Squeaky Dakars : Any advice from others with the Dakars ?

Just ordered these from Amazon. Won't arrive until next week, but I want to drill the holes in my Dakars this weekend.
Are they standard 1/2" holes that need to be drilled?

 

Dunno. I'd wait and measure with a caliper. Are those the Dorman ones? I think I need 12 of those...

 

Yeah I ordered 3 boxes of 4 in each box. They were Amazon "add-ons" so I ordered another RAM Mount diamond base to meet the add-on threshold, since I've turned into a RAM Mount addict like you

 

Very good! Please let me know how your drilling works out... I'm curious thx.

 

I thinks so, but I can't remember for sure. I'd wait till they arrive.

 

This weekend is the best time for me to drill these holes. Anyone else able to confirm hole size?

 

What do you grease the OEM bushings with when inserting? Anything? I haven't found any clear answers on this through google or reading this whole thread. I have some graphite lube, could I just use that or should I get some actual grease?

 

Thank you sir. How much did you use per bushing?

 

You only need a light coating on them

 

At the risk of sounding like a complete moron, I'm going to ask one more question about grease on the bushings, because I keep finding conflicting information. Do you grease both the outside of the bushing and the inside? I've seen some people that say only grease the inside to prevent the bushing from moving, while others say to grease both or don't mention which part they grease.

 

Grease is used on the outer shell to ease installation.
Grease on the inner sleeve and bolt are for anti-seizing/corrosion purposes.
Grease is not a legit solution for squeaking in a rubber bushing.
The inner sleeve is captured by the bolt and the outer case is captured by the spring eye. Pivoting occurs in the rubber.
If a rubber bushing squeaks, something has let go and is slipping, allowing motion other than in the rubber; loose bolt, outer case/inner sleeve separation, loose outer case fit, etc.
Common causes are;
1) Loose bolt.
2) Over-tightening/torquing in the air. The difference in bushing position between in the air and at curb are different; this is why you snug in the air and torque on the ground. Otherwise; the rubber could bind and/or outer case or inner sleeve could separate.
3) Outer case bushing deformed by spring eye. This causes the outer case to separate.

Poly are a whole different ballgame.
Some slip is expected in those designs. Thus, the need to grease poly; to keep squeaking down.

 

Yeah the grease is basically to keep the metal parts for getting rust in between them

The squeak doesn't come from the bushing

 

I wasn't so worried about the grease preventing squeaking so much as just installing the bushing with it the proper way. Thank you guys.

 

Take your time installing the leaf springs. Make sure you clean the parts, grease and torque properly and you should be fine.

 

OZ-T - You responded to the question on greasing OEM rubber bushings. Will this work with Poly as well? Thanks.

 

From the link I provided that you quoted ~

"This is an excellent automotive grease and is well suited for use with polyurethane suspension bushings."

 

Dammit. I read everything except the last damn sentence.
Thanks OZ

 

Haha , no problem

 

I too developed the squeak, but it felt more like a metal on metal creek that i can feel on my frame.
Turns out that my drivers side front bushing was pushed out on one side causing the leaf spring to rub on the front hanger. I used a ball joint press to press in my bushing and now it is all quiet now.