Two months ago, I bought a 2003 Ranger with only 43,000 Miles on it. It was owned by the Federal Government and appears to be well maintained.

My problem is that the front suspension squeaks like crazy (it just started). I looked at the front sway bar bushings and they appear to be a pale yellow-ish color (or maybe beige color). Does this mean that the sway bar bushings were changed to polyurethane bushings ? Wouldn't the stock OEM bushings be Black Rubber ?

I'm not sure where the squeak is coming from.

Anyways, my questions:

What is the best way to remove and grease the sway bar bushings ? Should I get under the truck while raised up on ramps or do I need to jack the truck up and let the front wheels hang down before removing the sway bar bushing brackets ?

ALSO, would simply spraying all of the other bushings with a straw at the end of the silicone spray can get into the bushings or is spraying them ineffective ?

Finally, since I haven't crawled up under the truck yet, are there any zirk grease fittings that I should be looking for on a 2003 XLT 3.0 Flex Fuel ?

Step by step instructions would be appreciated before I tackle this on how to start eliminating the squeak. Please tell me an easy way to remove the sway bar bushings so I can grease them and does this yellowish color to the bushings mean that they were changed to polyurethane ? Do you guys have black color rubber bushings as OEM or are they also yellowish or beige in color ?

PS.....I bought a can of Silicone Spray Lube and a can of Lithium Grease Spray (Liquid Wrench Brand). Which one should I use ? I was planning on using dialectic grease and/or Teflon tape for the sway bar bushings.

Thanks everyone.

Gary

 

Bump. Me too.

 

For all my vehicles once a year or so, I use SiliconeLubeSpray on the
SuspensionRubberBushings+Sleeves & IgnitionKeySlot + Hinges+Locks+Latches & WindowGuides & InternalDoor+BodyPanels & ExposedBolts+Nuts ...
Seems to do a good job of minimizing Rubber\PlasticAging & MetalCorrosion & SuspensionSqeeks & keeping Door+Window+Key parts working.
Also use WireBrush + RustoleumFlatBlackRattleCan on any appearance of rust on BottomSide when under there for routine maintenance.
Others likely have different\better ideas.