Sway bar tips?

You think so? I know you can't tell in the pic but it looks pretty warped. Could be how its sitting in relation to the linkage with the missing bushings tho. I guess I could at least try to salvage the oem sway bar before rushing out and buying a new one.

I'm no expert. Does it look symmetrical with the other side?

heavychevy35096 said:

You think so? I know you can't tell in the pic but it looks pretty warped.

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Compare it to the other side--it's probably at the same angle. When removing the sway bar you can put it on the ground to see if it's bent.

The car can't be very good in corners right now. If the control arm bushings front and rear are original, they're overdue for replacement as well.

PeterDuerr said:

I'm no expert. Does it look symmetrical with the other side?

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It doesn't LOOK symmetrical at this point, but like I said, it could be because it isn't correctly seated on one side. Then again, I've probably been driving too long with it like that and may have warped it by now. I may just get the linkage kit, and start with that side first. If I can get it on, then I should be good for the other side, if it's too warped I'll just have to go with a new bar. I just hate to drop 300+ bucks on a new sway bar and not even need it. It's a daily driver that sees a lot of highway miles. It's not like I'm doing a bunch of high speed cornering or anything.

I found the GM Genuine sway bar bushings on Rock Auto. Just going to start there and see if I can get it done without having to sink too much into it.

I would recomend doing both end links.

That's the plan. I got enough for both. I'm just going to start with the bad side first. Hopefully everything will go back together like it should without having to get a new sway bar.

heavychevy35096 said:

I found the GM Genuine sway bar bushings on Rock Auto. Just going to start there and see if I can get it done without having to sink too much into it.

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How long did those original genuine bushings last Don't over think too much, the moog and mevotech are just as good. And you get better design features with some of them.

91ss said:

How long did those original genuine bushings last Don't over think too much, the moog and mevotech are just as good. And you get better design features with some of them.

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OEM as far as I know and I've had her since 2001. Like I said, I don't push it too hard. And I may eventually have to go a different route, but if I can get this taken care of for $21 that's what I'm doing for now.

And you're not going to warp the bar driving it like that. Elongate the control arm hole will be more likely in time. Pic looks like it was jacked up with no weight on the wheel. It'll look funny that way.

91ss said:

And you're not going to warp the bar driving it like that. Elongate the control arm hole will be more likely in time. Pic looks like it was jacked up with no weight on the wheel. It'll look funny that way.

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Yeah I had it on jack stands at the time.

End links are a wear item. you want to tighten the new end links with the suspension loaded (read tires on ground)

very unlikely sway bar is bent....unless you have been jumping curbs.

BALLSS said:

End links are a wear item. you want to tighten the new end links with the suspension loaded (read tires on ground)

very unlikely sway bar is bent....unless you have been jumping curbs.

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True there. The sway bar is heat treated to make it stiff. If overloaded, it is much more apt to break than bend.

The sway bar is a spring. It's meant to bend with the stiffness intended.

Can confirm my sway bar is bent. @BALLSS lol

shakenfake said:

Can confirm my sway bar is bent. @BALLSS lol

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I stand corrected then. I have only ever seen broken ones, not bent. Agreed they act like springs and flex but that is not the same as taking a permanent bend.

Relative to bent vs. snapped, here's a funny story. A couple years after purchasing a 5-year old '95 FWB I had removed the original FE1 bars to replace with the take-offs after upgrading my SS, along with adding the original rear bar back on as well. That was just a free experiment trying to get some oversteer, since Fleetwoods really plow bad. But that didn't seem to do squat so I got another SS rear bar to add to the first. When taking the skinnier bar off again is the first time I noticed it laying on the ground that one end was 1 1/2" in the air.

Since nothing I had done in the couple months after the first change could have made it twist, it was obvious it bent sometime in its first five years as a funeral home chaperone. Manufacturing defect? Sitting on a lift for 2 months with one shock disconnected?