i coated mine in lithium grease when i installed them like a month ago. Its all i had on hand. is that ok??

 

Yup, thats fine.

 

so the poly bushings should not have this problem?

 

i have the speed source bushings. i think they are made from brass and i have never had problems. the fitment was really precise. had them installed for about 2yrs now with no grease no problems. but, i think im going to put some on there just in case.

 

same here, I have the speed source as well. I don't have any problems at all (after the car warms up of course). Then again, I'm an anti-seize freak. I coated them with anti-seize before I put them in.

Regarding the poly comment; I have heard some people (include works) say that going too rigid can have a negative effect on the tranny. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, Works states that the reason they did theirs in poly was to have just enough give to not strain the tranny with the under hood bushings or the housing for the shifter base bushings. Any opinions?

 

And same here, I installed the Speed Source bushings in our Evo VIII back when they first came out and have never had any problems, never had to lube them up either. This is not a good location for aluminum or grease. The grease will collect dirt and grit and create wear problems, plus they’ll start hanging up again. During the summer months around here the under hood temperatures will cause it to melt away, dragging more dirt and grit into the bushing. The properties of anti-seize are more appropriate than grease, especially for aluminum. Brass or even bronze are better for this because with those metals they have some self-lubricating properties when used in this application.

WORKS (and others) are correct about the poly bushings. The durometer reading for their poly bushings is much higher than the rubber bushings we’re replacing. I’m going to add a set just for GP to try them out.

Rick

 

Aluminium isn't a good material to use as a bush, especially as the moving part through the bush is steel. Put those two together with moisture and corrosion is guaranteed. As said before bronze is the material of choice or self lubricating nylon. The other alternative is to use a sealed bearing with the same O/D and I/D as the standard bush.

 

I've used both the brass and poly bushings. The brass bushings were *really* snug. They ship them with little piece of sandpaper for this exact reason. After sanding them down a bit I was able to get them in with anti-seize and they worked well for about a year. Keep in mind I am in utah where the roads are icy and salty. I used a pully puller to get the bushings back out and it was easy, but I did need to clean and reapply more anti-seize. This was in the ralliart, which used the same bushings as the evo 8/9. Now in the evo I'm using the poly bushings and they feel very similar to the brass bushings with no need to pull/lube them. Both were good and for some, brass may not need to be pulled/cleaned but if you live an any type of climate where you get all four seasons it's something to consider.

in closing:
you may need to sand down your brass bushings to get them to not seize up.
you can avoid this by going with poly bushings but you may prefer the more mechanical engagement that the brass offers. I personally felt the difference was negligible.

 

That sounds about right, we're in Cali so hot and dry, dust and dirt are our biggest enemies. Good to hear on the use of the polys, looking forward to giving them a try, thanks.

Rick

 

I recently removed my SpeedSource bushings and applied some lithium grease to it.

I cleaned them thoroughly prior to re-installing them (a combination of medium and fine emery paper) and lubed them with lithium grease.

The shifting is noticably smoother now.


Mind you I only have 11,800 miles on the car and about 8,800 on the bushings.

 

are these stiff bushes under hood or under the gaiter in car?
so freeing up and greasing in there (in car) makes shifting better?