NON-I.E. sway bar install advice.

[TobyB]

Ya, pan's off for an oil pump swap, sticky pressure relief valve.... PITA

Hear you there. Don't fix it, pop the relief O-ring, hate life even more.

Both our street cars have done that now.

And to make matters worse, the (very nice) parts car engine in

my car CAME pre- popped.

I'll FAQ it if I ever fix mine...

t

[02Les]

Well, don't get me wrong here, but I am pleased to hear someone else has problems working on our beloved '02s.

I keep seeing posts about, it only takes a couple of hours to do that, and you can fire up the BBQ & celebrate the quick & easy job before sunset.

I redid the front & rear suspension on my Blue '76 in December. NOT ONE bolt gave up it's position without a fight, and (getting to your point) refitting even the stock front sway bar with new bushings was trial on its own; I'm thinking, how the hell did I get it out?

It was a week I will never forget, I can't remember how many beers it took.

You'll figure it out, we all do, but some of us not so darn quick as others.

Good luck.

[eurotrash]

This is getting bad.. I guess they had to make this bar set because it was out of stock..

Advertised 7/8" O.D. bar.. 7/8" mounting kit from ST.

YEAH, ITS 1"!! WTC?! They musy have made it out of the wrong stock?!

This is a train wreck..

[nbcbird]

I have done this procedure many times and it is not that difficult--of course the first is always the toughest. You will have to wedge the bar between the frame rails and front valance a little if you do not drop the front suspension--clearance is very tight but the valance should deform enough without distorting.

Use plenty of silcone grease in assembling the brackets and bushings. Be sure leave the rear ends of the bar unattached. Critical here is the correct sizing of the bushings to the bar/bracket, but it is possible the get everything in position. Your bottom photo leads me to some suspicion that the bushings are not the correct size (you should be able to partially slip the bracket over it in a dry fit). I found it necessary to use either longer bolts or a C-clamp to compress the bracket for initial tightening. I switched to shorter allen bolts after it came together. Tighten up the each mounting bolt a little at a time or you can deform the bracket.

Do not despair, if you got the rear bar installed with the same sized bar, bushings and original brackets, then the front should fit as well. The trick is compressing everything to fit and if your are attempting this in a unheated garage in winter, then it is no surprise you are having difficulty.

And finally for the drop links, it is better to install the bolt with the threads up (to avoid damage) as I mentioned in a previous note (also Bill Williams). Also the cupped washers face away from the bushings.--Jim

[josh72ooh2]

What is the story with those cups? the diagram that comes with the ST sway bars says to have the bushings in the cups. I did mine according to the diagram but have since realized that the cups should be reversed. I have to reverse my bolt so the threads are facing the other way and i will flip the cups when i do so... but why?

Also, i forgot to mention when i did the install, i have a really good pry bar in my garage. it is about 18" inches long and one end is like the back of a hammer. I remember using that to do some serious leverage when working the bar over the tow hook area.

-josh

[nbcbird]

Every one of the 2002 service books (including the factory service manual) show the orientation of the cupped washer facing AWAY from the bushing. This is the way they were originally installed on my 2002. If you install them the other way, you could possibly compress the bushing more than necessary. They need to flex a little for street use (maybe racers have another opinion on this).

So who do you want you want to believe the BMW factory or ST?

[eurotrash]

..Your bottom photo leads me to some suspicion that the bushings are not the correct size (you should be able to partially slip the bracket over it in a dry fit). ...

The bar came in a 1" diameter, the bushings are for the advertised 7/8". This additional diameter has made it impossible to get between the tow hook/frame. I am returning it through summit and the tech from Addco is correcting the problem on his end and expects to ship me another by the end of the week...

I have the subframe dropped (body lifted actually) for as much clearance as the fan/shroud will allow and the struts pulled out entirely. -which is fine because I want to install a set of fixed camber plates and with all of the weight trimmed from the front of the car lately (battery, big bumpers etc.), trim a half turn or so off of the top of my springs.. But with the sub frame down, the proper bar should go in as easy as it possibly could..

more later.