Of the replacement/modifications I have done, this ranks as a 4 of 5 for difficulty. My hands aren't really big, and I had a tough time getting them in the tight locations where the bolts reside. The replacement took me about 2 hours with taking pics for all you who need them. The bushings used were 7/8in Energy Suspension Poly bushings. I bought them at Advance Auto Parts for about $20.
First you want to remove both front wheels and place on jack stands.
Then you need to identify the sway bar bushings. Mine looked like this.
Next you need to have a 13mm wrench and 13mm socket. Make sure your wrench has very slim shoulders b/c there is not a whole lot of room around the bolts.
Note the tiny work space.
Now I started with the driver side, and it was the easier of the two to replace. I used a racheting wrench to remove both bolts and slid the old pieces off, and replaced it with the new Energy Suspension bushing, and the supplied bracket.
Please note I used the jack to lift the swing arm so the sway bar would rise enough for me to slide the bushing out. This will need to be done on both sides.
Now moving to the other side of the car. This bushing was not much fun to get to. I luckily had a very slim shouldered box end wrench that fit around the rear bolt. Please also not to remove with caution as there are fluid laden lines above the workspace.
Once you have removed the bolts, and lifted the swing arm as in the previous steps, you can remove the bushing. You will also notice that the passenger side is different then the driver side. It has shoulders around where the bushing sat to aid in installation at the factory.
Now seeing this problem, you need to reshape your passenger side bushing to fit in these shoulders. I took a utility knife and made a cut 1/8in by 1/8in in order to compensate.
After a few test fits, the bushing fit good enough to place on the new bracket.
Placing the brackets can be difficult but stick with it and they should eventually get into place. Snug up the bolts to just a little more then wrench tight. (I call this "Grunt Tight", as I usually grunt getting them tight enough.)
Now you are set to put the wheels back on and remove jack stands. I bought 'grease-able' fittings, and I will be going to a shop to have them greased, as my grease gun was too big.
EDIT: I went to the shop, and had to use a 90° grease fitting. The car feels tighter and most def has less roll in corners.
Let me know if you have any questions. I have more pics then I posted so if you need more help I may have a pic to help. Just make sure you have the time to do this, and don't get frustrated. Take your time and make sure you put everything back together tight.
First you want to remove both front wheels and place on jack stands.
Then you need to identify the sway bar bushings. Mine looked like this.
Next you need to have a 13mm wrench and 13mm socket. Make sure your wrench has very slim shoulders b/c there is not a whole lot of room around the bolts.
Note the tiny work space.
Now I started with the driver side, and it was the easier of the two to replace. I used a racheting wrench to remove both bolts and slid the old pieces off, and replaced it with the new Energy Suspension bushing, and the supplied bracket.
Please note I used the jack to lift the swing arm so the sway bar would rise enough for me to slide the bushing out. This will need to be done on both sides.
Now moving to the other side of the car. This bushing was not much fun to get to. I luckily had a very slim shouldered box end wrench that fit around the rear bolt. Please also not to remove with caution as there are fluid laden lines above the workspace.
Once you have removed the bolts, and lifted the swing arm as in the previous steps, you can remove the bushing. You will also notice that the passenger side is different then the driver side. It has shoulders around where the bushing sat to aid in installation at the factory.
Now seeing this problem, you need to reshape your passenger side bushing to fit in these shoulders. I took a utility knife and made a cut 1/8in by 1/8in in order to compensate.
After a few test fits, the bushing fit good enough to place on the new bracket.
Placing the brackets can be difficult but stick with it and they should eventually get into place. Snug up the bolts to just a little more then wrench tight. (I call this "Grunt Tight", as I usually grunt getting them tight enough.)
Now you are set to put the wheels back on and remove jack stands. I bought 'grease-able' fittings, and I will be going to a shop to have them greased, as my grease gun was too big.
EDIT: I went to the shop, and had to use a 90° grease fitting. The car feels tighter and most def has less roll in corners.
Let me know if you have any questions. I have more pics then I posted so if you need more help I may have a pic to help. Just make sure you have the time to do this, and don't get frustrated. Take your time and make sure you put everything back together tight.
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