my Prius started making noise from suspension system and I removed the wheel to check. Doesn't look like control arm and ball joints are issues. I tried to Chang the sway bar bushing today and it did solved the problem. My car has almost 190k miles. I replaced my struts at about 135k miles. Anyway, just want to share my experience for changing the bushing on this car. First, remove the wheel, then jack up the control arm to remove the suspension link. Once, it is removed, unscrew the bolts on the bushing bracket. The front bolt is easy and is accessible from the front wheel, the rear bolt is very hard that you will need to go under the car and still very hard to remove because the space is very limited. Also, I would suggested go to dealerships to replace the bolts if you are in east coast or in areas that has snow because the bolt may be rusty.
My prius has only 100K but started making squaky noises when going over bumps like around 70K. I recently have replaced the entire front and rear struts. However the problem is still present. The sway bar links are not leaking, so i am thinking of replacing the sway bar bushings. Did you use OEM or any other after market? What was the type of issue you were having? Thanks
I used whiteline bushing where I purchased from ebay. I think you can get it from tirerack.com as well. And just few months ago, the sway bar link and the struts mounts are gone. I just replaced them just last week along with the struts since the struts is now over 80K miles already. I don't want to remove and install a new struts later since it is already 80K and I do plan to keep the car few more years. Now the car feel like new even it has more than 200K miles. But keep in mind that I am replacing them myself and labor is my own labor. Plus I got the KYB struts from Amazon for only $50 each (front) and $75 (rear).
Thanks for your response. I've just bought the same Whiteline bushings from Carid. I will try to install them myself next week. Were you able to install them without dropping the suspension subframe? FYI, I replaced the struts in my car. I bought Monroe QuickStruts which come with springs and all other components. The car felt a bit better, but not a lot different. However, the squeak that the car still has drives me crazy, sound like an old squeaky car. Great Job!!
It has been a long time. I forgot the detail how I did it. But I don't think I remove anything at all to install it other than the bushing bracket. the nuts is hard to reach but doable. If I remembered correctly, I think I jacked the front of the car so that both front wheels are off from ground so that the sway bar did not transfer any force from left struts to the right struts (if you understand how sway bar work, you will know what I mean). Also, it may be good idea to replace the sway bar links as well, which is what I did
I have replaced the Sway Bar Links (Proforged) and the bushings from Whiteline. Removing/Installing the rear bracket bolts is a real pita. The original sway bars were not leaking at all but comparing the movement of the joints, the originals were much looser than new ones. I am not sure if this is an indication of wear. The ride stiffened a little bit but feels good. The squeaky noises disappeared for the most past, but occasionally i can hear a similar squeak specially when the car is cold or in the early morning. All is all, the car feels better, but not 100% squeak free. Something i noticed is that the original bushings have a 21 mark which possibly is the thickness of the sway bar. The Whiteline bushings are for 22 mm. So i am not sure if this could be the reason why it still squeaks at times. Also, the control arms, have developed some small tears in the larger rear bushing. I have sprayed them with silicone grease. If this noise comes back, i will possibly replace the control arms as well. Thanks
My experience has been after market stab links are a total waste of money. Only thing that will stop the noise is new OEM stab links. Just about all after market suspension parts these days are china junk. That's why there so cheap. Check out the price on oem stab links. get it? Why does everyone use silicone grease? Its worthless as an under car lubricant. Use Home Depot CSP spray. Its spray grease. LCA's don't squeak they clunk.
