Pictures of My Clunk Fix

[TXMazdaSpeeder]

Please excuse the dirt, i'll clean them up and take mroe pics later today.

Energy Polyurethane Bushings with the brackets bent to the same shape as our stock brackets

 

[ARunto]

what model #?

 

[TXMazdaSpeeder]

let me see if i can find the box they came in, i believe it was the 20.5mm bushings though, i think u can order a 19mm from energy but when u bend the brackets the 19mm wont fit around the bar.

 

[Newf]

not going to work.

 

[TXMazdaSpeeder]

i'd like to know how......... they havent't sqeaked yet, no sounds of any kind, the bar doesnt slip when cornering even with very hard cornering, the car even handles flatter than it did, so explain why it wont work?

 

[SOSPEED]

Great minds think alike. Thats the same thing i am going to do.

 

[kingvitamin]

Yeah Newf, why won't this work? I need a fix too, and if there is any way to do it better than taking it to the dealer, then I'm gonna try it. I tend to steer clear from the dealership whenever possible. TXMazdaSpeeder, where did you get the bushings that you used?? I plan on fixing the clunk in the next month before the cold weather sets in and it gts worse. I'll probably be bugging you for help/advice. (poke)

 

[TXMazdaSpeeder]

auto zone

 

[505zoom]

i'd like to know how......... they havent't sqeaked yet, no sounds of any kind, the bar doesnt slip when cornering even with very hard cornering, the car even handles flatter than it did, so explain why it wont work?

IIRC, someone tried this last year. I won't jump and say that your fix won't work for sure, but I am pretty sure that it won't. The problem is the location of the brackets, not the bushing itself. Mazda keeps making new bushings, when they should just move the brackets outward so they can do their job easier. Mine is clunking after about 5 months on the E bushing, and I have given up hope that there is a fix for this by using different bushings. I think that Dave from Delsing Motorsports has the right idea with his bracket relocation kit.

 

[anarchistchiken]

What is "the clunk" anyway? I've heard about it of course, but I never really understood how a swaybar underneath the car could make it happen.

 

[TXMazdaSpeeder]

mine was always more of a sqeak than a "clunk" and its because the bushing was worn out and sqeaking on the metal bar....



as for mazda keeps making new bushings....yes they do, but they keep making new rubber bushings, not polyurethane..... who knows this may not work but so far, its working fine and im sick of mazda's half assed attempts to solve the problem.

 

[DooMer_MP3]

I disagree with anyone who says the 156E bushing is a permanent fix. I had the E bushings without a new swaybar/endlinks, clunked. I then demanded a new swaybar, endlinks, and 156Es. It worked throughout the summer, but after a few cold nights, and leaving my stereo off, the clunk/rattle is definitely back. Some may have had success, but I guarantee, they will fail, or people are just choosing not to hear them. I can't blame them .

Chris

 

[Newf]

my car does not clunk AT ALL with the E's. Knock on wood. November will be one year. I guess after going through everything I did with the mp3, new bushings literally every 2 weeks on average, and then testing new bushings for Mazda, my Mazda mechanic has had lots of experience as to what NOT to do



As for my comment on it not working, I was basically just trying to get you going it might, ya never know, worth a try. Who am I to say it won't.

Mazda did try polyurethane for the rear. I know because I tested them for Mazda CAnada/USA and they were 10 times worse. They didn't clunk, but they made such a horrible squeak sound it was worse. They did last a little longer then the d's did, but not a fix by any means.

 

[TXMazdaSpeeder]

just an update, still no clunk from the energy bushings

 

[AznXstazy]

how long has it been now about 4 months? n u grease them daily right?

 

[TXMazdaSpeeder]

i havent greased them since i put them on

 

[AznXstazy]

*WOWED* i installed them in mine, but got like the 22mm n not the 21.5mm or osmethin, and they were really bad. i felt the back moving way to much had to take it back to autozone. but after i installed it, they startin clunkin after 2 days. had to grease them daily and was really hard to grease them the grease wouldnt go into the thing that sticks out.

 

[Melanism]

Reinventing the wheel

Please excuse the dirt, i'll clean them up and take mroe pics later today.

Energy Polyurethane Bushings with the brackets bent to the same shape as our stock brackets

Been there.....done that: http://www.msprotege.com/forum/showthread.php?t=34025&highlight=permanent+fix

Stops the clunk but you will still have to get under there and lube them about every couple of months.

 

[Wiggles422]

clunk or squeaks yet? i'm thinking about getting the 19mm bushings and getting a machine shop to bore them out to 20mm (for the msp rear sway bar - idk if they are they same diameter or not). i think the 20.5mm wouldnt help anything.

edit: i read this on energy suspensions website...

This set is BLACK in color with the Graphite Impregnated self lubricating bushings. Red (non self lubricating) may be available by request.

any reason to go with red instead of black?