"Rubbing Styrofoam" sound from rear when hitting bumps

Howdy,
I seem to have a weird sound coming from the rear when I hit speed bumps head-on. It sounds like the suspension or whatever is rubbing against styrofoam and the car moves up and down; that's about the best way to describe it. Any suggestions? What loose bolts do I need to check, and where are they exactly?

[svx6595]

I have that same problem. I only get it when it gets really cold though. Any Ideas

Larry

[nordique14]

I lived with that noise for about a year until I had it looked at a few months ago. Only happened when the rear tires went over speed bumps. Turned out to be the rubber bushings that hold the rear sway bar. The dealer put some lube on the bushings and all was good. Well, good until one of the bolts fell out. But that's another story.

I have noticed that the noise is slowly coming back (after about 6 months). But it's still not anywhere near as bad as it was.

Matt

That's exactly what it is. No real problem with that 'cept the noise.

Mike

Originally posted by svx6595
I have that same problem. I only get it when it gets really cold though. Any Ideas

Larry

Yeah, it's just now that it's gotten cold that I've noticed it. I just saw the other post above; I'll look into getting those bushings lubricated. Thanks guys

[SVXdc]

Originally posted by gcookaustin
I seem to have a weird sound coming from the rear when I hit speed bumps head-on. It sounds like the suspension or whatever is rubbing against styrofoam...

Mine does this too. Funny, I didn't notice that it only happened in colder temperatures, but now that you mention it...

I even asked a Subaru dealer to look into it awhile back, but they couldn't reproduce the noise. Obviously they hadn't heard about this problem before. (Why not? They're supposed to know everything about SVXs, right? )

So for do-it-yourselfers, what kind of lube is best? Will white lithium grease work?

[Beav]

Never use anything but silicone-based lubricants on synthetic rubber, otherwise you'll end up with swollen, rotten and disintegrating parts.