The poly bushings that come with the rl sway bar are driving me nuts, I want to put the Oem bushings back on. Are jackstands or a lift required? I'm not a mechanic but Its my understanding the sway bar is not load bearing? Can Ramps be used, I have access to Ramps but not stands....any input is appreciated in doing this myself

 

Ramps will work. I installed my RL sway bar using only ramps. I'm interested in if the OEM bushings will fit ok since the sway bar is slightly thicker. Once the weather warms up I'm going to either swap out the poly for the rubber OEMS or try wrapping the bar with teflon.

 

Thank you for reminding me, I want to wrap Teflon as well....

 

Also what kind of grease is best for the Oem bushings or would Teflon be the better option

 

I don't believe rubber bushing need grease. As a matter of fact, some types of grease will degrade the rubber over time. When I took off the OEM sway bar and bushings, I did not see any grease. As for the Teflon, I was going to use that for the poly bushings to try to eliminate the squeaks.

 

Been researching this myself since I have a RSB on order. This seems to be a really good lube to use. Not sure teflon tape is overkill or not-- I just heard that you need to really lube the heck out of the bushing before install. I may add teflon tape just for extra measure...

http://www.energysuspensionparts.com...shing-Lube.asp

 

When i received my RL RSB, they included a small packet of this energy suspension prelube. Unfortunately, maybe that packet wasn't enough because i had squeaks after 3-4 months. I did buy a larger tub of it from amazon and plan on relubing and adding teflon tape to hopefully eliminate the squeaks permanently. I also heard that anti-sieze acts as a very good lube for poly bushings since its very slick and doesn't wash away easily.

 

When I installed my rl rear sway bar I used the bushings and grease they provided. After about 2 months I was under the car regreasing the bushings due to a obnoxious squeak/creaking over bumps. A few months later the same annoying squeak/creaking appeared, by then I had enough. Swapped the racingline bushings with the oem ones from the original sway bar, used some Mobil 1 synthetic grease and haven't had a problem in almost a year.

 

That's good to hear, ever now and then I'd spray some silicone spray around the area and the noise will disappear until it rains or just wears off. I can't wait to put the oem bushings back on and put this issue behind me

 

So the OEM bushing will fit an aftermarket RSB?

 

Absolutely. There's a groove in the bracket that goes over the bushings, the oem bushings fill that groove the racingline bushings don't. I'm not sure if that played a role in drying out the grease but I'd like to think so. Either way my older bro has a 7th gen maxima when we did his RL rear sway bar we threw the racingline bushings to the side after the bad experience I had and we stuck with the oem and sure enough he never experienced any squeaking or creaking noises. My advice, stick with the oem bushings and save yourself the trouble.

 

My sway bar is currently connected to the outer holes with the RL endlinks. On highway turns the car handles better but there is a slight delay before the sway bar kicks in. When time permits I will reinstall to the inner holes. Just curious how you guys have installed it.

 

Mine is on the softer setting. If going to the stiffer setting, I would replace the end links with the ones from RL.

 

What he said

 

Thanks! Thinking that I will use the OEM bushings since they should still be good since I just got the car last October...

 

Hey guys!
Question for you who have installed the Racingline RSB on a 7th Generation Maxima...
Is the RSB a direct bolt on for the Maxima even if you use the stock end links?
I was reading on an Altima site where the poster said that he had to drill out the holes on the Racingline RSB in order for them to fit on the stock end links. Yeah it was an old post but it got me thinking.
Kind of second-guessing myself now wondering if I should have ordered the Racingline end links as well...
Thanks in advance for any input...

 

No, you should be fine. Yes it is a direct bolt-on. Heads-up play grabbing the RL over the Stillen, too. Just my opinion but I have handled both rear sway bars side by side and felt the RL was better quality - - not that the Stillen one was shoddy or anything, might I add. Also, I've had no issues with the polyurethane bushings that came with the RL rear sway bar, either; just make sure that you grease the S**T out of them and you'll be fine. I didn't do enough the first time around and got the creaking noises, but after getting back under there and doing it again there have been no issues for over a year now. Good luck with that.

As for the end links, I grabbed the top end links because my car is lowered on Eibach springs, and in retrospect it may have not been necessary for me to have done that but just did it for the peace of mind factor. Done and done, ya know?

Are you referring to drilling & elongating hole in sub-frame for proper fitment of SPC rear camber kit & toe bolt? I did that when lowering on the Eibach springs to ensure the car came out all green on the alignment sheet and fell within spec. No issues or any of that and I've kept tabs on it.

 

No, the Altima owner was having a problem strictly with the hole on the RSB not being large enough to bolt onto the stock end links so he drilled out the holes to make them bigger. I'm thinking it was a defective piece...

 

They make that big of a difference?