Failing Sway Bar Bushing?

[jkost]

The left side looks fine but the right looks as if its leaking? The cars alignment has been acting up for a while now and with a quick inspection I'm wondering if this could be the cause. The left side looks fine but the right looks as if its leaking? Thanks - sorry if this has been posted about before.

[x808drifter]

I could be wrong, but I've never seen a bushing that had fluid in it.
Always just a solid piece of rubber/ect.

Could just be grease that got stuff on it.
It doesn't look ripped or falling apart.

[navanodd]

Originally Posted by x808drifter

I could be wrong, but I've never seen a bushing that had fluid in it.
Always just a solid piece of rubber/ect.

Could just be grease that got stuff on it.
It doesn't look ripped or falling apart.

Agreed, that's just a plain chunk of rubber.

[Keenercarguy]

Reverse down a slope (like a driveway into the street) and turn your wheel to full lock in both directions (do it twice) if you hear or feel a "pop" then your bushings are (for sure) going bad. They could still be bad without this occurring though. However no: they cannot 'leak' as they are not hollow in any way. What you're seeing is the bushing grease that is applied to the bar/bushing before install (for noise, vibration, and harshness reasons, as well as to give the bar a small amount of play). Some of the grease may have been pushed out by pressure overtime.

[Ultramaroon]

Those bushings are greased a little when assembled. The right side is super close to the overpipe and gets hot enough to melt the grease. It looks like a leak but meh.

I'm watching mine to see if it hardens prematurely. Can't imagine all that heat cycling is good for it but mine is still plenty supple

[jkost]

Thanks for all the replies everyone - seems like its nothing to worry much about.

[ApexEight]

Could the heat from the overpipe have something to do with this? Perhaps poly bushings would solve the issue.

[Gforce]

Roll bars don't influence alignment. Bushings are installed with silicone based grease to prevent squeaks. All looks normal.

[3essess]

mine looks exactly the same - attribute it to the overpipe heat

[ironsurfer129]

Originally Posted by Keenercarguy

Reverse down a slope (like a driveway into the street) and turn your wheel to full lock in both directions (do it twice) if you hear or feel a "pop" then your bushings are (for sure) going bad. They could still be bad without this occurring though. However no: they cannot 'leak' as they are not hollow in any way. What you're seeing is the bushing grease that is applied to the bar/bushing before install (for noise, vibration, and harshness reasons, as well as to give the bar a small amount of play). Some of the grease may have been pushed out by pressure overtime.

My car actually does exactly what you say, and I have tried tightening everything and nothing work. Everyone said my bushing looks good and normal

[Keenercarguy]

Originally Posted by ironsurfer129

My car actually does exactly what you say, and I have tried tightening everything and nothing work. Everyone said my bushing looks good and normal

Multiple people said mine looked fine, then a Porsche GT3 Cup suspension tech took one look at it and told me to new bushings. I just got the smallest diameter Perrin adjustable and I've been good for 50,000+ miles since (all my piping is ceramic coated so to be fair: my bushings no longer get as hot as average too)... if it bothers you that's not a bad price to pay, you then also end up with a better swaybar whether you fully fix the problem or not. Win win

[AT-JeffT]

Originally Posted by Keenercarguy

Reverse down a slope (like a driveway into the street) and turn your wheel to full lock in both directions (do it twice) if you hear or feel a "pop" then your bushings are (for sure) going bad. They could still be bad without this occurring though. However no: they cannot 'leak' as they are not hollow in any way. What you're seeing is the bushing grease that is applied to the bar/bushing before install (for noise, vibration, and harshness reasons, as well as to give the bar a small amount of play). Some of the grease may have been pushed out by pressure overtime.

Thanks for posting this. I had some very minor (but annoying) noise when reversing out of parking spots, especially if there was some incline. The bushings looked mostly fine. Only a small gap where the bushing is slotted.
Picture of worn bushing 75K miles

I replaced the bushings and while it's still early the noise/clunk seems to have gone away.

Also, for anyone trying to diagnose the same issue, I had noise when pulling away from a stop. Lastly, the sway bar did not have any up and down play, but I was able to move it horizontally, which the new bushings don't allow.

This would have been a very tricky diagnosis without the above info, thanks.

Edit: Actually it turned out to be the front strut mounts. Found some info on a TSB about it here.

[Tokay444]

Originally Posted by x808drifter

I could be wrong, but I've never seen a bushing that had fluid in it.
Always just a solid piece of rubber/ect.

Could just be grease that got stuff on it.
It doesn't look ripped or falling apart.

Lots of bushings have fluid in them. Not saying these do, but lots do.

[norcalpb]

The OEM sway bar bushings are self lubricating and will ooze like that when exposed to heat from the over pipe.