Rear Sway Bar Bushing Question

[nbender]

Hey there,

Just purchased a 2000 Camry CE - Thanks to all in this forum for clearing up any 'Oil Sludge' concerns I had! Your input helped me purchase another great car (also have a '92 Camry). Mechanic pulled the valve covers and said it was perfect!

Now, my mechanic said the rear sway bar bushing were worn and he could move it around a bit...said it was no immediate concern. The car has 160 000 kms (100 000 miles)

I seem to get quite a bit of rear suspension clunking when going over little bumps at about 60 km/h - from what I gather in this forum this is due to the worn bushings? Is this correct?

Also, occasionally depending on the size of the bump and how I hit it the bump the back end feels 'loose' almost like it gets into a small wobble/fishtail

Is this a symptom of the worn bushings as well?

Thanks in advance for any input!

[Mike Gerber]

It can be. It can also be worn rear struts, broken rear strut mounts, broken sway bar end links, or worn bushing(s) in the rear lateral control rods. Someone has to get under the car and check all these things.

You might as well change the rear sway bar bushings as a first step. This is an easy repair. I would get under there first and spray the bolts that hold the clamps with a good penetrating oil like PB blaster. I would do this for a couple of days before attempting to the replacement, to let time and vibration from driving help the PB Blaster work it's way in to the threads. You can purchase the rubber bushings at most aftermarket auto parts stores.

In the future it would help people answer your questions if you included the car's current mileage in your posts.

Mike

[nbender]

Thanks! Mileage updated...before I purchased it my mechanic went over it very thoroughly and indicated the only suspension issue he could detect were the bushings...

[toyomoho]

Clunking and squeaking over bumps is typical of worn sway bar bushings, the fishtailing is not. Check to see if the suspension is loose by jacking up each rear wheel and giving it a shake.