Quick sway bar bushing question - Energy vs Prothane

P

prule84

New member
Hey guys,

Noticed some front-end noise and narrowed it down to the sway bar bushings, so I'm looking to replace them. I've been through the upgrade thread, but wanted to double check before I made any purchases.

Narrowed it down to Energy vs. Prothane but there is a discrepancy in size.

(2005 Limited 4wd)

Energy 29mm - Amazon.com: Energy Suspension 8.5135R Sway Bar Bushing Set: Automotive

Prothane 30mm - Amazon.com: Prothane 19-1186 Red 30 mm Universal Greasable Sway Bar Bushing fits B Style Bracket: Automotive

I've read that people have no problems with the difference, but want to make sure before I go ahead and purchase anything. I'd prefer the Energy bushings because with Amazon Prime I could have these on before the weekend!

Any help is appreciated, thanks guys.
 
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CJ3Flyr said:


V6=30mm front(Prothane 19-1186-BL), 19mm rear(Prothane 19-1162-BL) NOTE: for you 2wd, V6 guys, measure the front bar! That's the only one I'm not sure of. It may be 29mm rather than 30mm. I can't decide if that a true thing in the U.S. or not... Edit to the edit... Kmvreter has discovered that his '04, V6, 4wd has the 21mm rear swaybar. The bottomline seems to be measure before you buy!

V8=30mm front(Prothane 19-1186-BL), 21mm rear(Prothane 19-1164-BL)
Click to expand...

Looks like as long as you're not 2wd, 30mm should do for the front. Still the best thing to do is to measure it. You're going to be taking the front sway bar off anyway.

When I did my front bushings, I measured the new 30mm bushings I bought with a digital slide calliper tool and it turned out one was 29.4 and the other was 29.7. That being said, I don't think it would really matter if you went with the 29 since they're not made with precision.
 
Last edited:
Double check the measurement before you ordered. Mine were not the size I read online they should have been.

Prothane vs Energy is kinda like Coke vs Pepsi. Both are good, just personal preference
 
ill be watching this thread as I would like to install new bushings as well.
i see from the pictures that the prothane bushings have a grease fitting and the others do not. I would think the ones with the grease fittings would be the best choice right?
 
95supra said:
ill be watching this thread as I would like to install new bushings as well.
i see from the pictures that the prothane bushings have a grease fitting and the others do not. I would think the ones with the grease fittings would be the best choice right?
Click to expand...

Depends which part# you order. My Energy came with grease zirks installed.
 
prule84 said:
Hey guys,

Noticed some front-end noise and narrowed it down to the sway bar bushings, so I'm looking to replace them. I've been through the upgrade thread, but wanted to double check before I made any purchases.

Narrowed it down to Energy vs. Prothane but there is a discrepancy in size.

(2005 Limited 4wd)

Energy 29mm - Amazon.com: Energy Suspension 8.5135R Sway Bar Bushing Set: Automotive

Prothane 30mm - Amazon.com: Prothane 19-1186 Red 30 mm Universal Greasable Sway Bar Bushing fits B Style Bracket: Automotive

I've read that people have no problems with the difference, but want to make sure before I go ahead and purchase anything. I'd prefer the Energy bushings because with Amazon Prime I could have these on before the weekend!

Any help is appreciated, thanks guys.
Click to expand...


Check out my write-up:
Go to post #2 for bushing install

It'll have links to the correct part numbers on amazon that I used. 3 months going strong.
 
NOVA46 said:
Check out my write-up:
Go to post #2 for bushing install

It'll have links to the correct part numbers on amazon that I used. 3 months going strong.
Click to expand...

Dang, I bought the ones in my first post shortly after making this thread, but I think I like the ones you used.

Amazon claims it doesn't fit my 05 4runner though - can you confirm the size of those? Might buy them since they come with the fittings..
 
prule84 said:
Dang, I bought the ones in my first post shortly after making this thread, but I think I like the ones you used.

Amazon claims it doesn't fit my 05 4runner though - can you confirm the size of those? Might buy them since they come with the fittings..
Click to expand...

I just converted the metric size to inches and used that. "30mm" front and "19mm" rear fit mine perfectly, and I don't think there's a difference in our swaybar sizes. Amazon said it wouldn't fit mine either; but it's aftermarket and amazon gets confused. Now go prove you're smarter than a computer!
 
Follow up question - is it worth ordering the set with the zerk fittings? The bushings I ordered came in today without the fittings and I could have them on tonight, but if the fittings really make a difference and are worth it then I would order them and return the ones that I have.

I've been dying to get new bushings on - I've had a front end clunk for 6 months, but if it's worth it I can wait another week.
 
prule84 said:
Follow up question - is it worth ordering the set with the zerk fittings? The bushings I ordered came in today without the fittings and I could have them on tonight, but if the fittings really make a difference and are worth it then I would order them and return the ones that I have.

I've been dying to get new bushings on - I've had a front end clunk for 6 months, but if it's worth it I can wait another week.
Click to expand...
Totally your call. Obviously a good number of folks run them so they'll be fine as long as you grease them first with a quality grease. I like the zerk fitting option since poly bushings can get noisy and it's easier to grease them up than pull them!
 
NOVA46 said:
I just converted the metric size to inches and used that. "30mm" front and "19mm" rear fit mine perfectly, and I don't think there's a difference in our swaybar sizes. Amazon said it wouldn't fit mine either; but it's aftermarket and amazon gets confused. Now go prove you're smarter than a computer!
Click to expand...

HokieRunner said:
Totally your call. Obviously a good number of folks run them so they'll be fine as long as you grease them first with a quality grease. I like the zerk fitting option since poly bushings can get noisy and it's easier to grease them up then pull them!
Click to expand...

Update: went for the upgrade tonight. If I didn't use PB blaster last night I don't think they would have even budged - total pain in the ass to get them off but I was able to. After removing the first one I pulled off the bushing and saw that it was labeled "30". I bought 29mm Energy bushings so I just threw the old one back on and I'm going to order the 30mm ones tonight. Gives me an excuse to grab a set with the zerk fittings too.

Nova, did you use Prothane or Energy? Your build thread says Prothane but you linked to the Energy bushings in your upgrade thread.
 
prule84 said:
Update: went for the upgrade tonight. If I didn't use PB blaster last night I don't think they would have even budged - total pain in the ass to get them off but I was able to. After removing the first one I pulled off the bushing and saw that it was labeled "30". I bought 29mm Energy bushings so I just threw the old one back on and I'm going to order the 30mm ones tonight. Gives me an excuse to grab a set with the zerk fittings too.

Nova, did you use Prothane or Energy? Your build thread says Prothane but you linked to the Energy bushings in your upgrade thread.
Click to expand...


Oops, I'll change that. I used energy suspension. I was planning on going with prothane (I guess I just never updated it), then I discovered that the energy bushings had grease zerks.
 
NOVA46 said:
Oops, I'll change that. I used energy suspension. I was planning on going with prothane (I guess I just never updated it), then I discovered that the energy bushings had grease zerks.
Click to expand...

Sweet, just ordered those same ones.

Anyone have any tips for reusing the bolts? Is there something that's preferable to soak them in before throwing them back on? They're pretty rusty.
 
Just removed the old bushings and am planning on installing the new ones but ran into something interesting..

The center hole in the bushings is the same size (30mm), but the width and height of the bushings is different... I bought the same ones that Nova used on his 07.

For reference, these are the ones I want to install tonight:
Amazon.com: Energy Suspension 9.5171R 1-3/16" Sway Bar Bushing Set: Automotive

and these are the ones that I had planned on returning, but they are the same dimensions (length/width) as the old ones:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004IZD9WE/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Does the length/width matter? or is the diameter of the hole the only thing that matters?

I can upload pics if needed....
 
HokieRunner said:
Totally your call. Obviously a good number of folks run them so they'll be fine as long as you grease them first with a quality grease. I like the zerk fitting option since poly bushings can get noisy and it's easier to grease them up than pull them!
Click to expand...


What's a good grease? New to these sort of things! Thanks
 
Going to order bushings as well. Seems 30mm front and 19mm rear are the correct sizes. Have a 08 SR5 4x4. After reading this I'm gonna get the energy greasers! Thanks [MENTION=86678]ebg18t[/MENTION]
 
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