DIY: Cheap swaybar upgrade (Updated)

[Dano]

Our cars are old, so are the stock rubber bushings. Chances are your stock swaybar endlinks bushings are dried, cracked and rotting. Here's a cheap solution! AND.... you can get all the parts from your local Autozone for under $30! I learned about this from my good friends at AZ240sx years ago but their archive has kind of gone to the wayside, so I figured it's time for a refresher.

The goods, polyurethane bushings and new, beefy endlinks for the rear:

For the front - Energy Suspension bushing kit, part # 9.8105R ~$12For the rear - Energy Suspension replacement endlink kit # 9.8120R ~$16



THE REARWhat you'll need

-12mm box end wrench-14mm box end wrench-ratchet -12mm socket (I used a 12mm ratcheting wrench)-14mm socket

The stock rear endlink.

Remove the 12mm nut on the top and bottom of the endlink. The middle of the endlink is a 12mm to keep the endlink from rotating, this is what the 12mm box end wrench is for, you can also use visegrips. Once the nuts are off, remove the cups and rubber bushings, after both sides are this far, you can spin the swaybar up and remove the old endlinks. Discard them!

The old endlink vs. the new hotness.

Now put one of the new bushings in the bushing seat on top of the LCA, put one of the new, included, cupped washers on top of the bushing and slide the endlink bolt through them. Do that for both sides.

Now you can assemble the rest of the endlinks that go inbetween the LCA and swaybar in this order: LCA > bushing > cupped washer > included hollow spacer > cupped washer > bushing > swaybar. Now comes the fun part, after you assembled that for both sides, it's time to finish up. The new bushings are larger than the old compressed bushings so you'll need some assistance. Put the floor jack under the sway bar and compress the bushing enough to get the bottom bushing, cupped washer and included locking nut on. Both the locking nut and bolt are 14mm, and air tools make this a breeze . Tighten the nut, go to the other side and repeat the process. Put your wheels on cuz your done!

THE FRONTWhat you'll need:

-12mm box end wrench-14mm socket-ratchet

Use the 12mm to keep the endlink from turning and zip off the 14mm nut on the bottom, be careful, your reusing this nut. Do that to both sides and remove the old bushings and cups.

Old vs. new bushing

Slide the new cupped washer over the end. If you have some rust buildup, use some sandpaper and sand it off. Slide on the new bushing and put the endlinks back in the LCA.

Now comes the fun part. Due to the size of the new bushings you've got to compress the top bushing to get the bottom bushing, cupped washer and nut on. I put the floor jack under the LCA and raised it a bit. My 24" prybar wasn't enough leverage to compress the top of the swaybar, but my 4' jack handle was. Stick the handle under the frame and push down on the swaybar. Zip the bottom bushing, cupped washer and nut on, then repeat for the other side. Your done!

Now put away your tools, wash up, and take it for a spin. If your swaybar mount bushings are stock, I recommend replacing them too. Since I have a base model, I added an OE rear sway bar a few years ago with new bushings and brackets.

ALSO, ALWAYS USE JACK STANDS WHEN WORKING UNDER A CAR.

[1unar3clipse]

Awesome I was actually gearing up to do this to my hatch before I leave the country, awesome budget minded upgrade.btw I love the color of your car Dano.

[bt2s14]

Great write up, thanks for the inspiration.

[ILikeMy240sx]

A dab of grease on those polyurethane busings can't hurt. They tend to squeak more than the normal soft rubber ones.

I actually have polyurethane sway bar bushings on my daily beater Accord and that farcker squeaked like hell.

[usar89b]

wow, great write up. I just did the exact same thing not two weeks ago. I have a friend who works at Autozone, and she recommended the Energy Suspension products, because to OEM would have to be ordered. Personally I think we have both made the right choice!

[YOUNG240SX]

nice i saw looking at those sway bushing at pep boys but i didnt think they would fit cause they dont make nothing cheap that works good for our cars...im good to change my bushing week

[AZhitman]

In addition, you can shorten the sleeve somewhat (but not TOO much) to increase the effective rate of the bar.

Good writeup Dano!!!

[Dano]

In addition, you can shorten the sleeve somewhat (but not TOO much) to increase the effective rate of the bar.

Good writeup Dano!!!

Thanks! I thought about it, but opted not to shorten the sleeve on my particular setup because it's pretty tail-happy as it sits. Even with the 245s up front. I need a bigger front bar

Thanks 1unar3clipse!

[AceInhole]

Nice writeup. Another option is to cut and drill a 90deg angle bracket for the lower mount and bolt a couple heims through it. It's about $50 with all the hardware and bar stock.

http://i114.photobucket.com/al...1.jpg

No pics of the rear since I don't run a rear bar.

Edited picture into link to prevent lateral scrolling. -Admin

[Dave_Dynamite]

nice. i'm saving this page for later.

[s_13_steve]

Dan please post this here that way it can get saved (hopefully)~~~>>> http://www.az240sx.org/forums/...rum=2

good write up BTW, good for us po' folks

[94_240sx]

Nice writeup. Another option is to cut and drill a 90deg angle bracket for the lower mount and bolt a couple heims through it. It's about $50 with all the hardware and bar stock.

That's brilliant. Good job.

[s14brent]

verrrrrry nice!! ::borat::

[Project240]

Thanks Dan, this is definitely gonna be helpful. I've got a laundry list of stuff to do to my 'vert and sway bars is one of them, but at ~$250 for front&rear, there's a lot of stuff I need to spend money on first. This is definitely a nice compromise

Nice write-up!

[2projects2many]

Where do you put the extension cord and duct tape at?

[le_ryan]

does this apply exactly to the S13 .?

[Dano]

does this apply exactly to the S13 .?

Yes it does.

2projects2many - They go in the refridgerator, DUH.

[Repo Man]

And what are your driving impressions from this upgrade Dan?

[slyedog240sx]

this is a good deal and all but the front link has the ball socket type on the upper part of the link.When i changed mine the boot on both sides was blown so both front links needed replaced.As long as the boot on the upper part of the link is good then this diy will work fine otherwise a new link will be needed.Use minimal tourque on the upper part of the front link as iirc the fsm says 20ft lbs.

[s13fOr_me]

this looks like a good and cheap deal..i may do this, this weekend....could you really tell the difference from stock to the upgraded bushings?

[Warped161]

so what is the number for the rear link kit?

[Dano]

And what are your driving impressions from this upgrade Dan?

So far I like it a lot for the money. I regained what had been lost through the years from the rubber bushings deteriorating and the new rear endlinks are just beefy. But I can definately tell a difference going from old and busted to new and awesome.

[extreme]

part number number for rear please

[Warped161]

part number number for rear please

[IanS]

my autozone sucks doodle, the part # didnt bring anything up, and when I told them what kind of car it was for, they told me it was going to take like three weeks for them to come in, and they werent the energy ones, they were just the plane black ones.

[Dano]

I'm working on it. I've been gone and my Autozone blows, I couldn't get this stuff there, so i'm going through a buddy in Vegas. Hopefully will have the part number for you guys tomorrow . Thanks for being patient!

[S13Teddy]

So what would you like your custom title to be?

[Razi]

So what would you like your custom title to be?

[slyedog240sx]

every auto zone carries the generic rear link kit. I'm not at autozone to get the number but it is not necessarily vehicle specific.More of a univ application.7.5122 is what energy calls for the s13 app and7.5113 for the s14 this is bushings only.The generic kit with bolts and washers is dependent upon the length but all part numbers begin with 9.81 and the last two #'s depends on length i think it is 9.8149 that is 4 1/4" i not sure on the exact length of the rear link stock.

[Dano]

No, it's not application specific, which is why they're cheap.

I got the number from my buddy a little while ago. Your right mostly.

Rear # 9.8120R

Edited first post with info as well.