Sway bar problems

[fvike]

I'm having problems with my sway bar. 3 weeks ago I had the car up in the air, and noticed that my Sway bar had eaten into my shock absorbers. I've got TCP coil overs (VariShock) and a 1 1/16" Sway bar. So now I've trimmed of the edges of the sway bar, and gotten new poly end links with the lower 0.78" (2 cm) high spacers. (However, they still touch the shock absorbers. With out the spacers on the end links, it does clear. Can a sway bar be mounted like that? Or does the end links have to be there ? Can the Sway bar be mounted upside down? (Under the LCA)

Here are some pictures of the shock damage.

I'm still waiting on a reply from the TCP tech support if the shock absorbers are repairable.

 

[70vert]

I (almost) had the same problem with Unique's product

I have Unique Performance coilovers with the Cobra Automotive 1 1/8" hollow front sway bar. With the sway bar end links that shipped with the sway bar, the top of the end link (where the nut is) would just touch the coilover adjustment lockrings.

What I ended up doing is to use the original end links from Unique with a shorter "collar" - the metal cylinder that goes between the two bushings to give me some room down there. IIRC, the bolt that came with the Unique end links was too short with new bushings, etc, and the NEW bolt that came with the new kit was too long. I ended up putting a stack of washers UNDER the LCA to make the bolt shorter up top.

I had my local shop check my installation and they didn't see any problem with it.

For your situation, I might cut down that metal cylinder between the two bushings. I believe that as long as the end of your sway bar is more or less parallel with your LCA, you're in good shape. Hopefully someone will chime in and correct me or provide more info.

Sorry to hear about the gouge there! Hope it's not too expensive of a fix . . .

 

[fvike]

Thanks for the reply. How much did you cut the collar?

 

[bnickel]

another option might be to put a small spacer between the control arm and the shock mount to raise the shock out of the way or a combination of the spacer i mentioned and a shorter spacer or collar between the end link bushings

 

[70vert]

Didn't cut the collar, just used UP's shorter one

Thanks for the reply. How much did you cut the collar?

I didn't really cut the collar, I just used UP's shorter collar rather than the one that shipped with Cobra's sway bar. I believe (don't quote me) that I used the newer Cobra Automotive end link bushings, but only because they were shorter. That gave me enough room to not hit the coilover adjusting rings.

It's tedious work, but you could cut the collar less than you think you need to (better that than cut too much off ) then fit everything and lower the car while watching it through the entire range of motion. Make SURE you cut both the same length - maybe set them both up in a vise, or cut one and use it as the template for the other. Repeat until it clears totally.

Raising the shock would help too, but that would raise ride height, I'm assuming, and that's not where I for one want to go with ride height, but YMMV.

I'm glad you caught the gouging in time. I'd hate to think what would have happened if it failed while driving.

 

[fvike]

Right now, I'm only using the polyutherane, and no collar. That clears it. Does the collar serve a function (flexing ?) - is it needed?

I've not driven the car since I became aware of the problem, 3 weeks ago. I'm thinking (theory) that the shock mounting will hold, because the load on the shock mount comes from above, not from the underside where the damage is. There is also Polyuterane in the shock mount, and that takes off some of the load too. I'm gonna get some better pictures asap.

I'm not a welder, and welding a aluminum shock might be difficult, because of the heat transfer. That might not be a good thing for the gas inside.
Does anyone have any ideas how to fix the shocks, exept for putting the shock in a cold bucket of water while welding ?

 

[70vert]

sway bar end should be parallel with LCA

Right now, I'm only using the polyutherane, and no collar. That clears it. Does the collar serve a function (flexing ?) - is it needed?

As long as the LCA and the end of the sway bar are parallel at ride height, if I remember correctly, that's the important thing. If removing the collar is what does that, then everything should be fine.

Damn, I wish I had a graphics tablet to draw a picture right now!

Having the collar in between may give the sway bar and the LCA more freedom to take different angles relative to each other. As the suspension travels, I doubt that the sway bar end is always in exactly the same spot above the LCA. At the end of a longer collar, it seems it would be able to pivot around and still exert pressure on the LCA.

I think the thing to do is to watch your sway bar end link as you jack up the front of the car, both with the other wheel on the ground and with both wheels off, if you can manage that. If your shortened end link seems to bind anywhere, that would be a problem.

Then again, it seems very strange to have a really short end link, just polyurethane. I'm not saying it's wrong, I've just never seen it. You should probably get advice direct from TCP, if they're returning your calls/emails.

 

[fvike]

Then again, it seems very strange to have a really short end link, just polyurethane. I'm not saying it's wrong, I've just never seen it. You should probably get advice direct from TCP, if they're returning your calls/emails.

I did email TCP, and I got an reply that recomended me not to drive the car due to the damage on the shocks. It also said I was going to get an email from one of their senior sales technichan on how to repair it. Still waiting...

Gonna take the car back to the alignment shop to see if we can adjust the LCAs, UCAs and strut rods to get some more clearence for the sway bar.

Thanks for the replys.