Recommended Grease For All Suspension Components

We recommend using Full-Synthetic Grease for lubricating all possible suspension components. The brand does not matter so long as the grease is Full-Synthetic. Synthetic grease is a much thinner/lighter viscosity, which helps keep your components well lubricated. Thicker Non-Synthetic grease can get pushed away from the wear surfaces rather quickly, and allow accelerated wear.

Thicker viscosity grease is really only a good product for slower moving more “loose-fit” applications, like trailer wheel bearings, 5th wheel hitches/trailer balls, etc.

Under normal conditions lubricate your suspension components about every 5000 miles, and more often if Off-Road or in more harsh driving conditions.

Why Is My Track Bar Making Noise?

If you are getting a popping or clunking sound when steering the truck mostly at slower speeds, I.e., like negotiating a parking lot, your mounting bolts are not tight enough. Please reference the instructions listed on our website, regarding the mandatory torque requirements, and warnings about correctly torquing the mounting bolts.

If your Thuren Trackbar is making a creaking or squeaking sound from the frame side bushing, the bushing is either very new, and/or is just not broken in yet. This bushing does not always make noise when new on every truck, but it can make noise when new, and we consider this normal. The noise will go away with miles driven. Using the noted Full-Synthetic grease will allow the grease to flow sooner, reducing the chance for noises. Reference the bottom of the Trackbar instructions page, for more details.

Track Bar Heim Joint Information

To ensure you don’t void your Track bar warranty, and possibly risk your safety, it is important to ensure the Heim Joint at the axle mount side of the track bar is properly torqued. We pre-torque the jam nut on our 2013+ Track Bar to 200-220 foot pounds, so there is never a worry on that model unless you have loosened it for adjusting. If you did loosen the Jam Nut and do not re-torque to the noted specifications on the instructions, eventually that could result in damaged threads once it comes loose. If you ever feel an odd rattle in the steering, check and make sure the Heim Joint Jam Nut is not spinning freely.

This axle side Heim Joint mounting point of the Thuren Fabrication Track Bar is virtually maintenance free. We have chosen the durable and reliable FK Heim joint for our design, due to its proven track record.

If you do live in a corrosive environment whether near humid ocean air, or winter weather salt covered roads, this is not mandatory but  we do recommend applying some Synthetic Grease with a small brush to the joint to prevent corrosion. With proper maintenance and care the heim joint will perform for 50,000 miles or more. If you find the joint has developed any radial play over the course of its life, replace immediately.

Thuren Fabrication Leaf Spring Shackle notes.

The way our Leaf Spring Shackles are designed they have a rather large cavity that holds grease between the bushings, so when new, it may take 10+ pumps of your grease gun to feel a bit of pressure, which will signify that the grease cavity is full. Once the cavity is full, there should only be a single pump or so of grease needed at oil change intervals.

Similar to our Track Bar, the Leaf Shackles are a tight high-pressure bushing that can sometimes make a slight creaking noise until they break in. With some miles driven, the noise will stop. Work that Synthetic Grease into them and after 500 miles or so, they should be smooth as silk. If by chance they are still being a bit noisy after 500 miles, loosen the main mounting pivot bolt a couple rotations, pump in some Synthetic Grease while the bolt is loose, and re-torque the bolt to about 120ft/lbs. They should be quiet now!

Thuren Control arms, and 2014+ 2500 rear trackbar notes.

These joints are not the same machined high-pressure joints like our Track Bar bushings are, so even when new, they flow grease fairly easily. Once you see some Synthetic Grease flow out the side of the bushing, even slightly, the bushing is happy and full of grease.