Strano Sway Bar Install
06-14-2008, 11:38 PM
#1
Strano Sway Bar Install Long story short Joey and I set out our day off work to work on my suspension. We were just going to get the Strano sways put on the car for today. Joey installed the strano sways on his car not too long ago so this would be his second time, and my first time. Basically, two issues occurred:
1) *This happened to Joey's strano kit as well*: The holes for the bolts to go through the D bracket for the bushings are too small for the stock sized bolts. I'm not going to bitch a lot here as we (on my kit as well as his) just shaved the area open to fit the bolts through.
2) The problem that prevented us from any install at all.
It was as if the sway bars are for the wrong car. The end links matched up fine, but the middle part of the sway bar seemed like it was a full 2 inches shorter than if it was made for my car. The bar looks the exact same as Joey's, but he did not have this problem. We left his bar on Joey's car, but the design looked the same.
If one d bracket bolt was bolted up loosely, the other one was nowhere NEAR fitting on the other end. We had to bend the bushing along the curve of the sway bar to even get near the holes, but by that time he bushing and bracket was a good 45 degree angle off.
Here is a pic of the passenger side loosely fitted:
Here is a pic of the other side. Notice it isn't even close, and we could not push the bushing more to the left as it would start to curve around the bend. Aka this fitment is AFU, and there is nothing we can do about it.
At the end of the day we had to just put the OEM sway back on. Yippee.
What's wrong here?
1) *This happened to Joey's strano kit as well*: The holes for the bolts to go through the D bracket for the bushings are too small for the stock sized bolts. I'm not going to bitch a lot here as we (on my kit as well as his) just shaved the area open to fit the bolts through.
2) The problem that prevented us from any install at all.
It was as if the sway bars are for the wrong car. The end links matched up fine, but the middle part of the sway bar seemed like it was a full 2 inches shorter than if it was made for my car. The bar looks the exact same as Joey's, but he did not have this problem. We left his bar on Joey's car, but the design looked the same.
If one d bracket bolt was bolted up loosely, the other one was nowhere NEAR fitting on the other end. We had to bend the bushing along the curve of the sway bar to even get near the holes, but by that time he bushing and bracket was a good 45 degree angle off.
Here is a pic of the passenger side loosely fitted:
Here is a pic of the other side. Notice it isn't even close, and we could not push the bushing more to the left as it would start to curve around the bend. Aka this fitment is AFU, and there is nothing we can do about it.
At the end of the day we had to just put the OEM sway back on. Yippee.
What's wrong here?
Last edited by CranMaro99; 06-16-2008 at 07:15 PM.
06-15-2008, 04:08 AM
#6
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That's odd, mine are definitely very close to the curve, but it's not on it. My shortened poly endlinks fit without issue. Maybe it's an issue with the last set of bars.
The only problem I had was in getting the larger frame mount bushings, they weren't there when I got the bar, I called back to get told they were on the way but they didn't show up until I had left the state (two weeks later, I was told they were overnight shipped). I ended up ordering from summit, still lost my second job over it despite driving from SW MO to NY on a 22 hr straight trip.
I've had a horrible track record with getting the correct parts from them, but everything has always fit when it showed up and the prices and suggestions are reasonably good.
In the end they always make good, even if it does take awhile. I like doing business with them, they are very helpful, but I don't order if I'm under a time crunch anymore.
Keep in mind that Sam had a death in the family, so things have been a bit backed up.
The only problem I had was in getting the larger frame mount bushings, they weren't there when I got the bar, I called back to get told they were on the way but they didn't show up until I had left the state (two weeks later, I was told they were overnight shipped). I ended up ordering from summit, still lost my second job over it despite driving from SW MO to NY on a 22 hr straight trip.
I've had a horrible track record with getting the correct parts from them, but everything has always fit when it showed up and the prices and suggestions are reasonably good.
In the end they always make good, even if it does take awhile. I like doing business with them, they are very helpful, but I don't order if I'm under a time crunch anymore.
Keep in mind that Sam had a death in the family, so things have been a bit backed up.
Last edited by v7guy; 06-15-2008 at 08:48 PM.
06-15-2008, 04:14 AM
#7
I helped chris with this install. I have no complaints with the quality of Stranos sway bars, but unfortunately those front bushing brackets that come with the kit are ****. They will not fit the stock hardware without some kind of filing/drillling.
Anyways, my strano sway bars went on like cake, but something was not right with this. No matter what we tried, the second bracket would NOT line up....
But im sure Sam will take care of this...........
Anyways, my strano sway bars went on like cake, but something was not right with this. No matter what we tried, the second bracket would NOT line up....
But im sure Sam will take care of this...........
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06-15-2008, 04:23 AM
#8
I helped chris with this install. I have no complaints with the quality of Stranos sway bars, but unfortunately those front bushing brackets that come with the kit are ****. They will not fit the stock hardware without some kind of filing/drillling.
Anyways, my strano sway bars went on like cake, but something was not right with this. No matter what we tried, the second bracket would NOT line up....
But im sure Sam will take care of this...........
Anyways, my strano sway bars went on like cake, but something was not right with this. No matter what we tried, the second bracket would NOT line up....
But im sure Sam will take care of this...........
I'm not here to bash the Strano company, but to get some things cleared up and/or to see if this is common/if there is a way to fix it. But it seems, as usual, I got the short end of the stick.
Anyways, I bought the kit from UMI:
http://www.umiperformance.com/fbr002...=0&fq=0&manf=7
So I'm not sure who to go with, I'm assuming UMI, but in the end it is a Strano product and he knows what's going on here.
06-15-2008, 09:23 AM
#10
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I had a similar problem. I mentioned it to Sam and he says he talked to the company that manufactures the Strano bars for him and that their d-bracket stamping machine is getting worn out and they haven't done much about it to respond to him. About a minute of work with the mini dremel grinder took care of that pretty quick. The swaybar mount was also very tight for me and is sitting on the elbow. I'm not sure if that was always the case or not. So you do have to use some elbow grease to get it to fit, it's definitely not the best fitting bar in the world, but once its on then you are in good shape.
06-15-2008, 12:32 PM
#11
Yeah I looked at Joey's and all, and it is near the bend and it does look like a tight fit.
But you have to understand, on the second picture where there is a good inch left for the bar to move over to the drivers side, we were YANKING the bar to that size with all our might without braking something, and that is as close as we got. It was ridiculous I mean; without elbow grease the closest the bar would go was literally almost 2 inches off.
PS; Sam, I'm terrible sorry about your mother and I wish you the best of luck.
But you have to understand, on the second picture where there is a good inch left for the bar to move over to the drivers side, we were YANKING the bar to that size with all our might without braking something, and that is as close as we got. It was ridiculous I mean; without elbow grease the closest the bar would go was literally almost 2 inches off.
PS; Sam, I'm terrible sorry about your mother and I wish you the best of luck.
Last edited by CranMaro99; 06-15-2008 at 06:17 PM.
06-15-2008, 02:27 PM
#14
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Same her, nor problem at all. When I was Stranoized I told the installer that some guys have had problem with the front bar and tight D bushings. I believe he used "all the trix in the boook" to prevent this. The car was resting on itīs 4 wheels and had full tank and loaded with weight during install. Iīm not a mechanic myself but the guy who made the install (springs, dampers and bars) build race car chassis for breakfast. I did show him pictures of deformed D bushings but he never experience that problem during install. I also mention the risk of "gangsta lean" when one side of the car is higher then the other side. I asked him to take this in consideration and stress the fact that I want a car thatīs leveled when itīs done. I remember he told me that the insulator above the spring in the back was a bit "tricky". I ended up with a car thats leveled and with no hassle and guys, it runs like a demon, a bat from outa hell!
06-15-2008, 02:51 PM
#15
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Yeah it was definitely very weird. The bar itself is just not a good fit and I'm 99 percent sure there is nothing I/we can do to make it fit.
I'm not here to bash the Strano company, but to get some things cleared up and/or to see if this is common/if there is a way to fix it. But it seems, as usual, I got the short end of the stick.
Anyways, I bought the kit from UMI:
http://www.umiperformance.com/fbr002...=0&fq=0&manf=7
So I'm not sure who to go with, I'm assuming UMI, but in the end it is a Strano product and he knows what's going on here.
I'm not here to bash the Strano company, but to get some things cleared up and/or to see if this is common/if there is a way to fix it. But it seems, as usual, I got the short end of the stick.
Anyways, I bought the kit from UMI:
http://www.umiperformance.com/fbr002...=0&fq=0&manf=7
So I'm not sure who to go with, I'm assuming UMI, but in the end it is a Strano product and he knows what's going on here.
06-15-2008, 02:58 PM
#16
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Just as a note guys,
The late Arlyn Senter Strano was the mother of Sam Jr. (the one who chimes in here) and the late wife of Sam Strano Sr. (Sam's father, of course). I've dealt with all three whenever I've had the opportunity to do so and all were good, stand-up people and they all work well before the sale, during the sale process (if any thing holds up the process), and most customer support issues after the item has shipped if there are any needed. Since Arlyn tended to serve as the initial contact when answering the phone her help and courtesy will be missed, especially since I have yet to deal with many like her in this business.
Now, AFA my experience with the bar, it can be a challenging install, however mine went in with little problems, and what problems there were was due to the fact that I didn't properly angle the front end of the car upwards in order to get the endlinks on with little trouble, otherwise the install was pretty much a sure fit.
If UMI and Sam haven't seen this thread yet, it's best to get in contact with either one in order to ensure that this is not a defect, because if there is, then either UMI or stranoparts and the manufacturer (Addco) will extend themselves to remedy what's wrong. I know this from personal experience.
The late Arlyn Senter Strano was the mother of Sam Jr. (the one who chimes in here) and the late wife of Sam Strano Sr. (Sam's father, of course). I've dealt with all three whenever I've had the opportunity to do so and all were good, stand-up people and they all work well before the sale, during the sale process (if any thing holds up the process), and most customer support issues after the item has shipped if there are any needed. Since Arlyn tended to serve as the initial contact when answering the phone her help and courtesy will be missed, especially since I have yet to deal with many like her in this business.
Now, AFA my experience with the bar, it can be a challenging install, however mine went in with little problems, and what problems there were was due to the fact that I didn't properly angle the front end of the car upwards in order to get the endlinks on with little trouble, otherwise the install was pretty much a sure fit.
If UMI and Sam haven't seen this thread yet, it's best to get in contact with either one in order to ensure that this is not a defect, because if there is, then either UMI or stranoparts and the manufacturer (Addco) will extend themselves to remedy what's wrong. I know this from personal experience.
06-15-2008, 03:29 PM
#18
I had the same issue with mine. The bar is supposed to follow the same lines as the factory bar, and because its much larger in diamiter, its not going to be an exact OEM fit no matter who the manufacturer is.
Edit: To Sam's credit, the bars are the best mod ive done besides the Koni SAs
Edit: To Sam's credit, the bars are the best mod ive done besides the Koni SAs
Last edited by hpjunky98; 06-16-2008 at 01:14 PM.
