uh oh .. sway bar reinstalation
02-12-2006, 12:01 PM
#1
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Thread Starter
uh oh .. sway bar reinstalation
I know this came up before but don't remember a response.
Got the sway bar OUT okay. put new bushings in the control arm. Any tricks to getting it back in without dropping control arm ?
Thanks.
Got the sway bar OUT okay. put new bushings in the control arm. Any tricks to getting it back in without dropping control arm ?
Thanks.
02-12-2006, 12:23 PM
#2
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ice: I've never been able to re-install an under body front sway bar without loosening one of the control arms. Figure out a way to mark its position before you begin and you probably will not lose your alignment.
Pete
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02-12-2006, 01:39 PM
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Doh!, Been there before but it was probably at least 8 or so years ago long before I was connected to a Rennlist or Pelican. I managed to get it back in but it was not the safest way to go about and I would recommend it. I ended using several come-a-longs to "persuade" it back in. I got within about 1/4 from going in then used a large hammer and it plunked right in. I'll never do that again.
Ed
Ed
02-12-2006, 03:12 PM
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sway bar
iceman:
i just put mine in yesterday. i had to drop the passenger side control arm. not that hard took about 35 - minutes to accomplish. here is how i did it.
1) jack up the car in front and put jack stands under each side. you have to be able to have room to manuver under the car. I had them in back as well. the car is about 2-feet up
and level. DO NOT USE THE CROSS MEMBER AS A JACKING OR SUPPORT POINT. SUPPORT ON THE BODY SEAMS ON EITHER SIDE AND JUST TO THE REAR OF THE CROSS MEMBER. - it will be safe this way. do this because you will be rocking the bar to get it inserted all the way into the bushing.
2) put a lever jack under the passenger tire and give it a "slight" lift just to relieve pressure off of the control arm axis. you are doing this so you have sliding room to drop the control arm. it will still be connected to the ball joint and strut.
3) take the 3 bolts off the front of control arm. cover will come off with this triad of bolts.
4) now on to the aluminum cross member. take the ride height bolt off from the end of the torsion bar cap. make sure to count the turns as you remove it. write it down. when you reinstall it put it back the same number of turns !
5) remove cap. should be able to wiggle exposed end of torsion bar if it is freed if not dont worry.
6) go to outside of car in front of passenger tire, reach in and take the large bolt that goes through the alumuinum cross member that holds the torsion bar housing that goes through the cross member. dont worry the cross member is not going anywhere. pull the bolt out.
7) now since you are in the position of just in front of the tire grab your right hand on the front end of control arm and your left just in front of the cross member. pull and wiggle toward the front of car. could have a helper on theier back under the car assisting you. just work at it and you will get it out. you might have to turn the wheel where you are to assist as well. when putting in the bushings do install them open seams to the inside center of car - not to the outside. do not grease them at all until they are installed making sure the mount is just clean. then put a dap of white lithium grease on the inside. when you have the
the busings in put white lithium grease on the drivers side end of your sway bar and insert it about a 1/2 inch beyond no more. then lithium grease the other end excessively. at this point have your helper stand by the outside just in front of passenger tire. you will then be able to manipulate the lover control arm and insert the bar into the bushing. that part is easy. you will then have to man handle the bar by pushing and rocking the bar into the bushing. be patient, work at it and it will go in. reassembly is the exact reverse of install. upon completion you will want at least and inch or so of bar exposed on either end beyond the busing.
good luck
antar911
i just put mine in yesterday. i had to drop the passenger side control arm. not that hard took about 35 - minutes to accomplish. here is how i did it.
1) jack up the car in front and put jack stands under each side. you have to be able to have room to manuver under the car. I had them in back as well. the car is about 2-feet up
and level. DO NOT USE THE CROSS MEMBER AS A JACKING OR SUPPORT POINT. SUPPORT ON THE BODY SEAMS ON EITHER SIDE AND JUST TO THE REAR OF THE CROSS MEMBER. - it will be safe this way. do this because you will be rocking the bar to get it inserted all the way into the bushing.
2) put a lever jack under the passenger tire and give it a "slight" lift just to relieve pressure off of the control arm axis. you are doing this so you have sliding room to drop the control arm. it will still be connected to the ball joint and strut.
3) take the 3 bolts off the front of control arm. cover will come off with this triad of bolts.
4) now on to the aluminum cross member. take the ride height bolt off from the end of the torsion bar cap. make sure to count the turns as you remove it. write it down. when you reinstall it put it back the same number of turns !
5) remove cap. should be able to wiggle exposed end of torsion bar if it is freed if not dont worry.
6) go to outside of car in front of passenger tire, reach in and take the large bolt that goes through the alumuinum cross member that holds the torsion bar housing that goes through the cross member. dont worry the cross member is not going anywhere. pull the bolt out.
7) now since you are in the position of just in front of the tire grab your right hand on the front end of control arm and your left just in front of the cross member. pull and wiggle toward the front of car. could have a helper on theier back under the car assisting you. just work at it and you will get it out. you might have to turn the wheel where you are to assist as well. when putting in the bushings do install them open seams to the inside center of car - not to the outside. do not grease them at all until they are installed making sure the mount is just clean. then put a dap of white lithium grease on the inside. when you have the
the busings in put white lithium grease on the drivers side end of your sway bar and insert it about a 1/2 inch beyond no more. then lithium grease the other end excessively. at this point have your helper stand by the outside just in front of passenger tire. you will then be able to manipulate the lover control arm and insert the bar into the bushing. that part is easy. you will then have to man handle the bar by pushing and rocking the bar into the bushing. be patient, work at it and it will go in. reassembly is the exact reverse of install. upon completion you will want at least and inch or so of bar exposed on either end beyond the busing.
good luck
antar911
02-12-2006, 05:20 PM
#5
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Thread Starter
Well guys .. all I can say is I am glad i tried it before reading your posts.. or otherwise I would have thought it couldn't be done. So i lube up the end bushings real well and don't even worry about the middle brackets. I smearr my KY jelly ( dow corning 112 I think ) all over the face of the bushing where the bar goes in. Than I slide the far side one in further than it needs to go . that moves the the bar further over then I am only about a quarter of an inch away. Then i just push for the last bit. IT goes in and deforms my rubber bushing a little but once it is in and I pull back on the opposite side the bushing comes right in line with all that grease on it . Then I just cleaned the excess. I did push the bushing out of the control arm on the first 2 tries , but on the third I had the technique down and got it . I think the trick is to put the split in the bushing towards the outside of the car ( at least for me ) so then the bushing has some give and lets the bar in. These were stock rubber bushings , anything else and I think I would have been hosed.
So that took about ten minutes.
Then I moved on to the rears. The rears believe it or not were trickier for one reason. I didn't know how to fasten up the drop links. Originally I thought they rotated on shoulder bolts but they don't . They are solid and fixed in place. But there is some variability on where they can be fastened down. For example I did mine with the suspension hanging , It may be differene with the car on the ground.
But I did what seamed to make sense. I put the rubber bushings on the bar against the shoulders on the bar and fastened that down. This centred the bar roughly. Then I tightened the links to the bar which caused them to rotate a little on the body connection while it found it's centre. . Then i tightened the connection on to the body. It turned out that the links pointed straight down when I was done so I think this was okay.
Oh one more thing. I am doing this as a project , not for any other reason, but when I got the drop links off I was shocked ... These links are obviously the lowest paert of the suspension and have taken some hits. I would encourage you the next time your car is in the air to take a peak at these. I atached a pic.
Anyway thanks guys . and now to get the shifter out ....hmmm....
So that took about ten minutes.
Then I moved on to the rears. The rears believe it or not were trickier for one reason. I didn't know how to fasten up the drop links. Originally I thought they rotated on shoulder bolts but they don't . They are solid and fixed in place. But there is some variability on where they can be fastened down. For example I did mine with the suspension hanging , It may be differene with the car on the ground.
But I did what seamed to make sense. I put the rubber bushings on the bar against the shoulders on the bar and fastened that down. This centred the bar roughly. Then I tightened the links to the bar which caused them to rotate a little on the body connection while it found it's centre. . Then i tightened the connection on to the body. It turned out that the links pointed straight down when I was done so I think this was okay.
Oh one more thing. I am doing this as a project , not for any other reason, but when I got the drop links off I was shocked ... These links are obviously the lowest paert of the suspension and have taken some hits. I would encourage you the next time your car is in the air to take a peak at these. I atached a pic.
Anyway thanks guys . and now to get the shifter out ....hmmm....
02-12-2006, 10:54 PM
#6
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I think now after reading the posts I know how I got it in . The split is to the outside instead of the inside. Unless someone thinks this is a really big deal I think I will just leave it .. especially given the high millage I put on it . 
02-13-2006, 11:28 AM
#7
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I would have thought that teflon grease might have been a better choice for the bushings to prevent future squeaking - KY is water soluble and will wash off very quickly.
Marc
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02-13-2006, 12:17 PM
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i remember seeing that the split goes to the inside. Mine are, in any event, because I remember that i put it in wrong, and then pushed it out and turned it around and put it back in. lots of 111
02-13-2006, 01:33 PM
#9
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Hi Jerry
I was thinking the same thing ( oh by the way I udes the term KY in jest I used 111 also ). when the weather warms up a little I bet i can shove that thing out and back in the other way. The problem is I brought them from inside the house where it was warm . They are now outside at -5C so I don't think they will be too willing to help me turn them around.
I was thinking the same thing ( oh by the way I udes the term KY in jest I used 111 also ). when the weather warms up a little I bet i can shove that thing out and back in the other way. The problem is I brought them from inside the house where it was warm . They are now outside at -5C so I don't think they will be too willing to help me turn them around.
02-22-2006, 12:58 AM
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The split on the bushings are to go to the inside of the car on the outside bushings and toward the front of the car on the two inboard bushings. The reason for this is dynamics. When the torsion bar exerts it's rotational force on a corner it pushes the bar outwards. If the split is on the out side the busing it will deform and cause the bar to flex more and control less while also causing premature failure.
The inboard bushings torque it to the rear and that is why the split goes to the front.
antar911
The inboard bushings torque it to the rear and that is why the split goes to the front.
antar911
02-22-2006, 04:37 PM
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Dumb question: Does "sway" bar = "stabilizer" bar? Is this the one that comes off with the stone guard? I was able to get it back on using both hands and a knee. Could my alignment be messed up now? I only removed it to pull out two A/C hoses.
