Andrizzle
Dedicated LVC Member
Okay I spent pretty much all of my Saturday afternoon replacing these suckers... I started off with an oil change as I needed one soon and decided to knock it out while its jackstood.
I have been needing to replace these for a while now, and finally did them today.
I took some photos along the way:
(I started on the Passenger side)
Before beginning from these photos, you will need to remove the bottom skid plate and the lower rubber/plastic piece in the wheel well behind the control arms.
First, remove the top bolts to your front links.
Now begin looking for access to the bolts on the actual bushing brackets. For the bolt closest to the front of the car, you will need a small extension on your socket to reach over the bushing. The bolt closest to the block is easy to get out and is not a problem.
Next I moved over to the driver's side. This one is the more difficult of the two. I had to use a box wrench to get the bolt closest to the block as seen here.
The bolt closest to the front on the driver's side is very annoying. I managed to sneak a socket wrench up there and place the handle side of the wrench towards the block and belt assembly and work the bolt loose in like 1/15th turns as there is hardly any room, it took probably ten minutes just for this bolt.
Congratulations, your sway bar is now free. Or is it? It is impossible to actually take it out without doing major disassembling, however you can scoot the bar side to side about 6 inches each way. This is helpful when it is time to cut, which seen by here I began cutting on the Passenger side. Finding a good angle to attack the cutting is probably the hardest part, I had on goggles and long sleeves as metal shards and molten rubber go flying all over the place during this. I strongly recommend if you are cutting with a dremel or angle grinder to use extreme caution with your eyes - you only get two.
Great job! You got the old bushing out! Now you can hammer it and throw it against the wall as you vent some frustration from the huge pain it was to remove safely.
Move over to the driver's side now and cut the same way as you did before.
You did it! Both of your bushings are now removed and the sway-bar has even more wiggle room. However it is now time to reinstall new bushings.
Before you bust out the new bushings, be sure to PRE GREASE THEM. There is a fitting on them to be regreasable, but to avoid the annoying factor, just grease them while they're off. I used the provided grease on the inside, and added some other grease to the actual bar where the bushings sit. Also at this time, make sure you sway-bar links are re-inserted into the sway-bar before you secure the bushings.
This is the passenger side bushing installed and waiting to be tightened. (reverse bolt removal process to reinstall)
Here is another angle after being tightened.
This is the driver's side bushing installed into its SNUG location. Reinstalling this bushing is the most difficult due to the awkward position of it.
Now you are finished! Clean up your hands and tools and take it for a spin.
I wanna note that as it has removed a clunking sound, I still have a weird clunk/vibration on some bumps... I don't notice it unless the music is off, but it bugs me. I will try and figure out what is going on. I inspected the possibility of the sway-bar hitting the control arms, but there is no marks on either the bar or arms from contact. I will be on the hunt still.
I have been needing to replace these for a while now, and finally did them today.
I took some photos along the way:
(I started on the Passenger side)
Before beginning from these photos, you will need to remove the bottom skid plate and the lower rubber/plastic piece in the wheel well behind the control arms.
First, remove the top bolts to your front links.
Now begin looking for access to the bolts on the actual bushing brackets. For the bolt closest to the front of the car, you will need a small extension on your socket to reach over the bushing. The bolt closest to the block is easy to get out and is not a problem.
Next I moved over to the driver's side. This one is the more difficult of the two. I had to use a box wrench to get the bolt closest to the block as seen here.
The bolt closest to the front on the driver's side is very annoying. I managed to sneak a socket wrench up there and place the handle side of the wrench towards the block and belt assembly and work the bolt loose in like 1/15th turns as there is hardly any room, it took probably ten minutes just for this bolt.
Congratulations, your sway bar is now free. Or is it? It is impossible to actually take it out without doing major disassembling, however you can scoot the bar side to side about 6 inches each way. This is helpful when it is time to cut, which seen by here I began cutting on the Passenger side. Finding a good angle to attack the cutting is probably the hardest part, I had on goggles and long sleeves as metal shards and molten rubber go flying all over the place during this. I strongly recommend if you are cutting with a dremel or angle grinder to use extreme caution with your eyes - you only get two.
Great job! You got the old bushing out! Now you can hammer it and throw it against the wall as you vent some frustration from the huge pain it was to remove safely.
Move over to the driver's side now and cut the same way as you did before.
You did it! Both of your bushings are now removed and the sway-bar has even more wiggle room. However it is now time to reinstall new bushings.
Before you bust out the new bushings, be sure to PRE GREASE THEM. There is a fitting on them to be regreasable, but to avoid the annoying factor, just grease them while they're off. I used the provided grease on the inside, and added some other grease to the actual bar where the bushings sit. Also at this time, make sure you sway-bar links are re-inserted into the sway-bar before you secure the bushings.
This is the passenger side bushing installed and waiting to be tightened. (reverse bolt removal process to reinstall)
Here is another angle after being tightened.
This is the driver's side bushing installed into its SNUG location. Reinstalling this bushing is the most difficult due to the awkward position of it.
Now you are finished! Clean up your hands and tools and take it for a spin.
I wanna note that as it has removed a clunking sound, I still have a weird clunk/vibration on some bumps... I don't notice it unless the music is off, but it bugs me. I will try and figure out what is going on. I inspected the possibility of the sway-bar hitting the control arms, but there is no marks on either the bar or arms from contact. I will be on the hunt still.
