[Thadius]

Need forum help guys...

Lowering the car today and am done with 1st front wheel, almost. I have everything installed ready to go back together BUT the sway bar end link for some reason doesn't line up with its home. Its not even close. I'm talking about the fastener end of the link lining up 3-4 full inches ABOVE its home location on the strut. HELP..... aaaarrrrrggghhh.

[Chris V]

Is the whole front end off the ground? If one end is on the ground and the other in the air, you’ll have a lot of tension to attach the bar.

If the other side is in the air, put a jack under the knuckle and lift it until the sway bar lines up.

[Thadius]

Thanks Chris. That makes complete sense. only one side is off the ground. Any recommendations that way or simply get the otherside off the ground? I'm running out of Jacks and Jack stands....#doh.

[Ryephile]

You'd need nearly 1 ton of force to twist the sway bar 4 inches. It would be foolish to try. At a minimum, get the whole front end on jackstands, but IMO that's harder than putting the whole car on 4 stands, given it's easy to lift one side at a time with a floor jack.

So here's a question; how did you get the one strut out of the car with that much twist on the sway bar?

[Stephen12ZL1]

if you jack the car by the pinch weld and not the suspension, the car is at full suspension droop and this won't be a problem. The lower control arm must be allowed to extend fully before removing the spring assembly...reverse the procedure to reinstall. 3-4"...you are waaay off

[Alpha1BC]

Originally Posted by Ryephile

You'd need nearly 1 ton of force to twist the sway bar 4 inches. It would be foolish to try. At a minimum, get the whole front end on jackstands, but IMO that's harder than putting the whole car on 4 stands, given it's easy to lift one side at a time with a floor jack.

So here's a question; how did you get the one strut out of the car with that much twist on the sway bar?

Ditto this. Need BOTH wheels of the same axle either in the air or on the ground to safely attach/remove the stay bar links. If you had only one in the air and loosened the nut that holds the link in, it's possibly that you might have damaged the link by "bottoming out" the ball joint on the link. If you get a rattle/clunk from the front end after completing the spring swap, I'd suggest swapping sway bar links first. If you can't lift the entire front end at once, hold off on attaching the sway bar links until you can get the car back on the ground then maybe drive on some ramps if you need to for re-attaching.

Originally Posted by Stephen12ZL1

if you jack the car by the pinch weld and not the suspension, the car is at full suspension droop and this won't be a problem. The lower control arm must be allowed to extend fully before removing the spring assembly...reverse the procedure to reinstall. 3-4"...you are waaay off

I don't think OPs issue is that he's lifting by the suspension vs. the pinch weld. Issue is that when you lift only one side of the car by the pinch weld you're loading up the sway bar or forcing it to be misaligned if it's not connected.

[Stephen12ZL1]

I've removed the sway bar end links from one side a few times so there is something really screwy going on here. How about a pic of this 3-4" issue?

[Alpha1BC]

Originally Posted by Stephen12ZL1

I've removed the sway bar end links from one side a few times so there is something really screwy going on here. How about a pic of this 3-4" issue?

Were both wheels at the same jounce position? I.e., were they both on the ground or up in the air? The sway bar's (also called an anti-roll bar) main function is resisting any suspension motion that isn't the same on both the left and right sides. For instance, if both front wheels are moving up and down at the same time like when hitting a speed bump squarely, the sway bar just rotates in the bushings and doesn't have an impact. If the wheels are moving independent of one another like when the car rolls in a corner or one side of the car is lifted in the air, the sway bar will be twisted and create a force that tries to un-twist the bar. When you remove one of the links, the bar will simply rotate in the bushing instead of twisting since one end is free and cause a misalignment between the free sway bar link and its home on the strut or control arm depending on your vehicle setup.

If you had only one side of the car up in the air and could freely remove and replace the links then it sounds like there's something wrong with your sway bar because it isn't doing anything to resist suspension roll.

[Stephen12ZL1]

Originally Posted by Alpha1BC

Were both wheels at the same jounce position? I.e., were they both on the ground or up in the air? The sway bar's (also called an anti-roll bar) main function is resisting any suspension motion that isn't the same on both the left and right sides. For instance, if both front wheels are moving up and down at the same time like when hitting a speed bump squarely, the sway bar just rotates in the bushings and doesn't have an impact. If the wheels are moving independent of one another like when the car rolls in a corner or one side of the car is lifted in the air, the sway bar will be twisted and create a force that tries to un-twist the bar. When you remove one of the links, the bar will simply rotate in the bushing instead of twisting since one end is free and cause a misalignment between the free sway bar link and its home on the strut or control arm depending on your vehicle setup.

If you had only one side of the car up in the air and could freely remove and replace the links then it sounds like there's something wrong with your sway bar because it isn't doing anything to resist suspension roll.

You sound like an expert in this installation, so you must be right. However, it is indeed possible to jack one side of the car by the pinch weld at full suspension droop and to remove & reinstall a sway bar end link. Whatever else you are trying to say with regards to the function of a sway bar seems accurate. Have you performed this install or removed the end links on a 5th gen or 6th gen? I have numerous times on multiple cars. My suggestion is to get a shop manual and connect some of these typed words above to reality.

[Alpha1BC]

Originally Posted by Stephen12ZL1

You sound like an expert in this installation, so you must be right. However, it is indeed possible to jack one side of the car by the pinch weld at full suspension droop and to remove & reinstall a sway bar end link. Whatever else you are trying to say with regards to the function of a sway bar seems accurate. Have you performed this install or removed the end links on a 5th gen or 6th gen? I have numerous times on multiple cars. My suggestion is to get a shop manual and connect some of these typed words above to reality.

I've removed, installed, and even designed stab bar links, yes. I've also been both designing and working on suspensions for the last 10 years both in small race teams and corporate settings, so yes I like to think I am getting close to the classification of "expert" if I'm not already there. And thanks for the kind suggestion, but I've spent enough time involved in writing service manuals that re-reading them probably isn't going to add much more value for me.

But, by all means, don't take my word for it (I personally don't like to believe things just someone says so, either). Here's a few pictures taken from my 6th gen Camaro to illustrate:

1) Car is completely on the ground with the LF sway bar link removed. Sway bar link stud lines up nicely with the hole in the sway bar and can be bolted together easily.


2) LH side of car is lifted from the pinch weld. LF wheel goes to full rebound, RH front wheel stays on the ground. Sway bar link is now a few inches away from the sway bar and cannot be bolted back together without considerable force to either twist the sway bar or compress the LF spring.


Every time you lift only one side of the car and unload the suspension, the sway bar link and sway bar want to be in the position shown in pic 2, but it can't get all the way there because they're bolted together. If you undo the nut holding the joint together in this case and force the stud out with a hammer or other means, you'll not only over-rotate (damage) the ball joint on the link, you'll also likely damage the threads because the two halves of the joint are trying to get back to looking like pic 2.

OP, if pic 2 looks like the issue you're having, try either lifting the opposite side of the car (preferred) or compressing the free side of the suspension with a jack until the sway bar link lines up with the sway bar again. From there, make sure both sides of the car are either raised or lowered at the same time to prevent misalignment from happening again when you get to the other corners.

[Stephen12ZL1]

All of your points are completely valid and appreciated. No hammering was necessary to remove the end link in question "my way" which may not be ideal or perfect procedure. My posts come across as an arrogant jerk, but I promise my intentions are good. The pinch weld on one side was indeed jacked to remove the end link on one side in my driveway. I may have used a secondary floor jack under the lower control arm to relieve tension. Sorry for the omission of this part of the procedure.