Rear sway bar problem.... (with pictures)
11-02-2011, 05:26 AM
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Rear sway bar problem.... (with pictures) After I lowered my car I started getting a creek and groaning noise from the rear end when it went over a speed bump. So I got looking under the car and noticed the sway bar end links were not straight and appeared to be to long. So I got some energy suspension end links 1 and 5/8 inch and they still appeared to be to long so I chopped 1/4 inch off the spacer to make them 1 and 3/8ths. Tried installing them yesterday and It seems like the sway bar is to far forward here are some pictures, any ideas or is this normal?
Old end link:
I also noticed when the drivers side of the sway bar was touching the mounting bracket the passenger side had almost an inch of room left, so I thought the sway bar was bent. I took the bar off to check and its not bent....
Old end link:
I also noticed when the drivers side of the sway bar was touching the mounting bracket the passenger side had almost an inch of room left, so I thought the sway bar was bent. I took the bar off to check and its not bent....
11-02-2011, 07:50 AM
#2
Hey Blue. Is that the original bar for that car? Has the car been wrecked? End link length is sometimes a concern with our customer cars depending on what all is done to it. What concerns me is the difference side-to-side. And you say the bar is symmetrical?
I'm wondering if you have a bent trailing arm?
ramey
ps good job on the pics, helps a lot
I'm wondering if you have a bent trailing arm?
ramey
ps good job on the pics, helps a lot
Last edited by UMI Sales; 11-02-2011 at 07:51 AM. Reason: added sentence
11-02-2011, 07:53 AM
#3
The creaking and groaning noise more than likely came from the sway bar bushings themselve not the end links. I bet if you spray some WD-40 on the front an rear end link bushings the noise will go away temporarily go away which will show that the sway bar bushings are the culprit. I have never personally seen a end link make a creaking or groaning noise, especially a stock one.
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11-02-2011, 05:01 PM
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1. By cutting the spacers the bushings are not compressing properly now.. And will be loose. 2. Let's assume when you're jacking up the reared, it's level. (you're not lifting one side at a time)
3. The bends in the sway bar should follow the axle.. This will tell you if it's centered or not.. 4. The geometry causes the sway bar to move in an arc, meaning the links won't be straight all the time, depending on the position of the axle.
5. Make sure the lca's and phb are lubed good, since you changed the position by lowering the car it could be on a dry spot..
Hope this helps
3. The bends in the sway bar should follow the axle.. This will tell you if it's centered or not.. 4. The geometry causes the sway bar to move in an arc, meaning the links won't be straight all the time, depending on the position of the axle.
5. Make sure the lca's and phb are lubed good, since you changed the position by lowering the car it could be on a dry spot..
Hope this helps
11-02-2011, 05:10 PM
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Hey Blue. Is that the original bar for that car? Has the car been wrecked? End link length is sometimes a concern with our customer cars depending on what all is done to it. What concerns me is the difference side-to-side. And you say the bar is symmetrical?
I'm wondering if you have a bent trailing arm?
ramey
ps good job on the pics, helps a lot
I'm wondering if you have a bent trailing arm?
ramey
ps good job on the pics, helps a lot
That was my idea because the car was lowered 1.5 inches I should get shorter end links to match.
The sway bar is symmetrical.
11-02-2011, 05:52 PM
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1. By cutting the spacers the bushings are not compressing properly now.. And will be loose. 2. Let's assume when you're jacking up the reared, it's level. (you're not lifting one side at a time)
3. The bends in the sway bar should follow the axle.. This will tell you if it's centered or not.. 4. The geometry causes the sway bar to move in an arc, meaning the links won't be straight all the time, depending on the position of the axle.
5. Make sure the lca's and phb are lubed good, since you changed the position by lowering the car it could be on a dry spot..
Hope this helps
3. The bends in the sway bar should follow the axle.. This will tell you if it's centered or not.. 4. The geometry causes the sway bar to move in an arc, meaning the links won't be straight all the time, depending on the position of the axle.
5. Make sure the lca's and phb are lubed good, since you changed the position by lowering the car it could be on a dry spot..
Hope this helps
2. It is sitting on rhino ramps, so should have equal weight on the rear tires.
3. Its centered
4. I rotated the sway bar through its arc and It seems like there is no point where it would properly line up.... they only way to make it line up would be if the entire axle were moved to the rear of the car about 3/4 of an inch.
5. I will lube them, thanks for the ideas and help
But this is my question, Is this normal? or is something on my car different from most?
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11-03-2011, 08:08 AM
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if u didnt put an adjustable pan hard bar on when u lowered it, then the rearend will be offset about 3/4 inch, also u need lower control arm relocation brackets to realign the rearend with the center of the fender wells. just lowering springs is only %25 of lowering the car. without the other items the suspension will not perform correctly.
11-03-2011, 02:57 PM
#11
Can't see the picture.
You may have needed to have just left the length alone. Many times the tab on the sway is not going to be perfectly parallel to the body of the car at ride height, not does it matter a great deal. As long as you can get the bolt in and can tighten it until the bushings are snug then it should be fine.
If you try to shorten the distance it makes it more difficult to even line them up, as already mentioned earlier, and as you saw yourself.
You may have needed to have just left the length alone. Many times the tab on the sway is not going to be perfectly parallel to the body of the car at ride height, not does it matter a great deal. As long as you can get the bolt in and can tighten it until the bushings are snug then it should be fine.
If you try to shorten the distance it makes it more difficult to even line them up, as already mentioned earlier, and as you saw yourself.
11-04-2011, 05:19 AM
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if u didnt put an adjustable pan hard bar on when u lowered it, then the rearend will be offset about 3/4 inch, also u need lower control arm relocation brackets to realign the rearend with the center of the fender wells. just lowering springs is only %25 of lowering the car. without the other items the suspension will not perform correctly.
Everything seemed to work fine, except for the strange noise going over speed bumps, so I'm just going to put it back together with the new end links and see what happens. Thanks for everyones ideas though
I was hoping I could see some other setups to compare how much of an angle their end links are at?
11-04-2011, 05:31 PM
#14
Driving without the rear bar shouldn't be as bad as driving without the front bar...
At any rate, yeah you could drive it without the bar and see if you get the noise. I don't think it is the end links. I understand what you expected to see, but with my aftermarket bar it is more or less like your top picture at ride height and the bar is not making noise. The only thing at the rear of my car that makes noise usually are the rod ends in my watts link.
At any rate, yeah you could drive it without the bar and see if you get the noise. I don't think it is the end links. I understand what you expected to see, but with my aftermarket bar it is more or less like your top picture at ride height and the bar is not making noise. The only thing at the rear of my car that makes noise usually are the rod ends in my watts link.
11-05-2011, 03:48 AM
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Unfortunately I cant take it for a drive until I get this round of mods done
08-14-2013, 01:04 AM
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Bringing this back from the dead. Op did you ever find a solution for this, because mine is doing the same thing and d squeaking is getting annoying. I have strano sway bars and my end links on the rear are not going straight down, they have an angle also.
