Olite Bushings need to be lubed?

[YamBam]

09' Nitro XTX. Recently replaced plastic bushings in front A arms with the Olite accessory kit from Yamaha. With the old plastic bushings, I would periodically lube with silicone spray. Should I silicone lube the new Olite bushings? Would appreciate any comments or thoughts.

 

[herndonp]

I believe oilites do not require any lube as it is built into the bushings. Oilite is a porous bronze or iron alloy commonly impregnated with an oil lubricant and used in bearings.

Pete

 

[Beenba]

^True.
But it won't hurt anything. Might prolong the life a bit too.

 

[MrChetStuart]

When doing my OFT relocator, which comes with Olite bushings as part of the kit, I remember the notes specifically stating to remove all grease/junk from the steering post as it could causing binding with those bushings. I've run it a while now w/o any lube of any kind and it's still smooth as can be.

 

[canoehead]

No lube......

 

[burgerbone]

After the pain in the a$$ the bushing were to replace, I never want a Nytro again. Hopefully they will never have to be changed.

I wonder if people would pay the extra $80 to have those installed from the factory if it was an option.

 

[Beenba]

I can see the instructions saying that (no lube) for assembly reasons, sure. You don't want someone putting grease or something thick in there and locking things up. But once everything is assembled and seated in, there is not a chance in hell of a shot of silicone spray binding things.

Basically what your telling me a spray lubricant has the force to hydro-lock a bushing?? Pfft. Sure oillite material is oil impregnated, so as it wears it releases lube to cool and reduce friction, but why not go the extra mile and prevent the wear in the first place.

I've been using, designing and testing with oillite materials at work for several years, and its quite impressive what a shot of silicone spray can do for it in terms of wear resistance...especially when its between aluminum and bronze.

To each their own though, I'm going to keep lubing mine. After 5000km they are still as tight as the day I put them in....my buddies are already loose (still not as bad as OEM tho) and only been 2000km....interesting..

 

[canoehead]

Hydro-lock?? Trying to figure out how that would happen. I believe they're reasoning is that any lube can hold and will retain dirt and or particles/filings worn from the bushing. It's fine for the softer oil-lite to rub on steel, it's the sacrificial portion. But if it rubs on it's self it will cause uneven and excessive wear along with binding. Same reason you don't lube any of your clutch bushings. Just stating manufacturers recommendation. If you want to lube them, they're yours..

 

[poor farmer/logger]

What I can see happening is a layer of grease building up and preventing the lubrication from coming out. The hard layer of grease will then wear on the so called collars that go through the bushings.

 

[YamBam]

Thanks guys for the comments. Helpful and appreciated. Burgerbone you are right on. Why would the OEM be plastic bushings out of the factory? Yamaha must have known they would wear out. What a pain to replace. Dealers are charging four hours to replace the bushings. I would gladly pay extra for Olite to be OEM. Anyone remember when Chrysler decided to put plastic pistons in brake calipers many many years ago? Ya that also worked well as the brakes heated up.

 

[Beenba]

Hydro-lock?? Trying to figure out how that would happen. I believe they're reasoning is that any lube can hold and will retain dirt and or particles/filings worn from the bushing. It's fine for the softer oil-lite to rub on steel, it's the sacrificial portion. But if it rubs on it's self it will cause uneven and excessive wear along with binding. Same reason you don't lube any of your clutch bushings. Just stating manufacturers recommendation. If you want to lube them, they're yours..

Ah I see what you mean now. From my experiences (we designed a oillitle pin to be used for 2 steel links to rotate on, for a healthcare product), the silicone actually helped the chips leave the area. This product was cycled for 24hr a day for almost 1/2 a year. Anywho your right though, we tested several greases and sprays and some did exactly what you said and promotoed wear.

Since the OP specifically said silicone spray, its ok. Anything else I would be weary of using.

And as for the hydro lock issue, if someone were to use a thick grease and then assemble things tightly, it could actually lock the steering post (OFT) or the A-arms in this case. Sounds crazy but I've seen sheared bolts, improper torque specs, and excessive wear from this happening. Silicone spray would never be able to make this happen tho.