2012 - How to lubricate control arm bushing?

If it was meant to be re-greased they would have installed a zerk fitting for that purpose. I would be hesitant to even put grease there for fear of contaminating and damaging the rubber bushing.

As stated in the previous post.

There shouldn't be any metal on metal movement. You might grease so the bolt doesn't rust in the metal sleeve. Heavy silicone grease like DOW 111 or heavier is what I would use...

We use anti-seize and slather it on the bolt and call it good.
Will make it easier for the next guy, if in rust prone areas of the world.

Thanks all. I sprayed some lithium-grease-with-teflon on the bolt, simply because it was the safest thing I had on hand. Perhaps I won't ever have to think about it again ...

Graphite? Moly?

I've got some kind of 'creaking' going on in that area. I can't find the source.

The problem with your analysis is the idea that the bolt and sleeve allow the control arm to rotate. That assembly is tightened, with full car weight on all wheels, and effectively freezes the sleeve's position. It does not rotate at all so there us no moving part to lubricate. The rubber bushings allows for movement
The control arm, including the ball joint, is considered a wear item that is replaced as a whole. MOOG makes a great replacement and if you are certain that you'll never need to return it, RockAuto has a good price on them. However, beware of reports of getting the wrong part and RockAuto refusing to pay return shipping. Ask me how I know this........Anyway, if you have mechanical skills the replacement is fairly easy.

Lithium grease is not an anti seize grease for metal to metal fasteners. First, it won’t last. Second, any water content will hasten corrosion. Copper anti seize will last much longer.


For the rubber bushings, silicone grease is fairly safe but won’t last either.

The best approach is to use a quality part. I’d stick with Subaru oem lca. The part has been updated. Moog and other aftermarket LCAs have gone down in quality and probably will not last longer than oem.

Of course, the only issue is that Subie control arms are 3 times the price, and as you put it there is no guarantee they will last longer. And if we are talking about rear upper control arms the price difference in Canada is 5 times...

Burst of Erasure said:

Consider the front lower control arms. They are meant to move up and down as the vehicle travels along. The main pivot point is the front bushing where the arm is bolted into the frame. The rubber bushing is pressed into the arm and has a metal sleeve through the middle. The bolt passes through the sleeve and frame. So the bolt acts like a hinge pin.
How, if at all, should this bolt inside the sleeve be lubricated? It's metal to metal, and there's no grease fitting. I am installing new control arms, so I have a chance to lube this, but with what? Once it's on, it's not easy to re-grease, so what would you guys use here as a "permanent" lube? Or would it be a job for anti-seize? I'm not really afraid of it seizing, but want to minimize metal on metal wear and noise.

Click to expand...

This isn't how suspension points with rubber bushings work. When this bolt and associated nut is tightened to spec, it clamps on the subframe point which clamps on the bushings crush tube or as you called it the metal sleeve. As the suspension travels up and down, the rubber flexes accordingly and tension is created during compression and droop. The bushing wants to "spring" back into it's normal position. That's why it is important that suspension points are tightened at normal ride height/suspension loaded. This is normally achieved with that end of the car on ramps.

Theseus161 said:

For the rubber bushings, silicone grease is fairly safe but won’t last either.

Click to expand...

Yeah Silicone is what I've always heard recommended on rubber parts, or in this case, bushings. As Theseus (have an old Saturn that's encroaching on that namesake) said, it won't last long, but I think it does help new metal on rubber parts, like an anti-sway bar, slide and settle into place as they break in and help avoid pops and clunks. Control arms usually have a fixed sleeve inside the bushing, so there's never any real metal to bushing action. Anti seize is good to keep that sleeve from becoming one with the mounting bolt, but it won't necessarily help the bushing.

That being said, my old can of 3M sil paste claims to be a "conditioner". If you feel like occasionally applying paste to exposed rubber, maybe it helps prevent dry rot. Or maybe repeated exposure to silicone makes them too squishy and prone to tearing, otherwise it would be a more common practice. 🤷‍♂️

I just spray silicone or use 3m silicone paste occasionally on the rubber bushings to keep them from drying out. I also avoid potholes.
That’s pretty much all you can do. I’m still on my original oem LCAs with 98k plus miles. No signs of tears or deterioration.

You might want to check the sway bar bushings as the source of the creaking noise. Cheaper fix. And if they were replaced at one time with polyurethane bushings, then x2 on their noise producing probability. And while you're down there, check the end links.

A cheap and easier on you alternative is to get an alignment and ask the tech to see what's going on. It shouldn't cost you anything more than just the alignment.

Theseus161 said:

Lithium grease is not an anti seize grease for metal to metal fasteners. First, it won’t last. Second, any water content will hasten corrosion. Copper anti seize will last much longer.


For the rubber bushings, silicone grease is fairly safe but won’t last either.

The best approach is to use a quality part. I’d stick with Subaru oem lca. The part has been updated. Moog and other aftermarket LCAs have gone down in quality and probably will not last longer than oem.

Click to expand...

I'm curious what specifically MOOG has done to cheapen their products and what Subaru did to update theirs. MOOG has a lifetime warranty.


I'm pretty sure Subaru can't match it.

Two different concepts being discussed at the same time.

Lubrication to reduce friction vs anti-seize to prevent rust and corrosion and thereby enable easier disassembly later. They are not the same.

I would not lubricate a control arm bushing. As @stroker ace pointed out, anti-sieze might make sense in areas of the world prone to rust. I don't think it could hurt.

Actually anti-seize doesn't go very far to prevent rust and corrosion. It is basically a very fine metal powder mixed with some oil. You put it on threads, for example, and assemble your parts. The very fine powder remains in the threads and when you go to disassemble the threaded assembly, the powder shears more easily than rusted or corroded parts. You don't have to "break" the rust to get your bolt out.

The anti-seize does nothing for the bushing. It does generally help with the removal of the bolt from the metal sleeve in the bushing next time, if in a rust prone area.
Depending on how long you keep a vehicle may only do it once.

donkpow said:

Actually anti-seize doesn't go very far to prevent rust and corrosion. It is basically a very fine metal powder mixed with some oil. You put it on threads, for example, and assemble your parts. The very fine powder remains in the threads and when you go to disassemble the threaded assembly, the powder shears more easily than rusted or corroded parts. You don't have to "break" the rust to get your bolt out.

Click to expand...

I have to disagree. Having used Molykote anti seize lubricants like M1000 and others, I have to see that they actually do prevent corrosion on fasteners.

I have at least 6 types of Molykote brand anti seize lubricants and they work amazingly well at preventing corrosion everywhere I have used them. I rarely get a stuck or broken fastener working on my Forester. excellent product. DuPont Molykote.

There is no reason you can't have an antiseize compound with good corrosion protection. It's may not the best compound to provide corrosion protection and anti-seize in all applications. MolyKote has a listing for their corrosion inhibiting greases. You can use a solid lubricant like moly or graphite to give you some anti-seize properties. Normally, those two are considered EP additives. The anti-corrosion aspect has very little to do with the anti-seize additive like aluminum or copper.

Here is the MolyKote automotive corrosion inhibiting lubricating listing: