Hotchkis bushing failure?

[Steve Levin]

Has anyone else who installed the Hotchkis kit suffered from rapid bushing failure? I noticed a light thunking sound and it turns out the bushings are deteriorating and have some pieces missing from them. They've been on only a little over a month.

Steve

[sdcarguy]

interesting. I have had mine for a few months but just noticed a slight thunking sound as well. i will toss mine up and see if the bushings are bad to. Might see about ordering some pederizezd ones if these took a crap this fast...

[BIG SMOOTH]

Damn! I'm getting mine installed tomorrow! What options do I have last minute for bushings I can get for the sways and where could I find them?

[BIG SMOOTH]

Would greasing the hell outta the bushings have anything to do with it? When I researched the Hotchkis sways everyone said to grease the hell outta them to prevent any squeaking, clunking, etc. sounds, just curious...

[Steve Levin]

Now, I will say that from a load perspective I've certainly twisted them a bit with...uhm... 4 track days since they were installed. I'll ask about really greasing them when I get the new ones (didn't feel like paying the drop ship fee, so it'll be like two weeks before the replacements I bought arrive) and perhaps that will help.

If that becomes the lifespan of the bushings (and I sure as heck hope that's not the case, and there are other people who haven't had this issue) I'll have to look at alternatives.

Steve

[BIG SMOOTH]

I would think that a company like Hotchkis would have better quality bushings if this is indeed the case. Maybe the track days did have some effect but still it shouldn't react in that way. Let me know how the new parts work for you when you get them in.

[MM-JAPAN]

I would be intested to hear if anyone else is having issues, I get mine installed in two days and I would like to know before hand if I have to prepare to replace in a few months..

[joey]

I purchased my sways 2 years ago. The earlier hotchkis sways (purchased maybe a year or more ago) had some problems with the front bushings being too tight. They started squeaking after about 6 months or so. Hotchkis sent me replacement bushings, and extra washers which I think helps protect the bushings.

Here is a pic of my old/original bushings after about 18k miles.
The bushings look like they held up pretty good, and no deterioration.
The second pic is the replacement bushings I received from hotchkis.

But my problem was squeaking, not thunking or banging noises.

[Chase300]

Originally Posted by joey

I purchased my sways 2 years ago. The earlier hotchkis sways (purchased maybe a year or more ago) had some problems with the front bushings being too tight. They started squeaking after about 6 months or so. Hotchkis sent me replacement bushings, and extra washers which I think helps protect the bushings.

Here is a pic of my old/original bushings after about 18k miles.
The bushings look like they held up pretty good, and no deterioration.
The second pic is the replacement bushings I received from hotchkis.

But my problem was squeaking, not thunking or banging noises.

Where do the washers go??? I wonder what their purpose is? Also, it looks to me like your old bushings were starting to break up.
I solved my thunking/banging issue with my Hotchkis a different way, but I'll post a seperate thread. I have heard that Hotchkis will send out free replacement bushings if you call them.

[joey]

Originally Posted by Chase300

Where do the washers go??? I wonder what their purpose is? Also, it looks to me like your old bushings were starting to break up.
I solved my thunking/banging issue with my Hotchkis a different way, but I'll post a seperate thread. I have heard that Hotchkis will send out free replacement bushings if you call them.

Here is a link to the install instructions. It doesn't mention the washers.
http://www.hotchkis.net/files/instal...ides/22101.pdf

My original sways did not come with the washers, but the replacement bushings did. The instructions that came with the replacement bushings had the washers going on the subframe mount bolts. Here is a pic that shows where they go. The washers seem to prevent the over tightening/squishing of the bushings. 2 washers go on each bolt.

The old bushings overall integrity are good. I think non-lithium grease may have been used after the initial install, which may have started to degrade the outer edges of the bushings. Most shops use lithium grease, which will degrade the hotchkis bushings.