How to lube Pfadt trailing arms

[Agent WD-40]

To those that have Pfadt rear trailing arms: How are you greasing the zerk fitting that is on arm where it mounts to the body? Is there an easy to get to it without having to take the tire off and jack the car up? I cannot seem to get my grease gun on it easily.

[Agent WD-40]

The zerk fitting I'm talking is shown on the right size of this picture. That is the side that mounts up by the body.

[PfadtRacing]

Well the bushing is designed to take grease as applied from a gun, but be very careful to not use the wrong grease. Generic grease or lithium grase that we typically see used in grease guns isn't going to offer great life versus the lube we provide. Poly can be a cranky product to use at times, and the Energy Suspension Formula #5 is by far the best lubricant we've used with polyurethane.

If you're trying to do preventative maintenance we would rather see you not use the Zerk fitting with a typical automotive grease, and instead just disconnect the arm and properly relube with Energy Suspension Formula #5 that we provide with all of our kits if you do hear a little noise.

You can purchase this lube in tube form, but it's pretty expensive. Typically Jegs/Pegasus Racing/Summit will have Formula #5 available in big tubes.

[WheelmanSS]

Sorry for hijack, but to piggy-back off the Pfadt post, how often should you relube? My arms are on their way to be delivered.

[bannonm]

Originally Posted by PfadtRacing

Well the bushing is designed to take grease as applied from a gun, but be very careful to not use the wrong grease. Generic grease or lithium grase that we typically see used in grease guns isn't going to offer great life versus the lube we provide. Poly can be a cranky product to use at times, and the Energy Suspension Formula #5 is by far the best lubricant we've used with polyurethane.

If you're trying to do preventative maintenance we would rather see you not use the Zerk fitting with a typical automotive grease, and instead just disconnect the arm and properly relube with Energy Suspension Formula #5 that we provide with all of our kits if you do hear a little noise.

You can purchase this lube in tube form, but it's pretty expensive. Typically Jegs/Pegasus Racing/Summit will have Formula #5 available in big tubes.

OK, so I looked up Energy Suspension Formula #5 and I don't see it come in a tube to fit a grease gun. I found small tubes to a 1 gallon tub, but no standard sized grease gun tubes. Taking apart my sways and arms just to grease them with this stuff doesn't fly. Am I supposed to pack a grease gun from a tub of this stuff just to use the zerks? What about Superlube 41150 PTFE?

[PfadtRacing]

Lube them well on installation, and take a look at them every 6 months to a year. It's less about periodic maintenance with these parts and more about making sure they get relubricated properly if they start to squeak.

[PfadtRacing]

Originally Posted by bannonm

OK, so I looked up Energy Suspension Formula #5 and I don't see it come in a tube to fit a grease gun. I found small tubes to a 1 gallon tub, but no standard sized grease gun tubes. Taking apart my sways and arms just to grease them with this stuff doesn't fly. Am I supposed to pack a grease gun from a tub of this stuff just to use the zerks? What about Superlube 41150 PTFE?

Well this is coming from our experience with poly. We've used it in many applications over the years and have a ton of poly kits currently being used in the field.

You've got a couple options. Use the proper lube the first time and don't worry about it for many many miles, or preemptively replace the Formula #5 with something which may not work out so well and end up causing more maintenance headaches than if the original lube was left intact. This doesn't mean that our polyurethane products are going to be maintenance free because none are, but when they do need maintenance using the recommended products and procedures will save you loads of time in the long run.

Given that every driver and driving conditions will differ it's really tough to say exactly how often to relube polyurethane bushings. We do go to great lengths to keep performance and reliability high, such as using Graphite Impregnated bushings, coating all poly sleeves with a low friction coating, cutting grooves into bushings for improved lube retention, as well as including one of the best poly lube products available with all of our kits.

Our suggestion is that if you're going to service your tailing arms taking your time and using the best product available will eventually save you a lot of time over using a generic product and servicing them more frequently. But keep in mind that we haven't tested with this particular SuperLube product, so your mileage may vary.

[bannonm]

Originally Posted by PfadtRacing

Our suggestion is that if you're going to service your tailing arms taking your time and using the best product available will eventually save you a lot of time over using a generic product and servicing them more frequently. But keep in mind that we haven't tested with this particular SuperLube product, so your mileage may vary.

So let me understand this, you have engineered "tits on a bull" here? You provide zerk grease fittings only to say use a specific lubricant or you'll be servicing them more often. However the lubricant you specify doesn't appear to come in tubes designed for the DIYer to allow use of the zerks. So you put the zerks on so I could use an inferior or untested lubricant?? Ah...thanks???

[2ss-booya]

Originally Posted by bannonm

So let me understand this, you have engineered "tits on a bull" here? You provide zerk grease fittings only to say use a specific lubricant or you'll be servicing them more often. However the lubricant you specify doesn't appear to come in tubes designed for the DIYer to allow use of the zerks. So you put the zerks on so I could use an inferior or untested lubricant?? Ah...thanks???

Not only that, but theres virtually no way to get to the fitting unless you have it pointing downward on that arm

[PfadtRacing]

Originally Posted by bannonm

So let me understand this, you have engineered "tits on a bull" here? You provide zerk grease fittings only to say use a specific lubricant or you'll be servicing them more often. However the lubricant you specify doesn't appear to come in tubes designed for the DIYer to allow use of the zerks. So you put the zerks on so I could use an inferior or untested lubricant?? Ah...thanks???

We designed zerks into the arm to give folks an option. If you would like to try the PTFE lube mentioned above please feel free! If you can find another high quality marine grade grease that's available in tubes you're more than welcome to try that as well. However, in our experience the best poly lube readily available on the market is Energy Suspension Formula #5. We know it works, works really well, and works for a really long time. That's why we provide it with all of our poly kits and we recommend it's use for eventual maintenance on just about anything Polyurethane.

Ultimately the choice is yours. Worst case scenario you try it out a different product and it doesn't work quite as well, either way you're not going to cause damage to the bushing it's self so you've really got nothing to lose here. Providing folks with a Zerk gives folks with this option at all.

[Synner]

Hotchkis sells lube in grease gun size for poly bushings. Works very well and is a pain to get off anything you get it on. Undoing the outer bolt and dropping the arm is the easiest way to reach the fitting so I agree it doesn't make much sense there. It's not something you should have to do very often though.

[blake-b]

I am pretty sure you can replace the straight fitting with a 90 degree one...

[SilverIceman]

Found this at Spohn.net

Poly Super Lube

You would think Pfadt would sell what they recommend or at least tell you where to find it.

[PfadtRacing]

Originally Posted by SilverIceman

Found this at Spohn.net

Poly Super Lube

You would think Pfadt would sell what they recommend or at least tell you where to find it.

We do sell the lube we recommend, it is also included in every poly kit we sell. We have it currently available in .5oz tubes, 2 of which should be more than enough for the bushings in question. If you need it in larger volumes it's also available from any Energy Suspension dealer, or on their website here:

http://www.energysuspensionparts.com...shing-Lube.asp

Again, you're free to use what ever bushing lube in what ever delivery mechanism you prefer. Our recommendation is that even if the Formula #5 isn't available in grease gun form to still use the Formula #5.