I was replacing the front sway bar end link bushings with some new ES ones. The FSM says 16-22 N*m. So, I set my torque wrench to 16 Nm and kept turning. The bushings now are less then a half their original hight but the wrench doesn't click yet. I'm afraid of damaging the bushings.
Any suggestions?

 

Any experience ? I could really use some help here.

 

could it be your torque wrench that isn't working like it is supposed to? have you tried turning it down to see if it will click then?

 

Squish the hell out of em.

Just take care that the FSM assumes the bushings are dry. If you're using ES bushings and added any of the grease they provide, I would set them to 2/3 of the FSM torque.

Dave

 

Most (if not all) click-type torque wrenches are not that accurate below 20% of their maximum torque value. If not already using one, I'd use an in-lb torque wrench and multiply by 12.


With that said, they will be squished down a surprisingly good amount at the proper torque.


Edit: I see you're using N-m's, but the concept still applies. If the proper spec is below 20% of the maximum you will invariably end up overtightening the fastener.

 

torque it till it breaks then back off a 1/4 turn

 

i'm about to do this as well in a few days....I never know when to stop tightening without the click of a tq wrench

 

Thank you all. So, They should be compressed a lot.

I was actually about 1 turn away from clicking at 16.7 N*m (the minimum on my torque wrench).



Is this true ??! I would expect they calibrate it to be acurate somewhere in the midle of the scale.

 

I was taught not to use a torque wrench within 10% of it's lowest or highest setting. So if you had a 0-100 in/lbs torque wrench, it's accurate usable range would be 10-90 in/lbs. This was for military aviation use, which tends to be more strict than FAA guidlines, and it was in our maintenance manuals. Our torque wrenches were recalibrated every 6 months, or anytime they were dropped, which happened all too often.

 

i have a 30 dollar tq wrench from orielley's how accurate is that?

 

Most likely not very, but probably okay for anything but engine work.

 

FSM says 16-22, so, you need about 30% accuracy at 19 N*m. I think even a cheap wrench should have that.

 

haha I was just kidding about its accuracy, its a POS. originally in the FSM I didnt see the "inch pounds" or whatever the increment is and just tried to torque them to foot pounds but it just kept spinning which is when I came to the org and figured out what I did wrong. But anyway I'll be replacing mine soon, I hope I get that satisfying click from the wrench.

I'll buy an electric craftsman one for motor work mtrai

 

alright I went to replace my bushings today and encountered the problem this thread is about. My torque wrench probably isnt accurate down at 20ft lbs but I dont even think that is the main issue. The problem is that the pass. side nut was alot tighter than the driver side but only had the bushings squished half as much. I was still tightening the nut on the driver side and according to the tq wrench it was only half as tight (10 ft lbs). I could also tell just from putting a ratchet on it that it was much harder to turn one side than the other. SO I guess my best bet is visual inspection of the bushings now...can anyone tell me if they are tightened enough or maybe need to be loosened based on these pics? Also, I didnt add any grease to the link bushings because the instructions said not to...
driver side:

pass side:

I tightened down the passenger side a little bit after the pics...I'm just really not sure what I should be going for here.
Another thing I noticed was how the sway bar bushings kind of squeeze out of the metal piece that bolts down over them, almost as if its too tight.
this look normal?

 

How did u manage to tighten down the sway bar with all four wheels on the ground?

 

lol what? I didnt...the wheels were removed and the car lifted.

 

When I replaced mine (with ES bushing), my torque wrench did not click either. So I stop when the bushing got squished to about the same as the old bushing. I think the driver side looks about right. The passenger side needs a few more turns. After you are done with the wrenching, check to make sure the end link ball joint is perpendicular with its mounting on the control arm. Unfortunately, to get its angle right, you have to put load on the control arms, e.g. lower the car on its wheels.

 

thanks. I'll take another look at it tomorrow, I dont know why the pass. side had so much more tension on it.

 

Actually, I thought you were supposed to torque these bolts with loaded control arms. I just used the jack under the arms to do so.

 

Before I changed my sway bar bushings, the directions in the Chilton Manual states that never finally tighten the bushing bracket bolts without normal weight on the front wheels. Your supposed to snug the bolts down, bounce the car, then final tighten.

 

$30 bucks? Damn where did you find that? Even Crapsmens are like $140.

 

GStrength- what do you mean bounce the car? I did lower the car but then I raised it back up and didnt see a difference. I havent had time to inspect it again...everything feels pretty good. I think it solved my steering issue.

 

I put something solid under the wheels and let the front end down before tightening everything. Then I lay on my back alongside of the car and reach under to tighten the bolts. Not that hard IMO.

 

well maybe i'll go loosen them up a little and try it again the correct way...yeah? And make sure the links are not in an awkward position as was mentioned before, right?

 

I didnt notice a difference, and I did it with a load on the control arms (individually). I dont know if this is how it should be but the end links appear to be cocked all the way towards the rear of the car. I'll get pictures if that doesnt make sense, i'm just being lazy.

 

bump for help. i never took pictures but I will try to take them tomorrow if I get some response. My steering is really unpredictable when the steering wheel is in the middle. When taking a turn it seems fine, but within like 10 degrees in the middle it seems like there is play. Im thinking it could be my rack but the end links never seemed right either.

edit- I checked the fsm again and clearly this is wrong. But the thing is...I dont understand how to make them sit properly. To me it just didnt seem like the sway bar was going to allow them to be at the proper angle.