Inliners International Forums General Discussion Drive Train squeaky rear suspension

My rear suspension is squeaky on my 53 chevy. I replaced the rubber last year in the shackles but now it is noisey. The book says no lubricant but I am wondering if a silicone lube might on the rubber? Thanks

It might be the springs leafs are rubbing against themselves. Check to see if the spring wraps are tight.Original springs had some material between the leafs. That could be gone by wear and tear.

Thanks Drew, The spring metal wraps are not very tight, being so old and soft, I guess they just become loose but the squeaking is definitely coming from the bolt and rubber area of the shackles. Can those wraps be rewrapped or just crunched with crimpers?

53hdtp, Someone makes a plastic separate for leaf springs. It's suppose to eliminate noise and improve the ride. I remember seeing them for Corvettes. Corvettes have that huge transverse leaf spring across the rear axle. The plastic has a raised edge on that keeps them centered between the leafs. Just a thought.

Larry

Speedway Motors has the in between the leaf plastic stuff, it comes on a roll (I forget how long) and is available in a couple of widths. They call it "leaf spring liner" I searched for 'spring liner" and got:

http://www.speedwaymotors.com/GmSearchResults.aspx?q=spring+liner&SearchTitleDescr=True

If the bushings are binding on the bolts or shackles they can squeak, I would recommend using whatever lube is available for urethane, the stuff I have seen is claimed to be a silicone / Teflon (PTFE) blend. I have used the Energy suspension stuff it stays put the longest (of anything I have found, a little goes a long ways). I searched and after a while came up with:

http://www.energysuspension.com/pages/univ2.html

I would expect any dealer of theirs in your area should have some.