Rear Sway Bar bushings - replaced
#1
Rear Sway Bar bushings - replaced
Hi - Just thought I'd add a few thoughts about this repair, which I just completed this weekend. To prep the repair I removed the rear wheel and placed jack stands under the vehicle.
And there you have it. Hopefully this helps someone.
To give you an idea of time - I spent 5 hours on the drivers side - figuring everything out and trying to wrestle the bolts out. Once done, the passenger side just took under and hour.
- My LR3 - and I'm sure all of them - have the space between the bolt and the top of the chassis. The AB video shows very little space on at Sport, but I had much more - in fact, I was able to use my ratchet and a 13mm socket on the front facing bolts to get them out all the way. The rear facing bolts needed my ratcheting wrench. I didn't require an offset wrench.
- The movement and position of the control arm makes a big difference. I took my jack and moved it up and down to get better access to the bushing.
- The bolts on the drivers side (LH) were very tight and probably rusted. Even with seafoam they were a bugger to get out. Because I didn't have a long wrench, I was stuck. Then I remembered I could use the half bar that comprises half the handle on my jack to put over the wrench and the socket to gain leverage. This was a game saver for me.
- The sweep to get these out is very minimal. Patience and probably a few beers help.
- I used my 24inch breaker bar to lift the arm to wrestle the my bushing in to place; leveraged between the bar and the lower control arm.
- I found the metal cap that goes over the bushing easier to put on BEFORE placing the bushing in its resting place.
- The sway bar has a tendency to move laterally - so the bolt holes don't line up. Again I used the breaker bar to move the sway bar back and forth pushing on the sway bar link.
And there you have it. Hopefully this helps someone.
To give you an idea of time - I spent 5 hours on the drivers side - figuring everything out and trying to wrestle the bolts out. Once done, the passenger side just took under and hour.
Last edited by Philip Chan; 11-04-2019 at 04:35 PM. Reason: spacing
#4
I can't remember if I've swapped out the Rear Sway Bar Bushings on my 08 LR3. Probably. I know I've replaced the front ones. Will need to refer to my spreadsheet...
Anyway, the conversation of Rear Sway Bar Bushings is relevant to me at the moment, because I've just finished doing these on our spare runabout car, an 07 Chevy Malibu Maxx. Pretty low mileage with solid engine, drivetrain, transmission. Therefore it's worth me spending a little time and money to keep it, rather than wasting money on getting something newer and fancier but 'unknown'.
To cut a long story short, all 4 Rear Sway Bar Bushings Bracket Bolts snapped inside the Sub-Frame, and therefore a fairly lengthy repair / replacement process ensued. Finished it all up on Sunday. Needed to learn how to weld, and therefore buy all the welding gear. Needed to cut out parts of frame and Sub-Frame to get to some nuts and bolts, cut and grind away, weld back in, and repaint. Also did a bunch of surface rust removing / converting / repainting, across the entire underside. That was dusty, dirty, messy. Also swapped out most suspension parts. Had no choice with some of them, because needed to cut them out, due to rust-seized nuts and bolts. Bottom line, massive project that I was happy to do - forced me to learn some new tricks and techniques, and buy some new tools!!
Anyway, the conversation of Rear Sway Bar Bushings is relevant to me at the moment, because I've just finished doing these on our spare runabout car, an 07 Chevy Malibu Maxx. Pretty low mileage with solid engine, drivetrain, transmission. Therefore it's worth me spending a little time and money to keep it, rather than wasting money on getting something newer and fancier but 'unknown'.
To cut a long story short, all 4 Rear Sway Bar Bushings Bracket Bolts snapped inside the Sub-Frame, and therefore a fairly lengthy repair / replacement process ensued. Finished it all up on Sunday. Needed to learn how to weld, and therefore buy all the welding gear. Needed to cut out parts of frame and Sub-Frame to get to some nuts and bolts, cut and grind away, weld back in, and repaint. Also did a bunch of surface rust removing / converting / repainting, across the entire underside. That was dusty, dirty, messy. Also swapped out most suspension parts. Had no choice with some of them, because needed to cut them out, due to rust-seized nuts and bolts. Bottom line, massive project that I was happy to do - forced me to learn some new tricks and techniques, and buy some new tools!!
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