Rob @ dietchwerks noticed my rear upper control arm bushings were worn so I had them replaced under warranty. This solved the metallic squeaking noise I assumed were normal for our cars. if you hear any rear suspension squeaking, see pics below
Upper control arm bushing replaced under warranty
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Interesting, thanks for the tip. Mileage on your car? Track days? Hardcore driving?
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The 05's, 06's and early 07's had the bushings installed this way. to help the problem the late 07's flipped the front bushing. We're still seeing the bushings move on the late cars. They move under hard braking. To fix this problem we use urethane bushings we import from England for street cars and Delrin for cars used for racing. I'll post some pictures some - Rob.
I pinned the rear bushing, the factory now puts both in from the front. the service manual has them coming from the outside in. carl
like other have said, its probably not worn but just installed in a opposite orientation then the newer cars. 13k miles, no track miles (yet)
time for upgrade! actually, you can probably have some Delrin, Teflon or UHMW PE washers installed between the control arm and the bracket. It would be a piece of cake to order some washers from McMaster.com. All it takes is for someone to pull their wheels off and get some measurements (ID: bolt diameter, OD control arm housing, thickness: gap between bushing and control arm bracket.) :shrug:Mine were shot as well. Unfortunately out of warranty
McMaster-Carr
Sorry I wasn't clear enough. Rob already upgraded mine to poly's. It's just that it wasn't covered under warranty.
How do you like them?Sorry I wasn't clear enough. Rob already upgraded mine to poly's. It's just that it wasn't covered under warranty.
I've had mixed success with Poly bushings in the past. Some of them tend to squeak over time if used for articulating joints and tend to have higher friction then rubber or Delrin. They are great for motor and trans mounts though.
Err, I think they are Poly
- not entirely sure but Rob told me they are upgraded vs. factory. Frankly, I haven't noticed any difference. No noise or anything.
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Have had several of mine replaced - the OEM bushings don't hold up under track use - eventually I gave up and also switched to polyurethane bushes. Lotus design for this part seems pretty substandard - my understanding is the factory over time has switched around the way the bushings are installed in order to combat the problem - but not solved it TADTS
Poly bushes available from Powerflex these aren't cheap at ~ $420 for a set + installation, realignment etc. but seem to have fixed the problem, sharpened up the handling ..... but also introduced a little more NVH.
More information at SELOC Techwiki
Poly bushes available from Powerflex these aren't cheap at ~ $420 for a set + installation, realignment etc. but seem to have fixed the problem, sharpened up the handling ..... but also introduced a little more NVH.
More information at SELOC Techwiki
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When I replaced my front bushings last year with Monoball solid spherical bearings (which I highly recommend), the squeaking from the front suspension went away. And the clunking in my front suspension also went away, which is the real reason I replaced them.
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I have the monoball spherical bushings on all corners and it was a night and day difference. Car was more connected in response inputs. If anything negative, you'll have a slight more crashing with oem LSS suspension, but it,s negligible to its rewards IMHO.
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