89sks

Hey guys,

I know I read somewhere (but cant seem to find it in search) where many of you had a squeek from your addco sway bars, what did you do to fix it? I did use polyurethane bushing grease on the bushings that attach to the links to the frame.

Also my bar hits where the recess for the spare tire hangs down, there's a little nub there and the bar is pressed up against it. Is this normal? Im not sure if my noise is there or the bushings?

Can anyone help me out, its really anoying?

Thanks,
Steve

Matt93SE

iTrader: (44)

Ummmm, are you sure you installed it correctly?

89sks

Yeah, pretty sure. I followed Lord Randall's writeup. Maybe I did something wrong but Im not sure what It might be. AFter I first installed it I didnt notice it hitting or squeeking but when I had 4 people in it and then later had it loaded with suitcases I noticed the squeeking and that it was hitting the spare tire recess. It stayed the same when I took all the weight out. Maybe the springs just need time to come back up to level?

Did yours ever squeek? How tight did you tighten the bolts etc?

Thanks

Lordrandall

iTrader: (4)

Check the mounts, did they break? That might let the bar come up far enough to hit the tire well. If not, it should not touch.

Matt93SE

iTrader: (44)

poiny being, the bar should never get near the spare tire well. there's two brackets back there to keep it about 2" away from the tire well. if it's rubbing, then you've messed something up.

Lordrandall

iTrader: (4)

Right

89sks

I dont think they broke, but I did try and reinforce original bracket with some flat iron, but it was kinda at an angle and maybe when I tightened the bolt to the link it wasnt tight enough and it has tilted or something. I dont remember it hitting when I first put it on, only after I had passengers in the rear seat. The addtional brackets I added have not moved. Im going to check there tomorrow if I can drive car up on some bricks or something. Thanks for the tips guys!

cneary812

don't forget that urathane bushings squeek no matter how much you grease them, it is a price you have to pay for stiffness. Also if you haven't reinforced your stock brackets and they haven't broken yet you may want to do it ASAP, unless you are an experienced welder and can fix them yourself

89sks

Ok, the way I had reinforced the brackets was part of the problem. I ran a piece of flat iron against the side of the original bracket and up to the side of the frame and had screwed two self tapping machine screws through the flat iron into the frame. Because the angle of the frame was not flat against the original bracket in addition to the sway supporter bolt not being tightened enough this caused the sway support bolt tilt up towards the car moving the sway bar up and allowed it to hit the spare tire swell. I moved the sway supports to the inside of my flat iron which kept things level and moved the sway bar down away from the spare tire swell where it was rubbing. Now I just need to get some bigger machine screws to hold the flat iron better against the frame. Hopefully this will hold, if not I have to find a welder in western Massachusetts.

Thanks guys!

Lordrandall

iTrader: (4)

Glad you got it figured out.

89sks

89sks

Hey guys,

So far my reinforced brackets are holding, but the self taping metal screws dont tighten down too much and they seem weak. How long did others factory mounts last before they broke. IM not sure if my reinforcements are helping or not. Im trying to find out if mine are going to hold since they havent broken yet or should I go and find someone to weld them before they do break.

Thanks!

cneary812

My factory mounts heald up for about 2 months I believe. Maybe 3 but not more than that. By the way I was and still do corner hard and put alot of stress on the brackets. So if you are a bit more concervative in your cornering yours may hold up longer.

cneary812

Oh I forgot to add that mine ripped right out of the brackets. If yours are still holding up I would get a welder to reinforce them BEFORE they break, otherwise it could be expensive to repair.

89sks

Do you think a muffler shop could do it? Who did you have weld yours?
Thanks!

cneary812

I went to a body shop to do it but the best place would be a speed shop that has experience welding frames. Most places won't touch that work because it is easy to start a fire inside the car if you do it wrong.

Matt93SE

iTrader: (44)

Bah.. take it to a muffler shop when they're not busy. they'll charge you a couple bucks and you'll be done. the biggest problem is that you still have to get the car on a lift- which costs them time (money).

reinforce the brackets using angle iron and self-tapping screws, then seal it with RTV silicone and paint over it with undercoater. problem solved, and it only cost you a coupld bucks for the screws. I used two 1/4" screws on each bracket and they've held on for over a year now. and if anybody drives their car hard enough to rip them loose, it's me.

Jeff92se

iTrader: (82)

Actually, if you have the car at the muffler shop, might as well have the weld new brackets.

89sks

Thats what I used. two self tapping metal screws about that long and something about 14x on them, basically the biggest or widest self tapping screws I could find at the hardware store. I got some flat iron about 2 1/2" wide a lttle more than 1/8" thick and long enough to extend past the bolt hole by about 1 inch. I had to tilt the flat bar at an angle leaning towards front of the car to get it to rest as flat as I could against the frame as it has a curve to it there. Does this sound right?

Do you have any pics of yours so that I could compare?

Sorry for all the trouble and questions, I just dont want to end up with a problem later if I can prevent it cheaply from the start.

Thanks again!