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Universal Sway Bar Bushing Replacement

27K views 69 replies 24 participants last post by  realsaaber 
#1 ·
It's that time of year again, my sway bar is making its presence known with lots of lovely squeaking and a dash of crunching. It isn't at its worst but I'm still fed up with it. I've had some popping and cracking which I assume to be the end links which are on order.

We all know the body mount bushings are crap but still continue to use them. I've found the Energy Suspension makes a greaseable 25mm aftermarket kit with bracket and poly bushing (PN 9.5161). Has anyone used this as a replacement for the stock bushing and bracket?

Any tips on getting the stocker out of there? It looks to be rather tight between the subframe and firewall?
 
#2 · (Edited)
Have you compared that with the kit they sell specifically for our car? (they only list 2003 but I'm hoping they aren't referring to convertable only)

EDIT: I think they are listing the model specific replacement for the OG9-3 only (1999-2003 - which would cover the vert)
 
#3 ·
Thanks for checking into that. I didn't think they carried anything specific for ours. RockAuto carries the bushings (you have to search under a Vectra) but they're still the same rubber ones that give problems. I'm going to snag the ES ones tonight after work and give it a try this weekend.
 
#6 · (Edited)
The ES bushings were a success although the sway bar wasn't the culprit in my squeaking suspension. Regardless the bar now moves freely in the bushings and there is no more crunching as of my test drive last night.
Nice work with these.
 
#49 ·
#13 ·
My original though was the sway bar bushings where they mount to the subframe (what I replaced) since the bar was not able to move inside those bushings. With all sway bar components replaced I still have it.

My next guess is the two bushings where the control arm mounts to the subframe. GS sells the front ones in poly and the rear ones are $60 from RockAuto or replace the whole control arm for ~$160. Not that desperate yet.
 
#17 ·
It's very possible. Mine were in poor condition after 53k miles. For $20 and an evenings worth of work it's a shot. I don't know if it will be any harder on an XWD car or not.

For sway bar removal WIS states the steering shaft, rack, and torque mount must be removed. I only had to loosen and drop the subframe in order to gain access to the mounting bolts.
 
#21 ·
Did these on mine this morning. 04 Arc. Mine were in much better condition than yours and just made a creak when its cold over larger dips in the road. The bolts that go in the front of those brackets (the front of the engine) you can get with a ratchet and a deep 13mm. The rears you just need to loosen a few turns then push on the sway bar and they slide out. Its a bit finicky but easily do able.
 
#27 ·
So does the subframe need to come down or not? Mine is FWD. My suspension is silent except over speedbumps and similar situations when below freezing. Greasable is nice...

A little worried this will not fix it, I had them done a few years back and was suprised to hear the crunch (no pop or anything like that, just a crunchy noise) this weekend out in the cold...
 
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