Whiteline rear sway bar installation... what a nightmare

[nightfire]

5 hours. FIVE hours to install that damned thing. Every bolt seized, and impossible to access. Had to grind them all off with a dremel! I couldn't even employ my big grinder.

$130 worth of new end links.

Then there's the matter of bolting it back up to the car... struggling with vice grips and clamps to hold it in place while fishing the bolt through.

This thing better be worth it...

[onlytrueromeo]

^+1 I havn't even installed mine yet as it hasn't gotten here, but I DID do my front endlinks, and they were the same. Not enough space to use my grinder, so stuck using wimpy dremel. I was too afraid to use a torch on them too. I might take a crack at the backs and just install the new endlinks I have that way when it comes time to install the sway bar, 1/2 the battle is done!

[nightfire]

Heh.

If you change your end links I'd recommend picking up some new nuts (haha) because the ones that came (with mine anyway) have bent threads on one end to help secure the nut on the bolt. It's hard to explain. But you'll know when you get the nut 90% on, suddenly it'll be really hard to turn.

Great if you're never touching the endlinks again, but if you plan to take them off at some point, they're probably permanent.

[Whisper]

Wow, I must have gotten lucky with my end links. Took about an hour to get the swaybar in, and half of that time was spent aligning it.

I did replace all the end links, though, just as a maintenance thing.

[onlytrueromeo]

My endlinks were all frozen..but I bought the solid spherical ones from Wytbishop a long time ago in preparation to do mine.

[nightfire]

Wow, I must have gotten lucky with my end links. Took about an hour to get the swaybar in, and half of that time was spent aligning it.

I did replace all the end links, though, just as a maintenance thing.

Did you end up grinding the old ones off, or did you manage to get them free?

My endlinks were all frozen..but I bought the solid spherical ones from Wytbishop a long time ago in preparation to do mine.

I wish I had.. instead I spent $130 on stock ones after realizing that mine were completely seized.

[Whisper]

I got them free with a generous helping of PBblaster.

[fowljesse]

It took me about 20 minutes to do mine, includung reshaping the straps that hold the bushings on (they were home made to fit bushings from another car), and I had to cut an endlink off by putting the blade on the other side of the endlink, and attatching it upside-down to the handle part. I also used a bit of PB. Itwould have been worth it, if it had taken me all day! I have finally acheived nuetral handling.

[nightfire]

It took me about 20 minutes to do mine, includung reshaping the straps that hold the bushings on (they were home made to fit bushings from another car), and I had to cut an endlink off by putting the blade on the other side of the endlink, and attatching it upside-down to the handle part. I also used a bit of PB. Itwould have been worth it, if it had taken me all day! I have finally acheived nuetral handling.

So you like it? I haven't gone for a test drive yet.. gonna go install my big brake kit in a few.

[fowljesse]

Oh, dude...
I put it on with Wytbishop's endlinks, and now my suspension is complete.
I love it!
There's an onramp that I use to test the limits..
In the stock GS, I can go in at about 45, and exit about 65, with a little loss of traction.
In the fast car, before the swaybar, I'd go in at about 60, and exit at about 85 (with understeer, front wheels "drifting").
With the swaybar, I haven't found the limit, yet, but I can go in at about 70, and have exited at about 90. The wheels haven't broken loose yet. When autocrossing, I've lost traction 3 times, each time was very predictable, and easily corrected.
I have adjusted the endlinks to have more tension on the passenger's side, and contraction on the other, for corner balancing.

[wytbishop]

Of the half dozen or so cars I've taken the suspension off in the last year and a half I have only ever successfully removed one stock end link without grinding or oxy/acetylene.

You think that's bad, wait till you have to change the lateral link bushings. You should just go ahead and order your new spindle bolts now.

[onlytrueromeo]

Are those the really long ones? I already got one side of those loosened. The ones I had problems with were the bolts that held the arm to the frame.

[nightfire]

I actually bent the driver's trailing arm using it to jack up the car.

Someone told me it was safe and wouldn't bend. Not only did it bend, it bent considerably. My alignment is probably way off now.

[Mooneggs]

Someone told me it was safe and wouldn't bend.

don't listen to them anymore

[nightfire]

Heh, no kidding. Wish I could remember who it was.

Well, anyway, I drove around for an hour today with my new swaybar. Noticeable improvement. The back end doesn't slog around as much, and turn-in is quite a bit better. The delay between steering input and direction change feels like it's been cut by 25%.

I wonder if changing my front swaybar bushings to polyurethane would make the same level of difference... I have them, but installation looks like another nightmare.