Squeeky OME set-up

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spressomon

spressomon

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Since installing my OME lift the suspension sounds like an old jaloppy...squeeks (front but mostly rear) like an old farm truck! When it's wet out all the obnoxious squeeking subsides (presumably the wet conditions lube the springs, shock bushings, etc.). Didn't know if anyone else who has done the OME lift kit has experienced all the added noise? This weekend I'll finally have a chance to see/hear where all the noise is coming from...
 
Mine doesn't squeak either, but I do have this anonymous rattle that I just can't seem to find.
 
I had the opccassional screech/squeek that drove me nuts. It disappear when I slapped on new shocks and springs. ??? Now, a year later I get a little every blue moon.
 
None on mine. The urethane bushings are prone to squeaks. Did you use anti-seize on the shock mounts?
DMX
 
I have one squeak in the back of the 80 now that I've put on 74s and 863s...
Could be either I imagine.
I'll let it be for a while and see if it goes away. Or I may spray some lube on various things to see if that quiets it down.
 
I would start on the rubber mounts on the shocks.
 
I coated all the bushings in mobil 1 90w grease and that quieted them down!
 
Good info from all. I'll anti-sieze or grease the shock bushings to see if that cures it. I also have 1 OME spring packer on one side...better lube that too!

Thanks, Dan
 
spressomon said:
Good info from all. I'll anti-sieze or grease the shock bushings to see if that cures it. I also have 1 OME spring packer on one side...better lube that too!

Thanks, Dan
Click to expand...


better be a lube that likes urethane and v.v... :)
 
e9999 said:
better be a lube that likes urethane and v.v... :)
Click to expand...



Do you have any specific lube to recommend?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
spressomon said:
Do you have any specific lube to recommend?
Click to expand...


unfortunately, I don't. There is a grease that OME sells/includes, but despite having asked here I never found out what would be best to use. I just made a wild guess, but I hate to recommend it, since I have no idea if it's good or not. I did see that my neighbor had bought some urethane suspension bushings for a Mazda from an aftermarket place and they also came with grease. So there must be some stuff out there that is suitable. Let us know what you find, if you do look.

I would imagine calling a urethane bushing distributor or even ARB might do the trick.

FWIW, I recall reading that urethane bushings are made to rotate rather than twist as do the rubber bushings. So, the rod that the lower eye of the rear shock rides on in the 80, in particular, should probably be very clean and smooth and rustfree to prevent squeaks. I may take mine off again and clean it even more than I already did and use proper grease this time....
 
e9999 said:
unfortunately, I don't. There is a grease that OME sells/includes, but despite having asked here I never found out what would be best to use. I just made a wild guess, but I hate to recommend it, since I have no idea if it's good or not. I did see that my neighbor had bought some urethane suspension bushings for a Mazda from an aftermarket place and they also came with grease. So there must be some stuff out there that is suitable. Let us know what you find, if you do look.

I would imagine calling a urethane bushing distributor or even ARB might do the trick.

FWIW, I recall reading that urethane bushings are made to rotate rather than twist as do the rubber bushings. So, the rod that the lower eye of the rear shock rides on in the 80, in particular, should probably be very clean and smooth and rustfree to prevent squeaks. I may take mine off again and clean it even more than I already did and use proper grease this time....
Click to expand...

Urethane bushings usually use silicone grease. I used anti-seize on my urethane shock mounts w/o any issues so far. The silicone grease should be available at most automotive stores.
DMX
 
I'd guess the bushings (the poly shock bushings are prone to squeak vs. the factory rubber). The ones on my 4runner did the same thing after offroading...drove me nuts. It finally went away. Maybe I got lucky or something. 65K mi later, still no squeaks.
 
spressomon said:
Since installing my OME lift the suspension sounds like an old jaloppy...squeeks (front but mostly rear) like an old farm truck! When it's wet out all the obnoxious squeeking subsides (presumably the wet conditions lube the springs, shock bushings, etc.). Didn't know if anyone else who has done the OME lift kit has experienced all the added noise? This weekend I'll finally have a chance to see/hear where all the noise is coming from...
Click to expand...
Nearly 6 year old thread, but.........

I have a rear OME shock that's started squeaking BADLY! I'm gonna remove it to make sure, but it appears to be in compression / extension movements and not in side-to-side movements. What I mean is it seems to be squeaking internally and not at the bushings. What the heck is there in a shock to squeak? (Incidentally, the upper dust cover is the metal type and it doesn't appear to be distorted in any way, so it doesn't appear to be rubbing on the shock body.) All I can say is I'm amazed at how much noise this thing is making!

Any thoughts?
 
when i first did my install (with Bilsteins but this should still apply) i had a squeeky RR shock on both compression and rebound. Got under there last week and put a few more turns on the top nut and it went away need to make sure those bushings are compressed all the way because the hole that the shock goes into and the bushings sandwich between is quite large and things could move around and squeek if they are loose.
 
ENGINE er said:
when i first did my install (with Bilsteins but this should still apply) i had a squeeky RR shock on both compression and rebound. Got under there last week and put a few more turns on the top nut and it went away need to make sure those bushings are compressed all the way because the hole that the shock goes into and the bushings sandwich between is quite large and things could move around and squeek if they are loose.
Click to expand...
That's what I had planned to do tonight. Thanks for the personal experience (coincidentally, mine is the RR shock also)
 
report back with what you find, someone in 2018 may appreciate it!
 
Each time I replaced my shocks they (or the bushings) were squeaking badly. Even WD40 on the bushings didn't help. Might have been the shocks.
 
ENGINE er said:
report back with what you find, someone in 2018 may appreciate it!
Click to expand...
Well, even as tough as it is to get to the upper right rear shock nut, I was able to crank down on it a couple of turns. In addition, I sprayed some penetrating lubricant on it..............so far, so good. It's been quiet today. At least I now know what was making the noise, so if it squeaks in the future, I will know what needs attention!
 
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