phantaz Posted March 13, 2006 Share Posted March 13, 2006 hi guys... quick question for you i hope.. im redoing the bushings on the front of my 77z.. swaybar, a arm and such and when i received my bushings from energy suspension i realized there were absolutely no torque specs for the sway bar bushings .. i had both front and rear swaybar bushings replaced when i had my steering rack raplaced and they did it for free so ive never actually installed any. so any ideas of what the specs are or is this a shade tree type thing that you tighten until they split then back off 1/2 turn lol i took a quick peek through the search and came up with way to much about fabrication of swaybars and nothing about the bushings. thnx for any input or thoughts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueovalz Posted March 13, 2006 Share Posted March 13, 2006 Not official, but I compress mine until the OD of the bushing is almost (but not larger) the same as the cup-washer OD. You don't want to squash them down to where the bushings become wider than these washers, but you also want sufficient preloading as well. If possible, set the car down on ramps (blocks, etc) so that the suspension is at its normal ride height before tightening the bushings in place. This will help insure the bushings are properly aligned with the holes in the swaybar ends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phantaz Posted March 14, 2006 Author Share Posted March 14, 2006 Blueovalz..... thast close to what i did when i replaced the bushings on my camaro. i had it on ramps so it was sitting normal and tightened the bushings on the links until they were slightly compressed to the size of the upper and lower washer. but not bulging .. im assuming this worked since they seem to have lasted 3 years just fine but im still a little worried about setting them correctly as im going to try some track time in this car for the first time and i want to make sure that everything is tightened down right.. thnx for the info though =) helps that someone had the same thoughts on it.. any other thoughts people?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted March 14, 2006 Share Posted March 14, 2006 Quicky trick you can do to remove the preload in the bar: Start with the control arm touching the bushings and the bushings sitting on the center sleeve on the passenger side. Sit in the car and have a person underneath adjust the drivers side by adding washers in between the bushings so that it is the same, with the endlinks set so that the bushings just touch the center sleeve and the control arm. Then tighten both sides evenly. This trick removes preload from the bar and makes the bar act the same way in left and right turns. Swaybar preload is not really a critical thing, but it's one of those little things that adds up to make the car better overall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phantaz Posted March 14, 2006 Author Share Posted March 14, 2006 That sounds extrmely simple yet one of those things you might never think of.. just tightening things the same woudl work fine unless your cars frame is twisted or uneven suspension settings.. have to add this one to my list of KISS..."keep it simple stupid" items. Thnx J. not to dog this one but any ideas about the torque settings on those graphite bushings? Since i havnt yet done this tip you mentioned im not sure if by doing it you will set the torque or it will balance itself out? i realize its just bushings but im a bit worried about not preloading them enough and defeating the purpose or to much and they split or crush the first couple of weeks. I'm beginning to realize how much there is to suspension then what i thought... just buy some springs and shocks and throw them on and go.. not quite plug and play as i assumed =) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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