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Rear sway bar WON'T come off

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#21 ·
Don't make me come up there.. :D With all the bolts loose (torn off) just pry down in the middle. Get mean with it. :twisted: Pull it down and wedge the washer back in the middle between the bolts, then pry back up. If this is not clear just call. 866.499.1068
 
#22 ·
I just put in my Genuine Saab sway bar AND IT KICKS SERIOUS ASS. Definitely a must have upgrade. Plus it's really inexpensive. The stock bar is a joke when you see how flimsy it is.

Thanks Nick.
 
#24 ·
hey on friday im about to get my sway bar... so would u recommend i just wd-40 the hell out tof the bolts before i even start to mess with i? then i wont have to risk as much with them snapping off.. what would u recommend for me to do cuz i dont wanna get into a big hassle.. thanks
 
#25 ·
Well you can't do any harm with WD40. Just do it a it each day or so. They're pretty easy to get at. Just put a good coating on a twice a day and you should be helping the cause.
 
Discussion starter · #28 ·
I got it off Friday; after having broken all the bolt heads off I pried at the bar in the middle with a tiny crowbar (after applying the anti-rust spray every other night or so for a week to the bolts) and it finally came off.

I had to dremel the bolts off to get them to clear the brake lines, and use a scewdriver to bust the mounting plate holding the bolts off the body (it broke in half on both sides).

Installation of the new bar was a sinch, despite the bolts being a tight fit; after shaving the layers of rust off the holes the bolts fit in fine and the new bar fits perfect.

Not that hard once I did it. Just lots of sparks cutting the bolts and near brake line misses with the screwdriver :p.

Well worth it. The car's allot more fun to drive in, and everyone riding in it noticed the difference cornering right away. For the price, even considering the hassle and aggravation, go for it :).
 
#29 ·
one more thing, i noticed on the mpperformance installation instructions it says i should tighten it to 18ft lbs ... i would need a torque wrench to do that and i dont have one... is it crucial that it is tightened to this amount? or should i just titghten it as far as i can and hope thats sumwhere around 18ft lbs... i might be able to ask around at school for one... but whats your opinion?

also, i bought the genuinesaab swaybar, not the mp performance one.

should i still tighten it to the same torque ?

ps. ill also email taliaferro and get his opinion
 
Discussion starter · #30 ·
I'll be honest with you. I spent $20 on a torque wrench at AutoZone and couldn't figure out the thing (the directions were is Engrish). Not only was it near impossible to set correctly, once I did, it seemed to give out way before being tight enough, so maybe it's broken, who knows...

I tightened it as hard as I could and it's been fine, but next time I have the oil changed I'm asking them to torque it to spec (they'll do it for free)... it can't be that important, MP says to do 18bs, Taliaferro says 25-30... hand tightening it good will be between 18-30 anyway ;).

Just do it as best you can rather than buy a ghetto torque wrench, and have someone else check it later, or buy a good torque wrench for $50-70 that's easy to use.
 
#32 ·
I agree, having a torque wrench around is a must. Important stuff like spark plugs, DI cassette, downpipe, shocks, etc. all have very specific torque settings, and it's probably going to do some damage at some point if you DIY upgrade these without the proper tools...
 
Discussion starter · #34 ·
abdukted1456 said:
if you plan to DIY you can get a cheap torque wrench at autozone or your local auto store. For some items the proper torque is a MUST.
Click to expand...
No, don't waste your money on the torque wrench there (that's the $20 one I bought); if you ever plan on doing any modifications that need it, go buy a good one, this one was way off and hard as hell to use. Otherwise jsut hand torque it, or ask your oil change place to do it for ya.
 
Discussion starter · #36 ·
abdukted1456 said:
it's not that hard at all. :lol:

your dial in the amount of torque you want and then you just use it until it "pops" and then stop. :wink:
Click to expand...
My $20 autozone one doesn't work like that; you have to turn it clockwise to a certain amount, then counter clockwise to the other half of the amount, somehow, according to the instructions. One side of the dial is for 10's, one side for single digits... and it doesn't work even then :p. I'm going to try to take it back...
 
#37 · (Edited)
SHITSHITSHITHISTHI I HATE MY LIFE SHIT
i fell prey to the damn heads breaking off... 1 side came off nice and clean, but the other side.. both heads snapped.. im so pissed and confused i cant think straight... sigh... what should i do??? ive read all these prior posts but they all say push the remainder of the bolt UP through, but im not sure how i would do that, i think it would be esier to push down.. shit hsit shit

help me please!!! if u can, call my cell phone, but if not ill check back here in 30 or so minutes.. thanks
 
#38 ·
ok official update...

i got the sway bar opff.. just banged it down off the bolts.. so now there no sway bar or anything on my car

upon trying to put the new sway bar on, i came across a few questions

1) do i use the old mounting plates?
2) when i put the bolts into the holes, do i put the bolt with the head of the bolt on the TOP or BOTTOM side? and also, im guessing that i put 1 washer on each side of the lil piece of metal... but when i go to torque it on from the bottom which part am i torqueing ? the bolt head or the lil fastener thing that u can take on and off... get wut i mean??? the reason i ask is b/c the original one had the bolt heads on the lower side (with like the bolt going upwards)... but im not sure how i would tighten that on.... any help is greatly appreciated!
 
Discussion starter · #39 ·
Don't worry, I paniced jsut like oyu did (I had someone there to help me figure it out when I got freaked :p). It's easy form here on - my big trouble was getting the bar off (once I broke all 4 heads on mine the thing was rusted so hard I was worried it was threaded on), but I pried it off like you did and was left with the bolts like you are.

Take out any remaining bolts and the mounting plates however you have to. I had to cut the bolts off as much as I could with a dremel to remove them, since it was rusted to the mounting plate, and it wouldn't all clear the brake lines. I jsut cut the bottom of the bolts sticking out under the car, and it had plenty of room to get out.

You don't need the mounting plate - if you look at the pictures I put on the last page in this post, there's one with the mounting holes when the plate and bolts are gone - that's what the new bolts fit through. You can see in the pictures too how the bolts were stuck to the mounting plate, and how the new bolts fit on. The mounting plate was rusted to the bolts in my case so it all came off in one piece (which was why I had to cut the bolts).

Once everything is out of there, just put the new bar on. The washers go as you described, and the head of the bolt (the parts that snapped off on the old ones) go towards the ground jsut like before. The nut (the removable part) goes on top.

Tightening it properly is kinda hard... you have to get a wrench or pliers and hold the nut on top, then torque/tighten the bolt from the bottom (reverse of how you removed the original ones). I jsut hand tightened it as best I could and had goodyear torque it properly for me (they did it for free) when I got my oil changed today.

You _can_ drive the car without the bar, so if you absolutely can't get the new one on or the old hardware off, take it down to a tire changing place, it shouldn't be more than a half hours labor to do it. Just drive slow (the car drives like shit with no bar).

If you need any more help or get stuck again just post back. Sorry I wasn't here earlier or I would've answered you quicker :).

Also, see the instructions for the bar available here: http://www.genuinesaab.com/psi/index.htm
 
Discussion starter · #40 ·
danthegolfer said:
i fell prey to the damn heads breaking off... 1 side came off nice and clean, but the other side.. both heads snapped.. im so pissed and confused i cant think straight... sigh... what should i do??? ive read all these prior posts but they all say push the remainder of the bolt UP through, but im not sure how i would do that, i think it would be esier to push down..
Click to expand...
BTW, I hit the bolts on the bottom with a hammer, and they eventually popped loose. Once that was done, the botls were rusted on to the mounting plates, so they required cutting to be small enough to get out around the brake lines, as described before... hopefully at that point the mounting plates come off with the bolts, if not, stab them out from the bottom through the holes, or pry them off... (be careful of the brake lines).
 
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