Love the prothane poly stuff,
been running it for years..
On the Jetta, I even seam welded the new control arms,
to increase rigidity over the stock spot welds.
I totally noticed the difference. (just kidding, could not feel it but I did seam weld them)
Squeaking? You gotta lube them puppies!
Prothane does not really give you enough goop, I just use full synth. grease, so I can be generous and wipe the excess after install.
re: Engine mounts.
a full kit (poly, or stiffer) is quite a commitment.
I did Black Forest Industries' complete green poly kit
on my Mk3 2.0 with a big cam, and it was like a complete shiatsu
massage from idle until about 3500 rpm.
The whole car vibrates to the frequency of the engine,
which can be good or bad.
It is good if you are launching the car, drag race style.
There is no rubber slop at all in the drivetrain.
It is bad when you take a girl out for the first time,
and she asks if you need her to drive because your car "feels broken"..
(really happened)
OP: you said there is some slop in the sway bar bushings?
-Which bushings? (under the subframe or on the control arm?)
-Slop like how?
There are different diameter sway bars from the factory, and you might have a smaller bar?
-Brad