Dust shields are a good idea and I would recommend them if you are so inclined. Off road guys use them a lot to protect the shinny pieces from rocks and swarf. Just remember those guys are taking everything apart after each race.
Heim Joints / Uniballs : FK Dust Boots / Seals - Dune Buggy Parts, Sandrail Parts, VW Parts - MooreParts.com
or
Seals-It WS6250 Heim Joint Rod End Seals, 5/8 Inch Hole, Set/6
For track cars that are getting pushed hard inspection requirements are the 1st priority and shields cover things up somewhat.
I have a feeling you got the Cerulean from some of my posts. Like Howard was saying, you don't really want to gob it on so that stuff can easily stick to it. I just put on enough to coat the rod end, then wipe all excess off. Even that very almost nonexistent film will drop the drag coeffiecent in half. Less drag, less wear.
Some silicone spray could also be an option. Or, nothing at all if teflon lined.
Some silicone spray could also be an option. Or, nothing at all if teflon lined.
Terry Oxandale
Skinny Man
Best life I've seen is unlubricated but importantly, lined, Heims.
I had my suspension completely together, torqued, marked and ready to go, but I wondered if Scott Rowland's suggestion of using Cerulean was really needed. Sooooooo I ordered some and did my own little test using the ball joints around the transaxle mounting, to see if there is a perceptible difference in friction by applying the Cerulean, completely wiping every bit of it off, then checking the friction. Every surface was wiped free of the grease after the grease was worked in by range of motion. This was not very scientific, but it did not need to be. The difference was overwhelmingly reduced friction. Some of the ball joints actually squeaked when I put them through a range of motion, prior to lubrication. As a result of this test, I spent the day disassembling the suspension to lubricate all of the joints in the suspension. I feel better knowing the friction is significantly reduced. Thanks Scott
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I purchased a set of the 1/2" and 5/8" seals-it seals. They're pretty sweet. Unfortunately they also limit the range of motion if the rod end being sealed requires a great deal of articulation. I think for areas such as the tie rod ends it'll work great. The issue is that the seal has a steel washer which seats against the face of the heim bushing. The OD of that washer is larger than the circumference of the ball at that location. So the washer ends up crashing against the safety washer if articulated far enough. The washer has some thickness to it (I think about 0.030" or so) and this additional material needs to be considered when looking at the overall stack height as you'll need 2, one on each side.
No probs Mark. Thanks for doing the test to confirm. It is mind boggling how much of a difference it makes in ball joints. Push all the old/new grease out, and run the Cerulean. Slick stuff.
I did extensive testing with nearly all greases out there to offer with my suspension bushings (I make all of the poly suspension bushings for all the years Dodge Vipers) to eliminate squeaks while under tension. Silicone (which came in #2 spot) lasted for less than 12 hours and pushed out, giving horrible squeaks. This is what other poly manufacturers send with their bushings. Cerulean lasted 2 weeks under the same test. It didn't start squeaking or pushout, I just felt that was suffiecient for the test.
Then tested a new ball joint. Could bairily move it with the supplied grease. Push it out and install cerulean, it moved like a game joystick! It is designed for heavy equipment king pins that have no supplied oiling. It sticks to stuff and doesn't let go!
The rod ends you just put a coating on. It should not be tacky or sticky at all. Wipe it like you were trying to completely clean it, but, a film will be left behind and still get the advantages. It is safe with teflon also. Parts of my bushing kits are teflon.
Fran mentioned only use graphite spray because it doesn't pick up dirt that wears down the heims. I've had a few qa1 pcml heims get slack in them. You can feel it when you jack up all 4 corners and force them north /south, east / west. I'm now replacing any worn joints with the qa1 xml's that rcr is using. They have an amazingly tight fit compared to the pcm's.
+1 for using Cerulean grease on the heim joints.
My car had lots of squeaks, which were apparent on the first drive. To address this, I disconnected each heim joint so the ball could be rotated and greased. The heim joint housing does a pretty good job of wiping the ball as it is rotated, but the grease leaves a thin film behind. The result: Squeaks were totally eliminated. There are no more squeaks from the car when driving down the road or turning corners.
Time will tell how long this "fix" lasts. . .
Note: when I was sure that the body was assembled and not going to be removed again, I sprayed expanding, insulating foam wherever I could think that the body might move against the frame. This may have helped with keeping squeaks to a minimum.
My car had lots of squeaks, which were apparent on the first drive. To address this, I disconnected each heim joint so the ball could be rotated and greased. The heim joint housing does a pretty good job of wiping the ball as it is rotated, but the grease leaves a thin film behind. The result: Squeaks were totally eliminated. There are no more squeaks from the car when driving down the road or turning corners.
Time will tell how long this "fix" lasts. . .
Note: when I was sure that the body was assembled and not going to be removed again, I sprayed expanding, insulating foam wherever I could think that the body might move against the frame. This may have helped with keeping squeaks to a minimum.
On our Sprint Car, all of the 'suspension' is Heims. Being a dirt track car, they are always dirty and get power washed each race - I suspect power washing is bad as it probably forces some dirt into the joints. Never lube them.
My experience is aluminum ones last 2-3 years (50-100 hours of actual running) and steel ones a bunch longer. These are 'cheap' unlined ones. We replace them when they move quite freely, but before there is any detectable slop.
I would guess that the SLC ones will last 250-500 hours of actual driving. For me that is a long time.
My experience is aluminum ones last 2-3 years (50-100 hours of actual running) and steel ones a bunch longer. These are 'cheap' unlined ones. We replace them when they move quite freely, but before there is any detectable slop.
I would guess that the SLC ones will last 250-500 hours of actual driving. For me that is a long time.
Figured I'd revive this thread for some advice. I swapped in the Cerulean last night on the ball joints. As expected it pushes the old grease out when you push in the new stuff, but it wouldn't do it on passenger front ball joint. Just would feel the pressure in the handle and barely any of the old grease came out. I'm guessing maybe my grease gun tip had something on it and got caught in the Zerk fitting and may need to replace the Zerk? Before I do that, any other reason it would build pressure but not let grease out? I tried articulating the control arm a few times, but no luck pushing old stuff out.
Thanks for the reply, new Zerk it is. I'll get one and replace it tomorrow before I get sidetracked and forget
