Broken Front Sway Bar

[TaterNuts]

Well today, I was driving very good, not beating on my bird at all and I turned the wheel to the right and heard a bad clunking noise. Got it home and it was dark, so i looked with a flashlight and after turning my wheel all the way to the right, i see in there that the sway bar had Broken off the stablizer pin. im sure that it is broken and not just the pin cause i can see it. Are these hard to change? should i get a stock used one or performance one? and if a performance one, what would i benefit from it.

Im new with this firebird, 1999 y87 package, only had it three weeks and so far i had to replace the coils, spark plugs, wires, and now sway bar and bushings...

any help or tricks would be greatly appreciated

[hockeyman]

The endlink broke. Not a big deal, and somewhat easy to change.
Here is a list of swaybars on ebay.

Endlinks shouldn't be too expensive, probably around $15-$25 for a set.

Can't do a writeup right now, gotta go to bed and be up early for court. Hopefully, someone else can do a writeup for you on how to replace them.

[Loochy88]

an endlink is essentially a long bolt with bushings around the contact points.

go to autozone and pick up a set of Energy Suspension endlinks.

to replace it youre going to need to jack up the car, and remove the endlinks. theres also a couple of bushings/brackets that are in the center that will need to come out if you do infact need to replace the sway bar. bracket on drivers side has an extra assembly holding it to the car that needs to come off. the endlink you didnt break whill probably break when you take it off. brackets go back on before endlinks. thread the new endlinks in there the same way you took the old ones out and in the same direction. tighten them up a bit and youre probably going to want the front end loaded before you torque them, torque specs are like 16 or 17 lbs. its a simple job. make sure you've greased everything up real good.

good luck.

[ March 02, 2006, 02:53 AM: Message edited by: Loochy88 ]

[TaterNuts]

ok, you all have been great but the problem is that the actual swar bar is broken. the end links are actually in-tact. i didnt think that the links would be hard to change, i had a broken one on my 91 camaro and just cut it off with a torch and threw a new one on.

I guess i didnt go into detail with my problem. to change the actual bar itself, is there anything special that i need to do. IE - is the bar under some kind of load like springs or is it just bolt off and bolt new one in. i am going to replace both endlink pins also. cause if it anything like my camaro, there going to need cut off, (rust).

also, the replacement bar. should a stock one suit me fine, or should i get an aftermarket high performance one. stock one on ebay brand new $47 http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-G...70777752QQrdZ1

basically, how would i benefit or would i benefit from an aftermarket performance on. everything on the car is currently stock right now and low on funds

thanks all

[hockeyman]

The 32mm Bar is good, but in order to have a solid suspension (and personal safety), you'll need to upgrade to better springs and shocks.

Just stay with the stock swaybar which is a 28mm.

[Antiricer4u]

the only time the bar is under load is when one wheel is loaded and the other is'nt in which case the bar will try and force the unloaded wheel up to try and follow the loaded wheel.

[FunkZ]

I've got my old 30mm bar if you don't want to go too big with the rest of your stock suspension.

That 1LE is the same bar I put on mine.

[D_Fisher]

I have the old stock bar from my 96 Camaro. I will sell it for $25 plus actual shipping. If you are interested, email me at d_fisher100 at hotmail dot com.

[nikon]

Originally posted by TaterNuts:
ok, you all have been great but the problem is that the actual swar bar is broken. the end links are actually in-tact. i didnt think that the links would be hard to change, i had a broken one on my 91 camaro and just cut it off with a torch and threw a new one on.

I guess i didnt go into detail with my problem. to change the actual bar itself, is there anything special that i need to do. IE - is the bar under some kind of load like springs or is it just bolt off and bolt new one in. i am going to replace both endlink pins also. cause if it anything like my camaro, there going to need cut off, (rust).

also, the replacement bar. should a stock one suit me fine, or should i get an aftermarket high performance one. stock one on ebay brand new $47 http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-G...70777752QQrdZ1

basically, how would i benefit or would i benefit from an aftermarket performance on. everything on the car is currently stock right now and low on funds

thanks all

basically all the benefit you get it less body roll, the performance bar wont flex as much as your stock one, resulting in the decreased body roll, could give you a stiffer ride depending on the size of the bar, for instance your right front wheel hits a bump, that inturn is transmitted to your left front wheel, I lost some ride comfort, but I've done so many other things, I did'nt really have any comfort to begin with, so just stick with the stock bar, unless you plan on upgrading your suspension cause this would be the perfect time.

[shenanigans]

I have a stock 28mm bar if you are interested.

93-97 v6s had a 30mm front and a 17mm rear
98-02 v6s had a 28mm front and a 15mm rear