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Old 02-20-2021, 04:27 PM   #1
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Join Date: Oct 2020
Location: KY
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Sway bar bushings

Just got done replacing front sway bar bushings tonight, did the rear ones a while ago. This was covered over on rennsport (I think) a while ago so I can't take credit for the idea.

The oem bushings are expensive (duh) and there aren't a ton of aftermarket options. But energy suspension makes universal ploy bushings that fit!

The rear ones are 19mm and the front are 23mm (measure yours before you buy them, if I recall correctly from the prepurchase research I did last fall different years have different bars, maybe only in the front).

Anyway, once you get them the process is straightforward. The rear bushings are held into place with 4 bolts, 2 per carrier. Just remove the bolts, carrier, and old bushing. Then grease the new bushing (included in the kit), replace on the bar, replace the STOCK carrier, and tighten bolts. Go slowly with the tightening - it's not a perfect fit but they will compress nicely and everything will line up properly when tightened to torque (40ftlbs). My passengers sides went perfectly, my driver's side did not and I stripped the threads on the frame (bonehead move, I got impatient and used an impact. That was the last time I used that tool on a car lol).

The front ones are a little more involved. Drop the front underbody panel (4 plastic nuts and 6 spring clips). You then have to rotate the boomerang shaped plates to drop the sway bar. To do this I removed the two bolts on either side of the swaybar, removed the most forward bolt that attaches to the frame, and then just loosed the bolt to the control arm enough so that I could spin the plate out of the way. The two diagonal bars must be then moved - forward bolts were removed and rear bolts just loosened to facilitate the needed movement. Once that is done on both sides the bar will drop down and you can remove the bushing and carrier. The brass carrier included with the new bushings is identical to the stock, so it's dealers choice here. The new bushing fits perfectly in either. Process from here is the same - grease new bushing, replace carrier, line up bolt holes, torque everything to spec. The whole process took 30 min.

When I did the rear bushings last fall the old ones didn't look worn and I had my doubts. However I could feel a real difference with hard turns (much less roll, as intended). So my hopes are that the front ones will be a nice update. The grease that these come with is pretty heavy stuff so it should last a good long while - be sure to use it! I made the mistake of not doing it when I first swapped my rears out and holy hell did they squeak going over speed bumps!

Below are the pics of the bushings I used. I didn't take any pics of the process (too distracted with the kids chasing each other with hammers, etc) but I can snap some of the final product if anyone wants.

Sent from my POCOPHONE F1 using Tapatalk

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Last edited by ike84; 02-20-2021 at 04:45 PM.
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Old 02-20-2021, 04:43 PM   #2
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Btw, the 4 bolts in the rear are 15mm (40ftlbs).

The bolts up front are as follows
2 bolts through boomerang on either side of sway bar 15mm (40ftlbs)
From bolt through boomerang to frame 16mm (75ftlbs)
Bolt through boomerang to control arm 18mm (120ftlvs)
Bolts on diagonal arms 16mm (75ftlbs)

Sent from my POCOPHONE F1 using Tapatalk
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2000 Box Base, Renegade Stage 1 performance mods complete, more to come
When the owners manual says that the laws of physics can't be broken by this car, I took it as a challenge...
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Old 02-23-2021, 05:15 PM   #3
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Hopefully I remember this when I refresh my suspension. Thanks

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