Car maintenance can be a bit of a drag, but it is rewarding and adds years to the life of the car. For example: do you need to grease sway bar links? Let us find out.
Yes, it is essential to grease your sway bar links at least once or twice a year. Sway bar links hold the sway bar in place and allow smooth movement. The suspension system prevents the car’s rolling or slipping during unusual driving. The frequency of lubrication and the process of doing so are discussed in the article.
What Do Sway Bar Links Do?
Sway bars are U-shaped metal blocks that connect both wheels on a single axle to the chassis. The tips of the metal rod connect the wheels to the suspension system. At the same time, the middle portion remains attached to the body of the vehicle.
Metals bars, such as sway bars, torsion bars, and stabilizer bars, are parts of the suspension system of an automobile. The suspension System connects the left and the right side wheels through short swing arms and torsion bars.
The function of the suspension system is to prevent rolling accidents as it decreases the rolling force during unusual or accidental cross-driving. The sway bar functions to increase the overall stability of the car. It prevents your car from leaning to one side beyond safety. A faulty or weak sway bar will result in oversteering, that is, when the wheel loses traction and turns upside down.
This can happen when one wheel gets too tilted. Here comes the function of sway bar links or bushings. Sway bar links hold the bar in place so that it is firmly attached to the body of the vehicle and permits only restricted movements of the sway bar without the need for bearings.
Due to its anti-roll function, parts such as the sway bar and its links might suffer from too much friction causing car rusting. Therefore regular lubrication and checking of the components are necessary to increase the life of the suspension system.
What Lubricant Is Best For The Job?
As mentioned, sway bar links are susceptible to car rusting and general wear and tear. Worn-out sway links can make the system stiff. These problems could be solved or prevented by applying a suitable Lubricant.
What lubricant should you use? Well, sway bar links are of different types based on their material. Sway Bar bushings can be made of polyurethane, synthetic rubber, or other rubber-based materials. Mixed lubricating grease often tarnishes the rubber bushings.
But petrol-based ones damage any sway links irrespective of their material. Petrol-based oil softens and spoils the bar and rubber, thus affecting the performance and service life of the sway bars. In the long term, your bushings might get rusted, break and accumulate within the system.
Manufacturers suggest car owners use water-based, silicon-based, or even vegetable oil to lubricate such parts of the car. Some companies of polyurethane bushings provide specific lubricants for optimal function.
Among various lubricants available in the market, you might often get confused. One of the popular lubricants is silicone-based. They stay in the place of application and do not easily get washed off. But it also collects dirt on the links. Experts suggest using dry Teflon sprays due to their high efficiency, but to attain that, you need to repeat the process of Spraying until the surface is fully covered.
Some bushings do not even need any lubrication. Read the instructions in the packaging before buying costly lubricants for your sway bar links.
Why Should You Grease Parts of Your Chassis?
Most suspension components and chassis are non-serviceable, so you can not introduce fresh lubricant to wash away the old one that has accumulated dirt. But some parts of the chassis give access to service to you. To increase the life of the chassis and its efficiency, you need to take care of the serviceable parts such as Ball Joints, Tie Rod Ends, Sway Bar Links, Drag Links and Center Links, Idler Arms, Pitman Arms, and U-Joints.
Flowing fresh lithium grease on the parts removes the old oil, dirt, and debris within them. This increases the smoothness and efficiency of the chassis.
How To Grease Sway Bar Links?
When your sway bar links need grease, they make a rattling or squeaking sound. Follow the steps given below to oil your car’s sway bar links:
- First, you need to buy a grease gun. It is a handy tool for greasing your part of the automobile.
- You need to lift your car by putting on a suspension so that you can get enough space to get under your vehicle.
- Find the grease fitting of your sway bar bushing or link. It might be covered with dirt.
- You need to put the grease gun at the top of the fitting and spray the mouth until you see the grease coming out of it.
- Then you need to wipe off the oil from the area to prevent unnecessary accumulation of debris and dirt.
The parts of the chassis are already greased from the factory at the time of installation. Greasing them once or twice a year is necessary to maintain the suspension system’s longevity.
How Often Should You Grease Them?
It would help if you tried greasing the chassis parts every time you change the oil of your car’s engine. After a few times of greasing processes, you shall get an idea of how often you should do it. But it would be best if you tried to perform it at least twice a year.
Heavy-duty cars need greasing more often than regular cars as they are prone to premature wear and tear and contamination. The parts of the chassis should be lubricated at the installation time, especially the interface between the boot and the mating part.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you grease your sway bars?
You can grease your sway bars manually if you have enough access to them. In many cases, the sway bars may not be accessible by hand.
For a more manageable process, use a grease gun to do so. Lubricating parts of your suspension system is vital to ensure anti-roll activity.
Can you lubricate sway bar links?
Yes, you can lubricate sway bar links, and it is essential to grease them. Lubrication of sway bar links help you eliminate the old grease contaminated with dirt. It also helps the suspension work more smoothly.
What grease goes in sway bar links?
There are many options for lubricating products for sway bar links. The two most notable of them are dry Teflon spray and silicone-based spray. Lithium grease is another good option
Do sway bar end links come pre-greased?
Yes, sway bar end links are greased in the factory at the installation time. But most of them need greasing twice or once every year. Some experts suggest lubricating them every time you change your engine oil.
Wrap Up
Some of the sway bar links do not need lubrication, but most do need it. Worn-out sway bar links could cause damage to the suspension system and reduce its service life. Both dry Teflon and silicone greases are reliable but have advantages and disadvantages.
Thank you for reading.
