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    Busted Sway Bar (long)

    Has anyone ever changed their stock sway bar bushings? I decided at 10:00 pm last night to change mine. Looked pretty simple, 1 bolt on either side and remove the mounting brackets, slide off the old bushing, put new one on the bar and bolt the brackets back on.

    RIGHT!!!!! Getting them off is not the issue, putting them back on however is another thing altogether. The new bushings are much bigger due to being new and not compressed yet. Getting them to line up is a BEEEYOOCH! After much cursing and sweating under the car, I got the driver’s side on. Ok, now I have the trick, leverage and a pair of vice grips. Now the passenger side. Remove the bracket. Wow that was much easier, but why did the whole bracket and bushing come off together? OH that’s why, the sway bar is broken and was being kept together by the bushing!!!!

    I ended up still putting what was left of the bar into the bushing and put the bracket back on (busted the bolt first of course and had to find another one to fit).

    Now I guess it’s time for a sway bar upgrade. Any suggestions?

    Cheers.
    BimmerheadBri
    '86 325 (eta)

    #2
    it's not that hard. get some dish soap, some HOT water, and make a really soapy solution. stick the bushings in there for a good 20-30 minutes. you'll need to start them by hand (twist them back and forth a bit). then you can use a 17mm socket or something similar, and use a rubber hammer to smack that bitch on there (or just push, in any case it's easier). or, you could use your girlie muscles and press it on with your hands like a real man. :)

    anyway, Suspension Techniques makes a good setup for the E30. there's others too, check out this thread:
    Build thread

    Bimmerlabs

    Comment


      #3
      Why didn't I ask someone BEFORE I started....

      That makes SOOOOO much more sense. Soften up the rubber and get it nice and slippery, then would go in like butta!

      Now I just have to find a replacement sway bar. Aside from the iX and M3, would the others just bolt up? Also, would I need new bushings and mounts for these thicker bars?

      Thanks.
      BimmerheadBri
      '86 325 (eta)

      Comment


        #4
        man I just replaced the drivers side sway bar bushing on my car last week (doing the passengers side as soon as the rubber part comes in) and it woulda saved me some time/energy to use soap...

        I honestly didn't find it THAT difficult, it was easy compared to the control arm rubber bushings or a ball joint (note: cutting torches are your friend...and possibly enemy)

        I just did what you did, I think...Got it on as far as I could, then used a set of channel locking pliers to get it into its approximate place, then put the bolt in and finish it up.

        About the sway bar broken though...that sucks. There is a thread in the FAQ forum about sway bar sizes/companies. Has pretty much all you need to know to find a sway bar that the right size you want, just gotta know what size you want.

        Comment


          #5
          Notice any differance after the new bushing's mine are in sad cracked shape..

          Comment


            #6
            well...considering the fact that the metal part was practically rusted completely off and wasn't actually holding it in place on the drivers side anymore...YEAH!

            As far as the rubber making a difference, I bet it would, but I couldn't tell you how much because I haven't even registered my car yet (monday, hopefully :) )

            Comment


              #7
              yeah, my swaybar was completely disconnected. I raced my last autox without it, didn't realize it until later..
              Build thread

              Bimmerlabs

              Comment


                #8
                yeah, mine makes a lot less noise in the front now...also makes even less noise now that I replaced that ball joint that was rattling around. As my dad put it "its a bmw, its not supposed to be noisy and rough" I guess he is right.

                Comment


                  #9
                  I had a parts car that the front sway bar was rusted out under the bushing too....oil your cars kids....

                  Comment

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