Front Sway Bar Bushing Replacement

The following is what I did to replace the old, stock front sway bar bushings with the Energy Suspension bushings. This took approximately 1 hour for a first-timer.

Tools:

-Car ramps

-Metric sockets and ratchet

-Vice grips

-Metal bristle brush

Process:

I drove the car onto the ramps and set the e-brake (car in park or 1^st gear).

I removed the two bolts holding each of the sway bar cushions to the car. The metal strap came off once the bolts were out.

I wrestled the bushing off of the sway bar. Both the stock bushing and the new Energy bushing were split to allow me to pop them onto the sway bar.

I took a metal bristle brush and cleaned the metal strap, the sway bar, and the surface of the car where the new bushing would sit.

I took a craft stick (popsicle stick) and coated the inside of the new bushing with the grease supplied with the kit. This stuff is messy, so I had some acetone on hand to get it off of my hands. Disposable gloves would have been a good idea.

I popped the bushing onto the sway bar, orienting the cut in the bushing so it faced the front of the car. I started the bolts back on but did not completely tighten them. This gives me room to move the sway bar around in a minute to get at the end link pieces. I’m halfway done.

I used vice grips to grab the top of the sway bar end link to keep it from turning, and used a socket and ratchet to turn the bolt head at the bottom to remove the bolt.

Once the bolt was out, I reassembled all of the pieces on the workbench as they came out so I’d know how to piece together all of the new pieces. None of the old stuff gets reused.

NOTE: This picture shows a bunch of threads near the right end. The “top” of the end link (circled) was originally threaded all the way on to make contact with the rest of the pieces.

I didn’t take a picture of the new pieces on the bench, but from the installed pics you can see how I emulated the shape of the original:

NOTE: See the orientation of the washer? I put all the washers on so the “lip” of the washer held the bushing piece next to it in place. Just as the bushings disappear into the control arm you can just see I actually have two washers back to back.

Here’s the top of the arrangement:

The nut at the top has a nylon insert, so I grabbed a box end wrench and my socket and started ratcheting away, being careful not to bust a knuckle on any of the sharp edges down there. I snugged the bolt to 250 in-lb, just under 21 ft-lb.

Next, I went back and snugged the bolts holding the sway bar cushion to 250 in-lb. That’s all there is to it!