sway bar inquiry

[94cylcamry]

Umm...I guess that's what it's called. The bar that stretches over the engine and goes from top mast to top mast? Anyway, I was thinking of just buying a cheap one of those for my 94 Camry LE. The main reason I want one is so that the steering on the highway could be a little less loose.

It's not the steering wheel itself...it just seems like the car's steering turns really rubbery on the high way. Would a front sway bar help this at all?

...Also, a little while ago...we replaced the...[letter combination..] joint on the drivers side of the car. Can't remember what it was called...PV joint maybe? Sorry, still very new to this. But anyways, it was just my two uncles and I that did the job. Should I get the tires aligned now that we're done? I wonder if that had any effect on steering. The Camry was never very steady above 70mph, but it seems a bit worse now.

Thanks!

[TheKevin]

you're referring to a front strut bar, not sway bar. you could find a few on ebay. they dont do much.

[94cylcamry]

I thought the strut bar went on the bottom? And I hear it helps a little for older cars...eh.

http://www.andysautosport.com/toyota...a00087946.html

And I was just looking at that one^^...should have bought it while it was still $18 though.

[eurohazard]

I bought a cheap-o strut bar on ebay. It looks decent enough, and helped stiffen the front a bit. Can my car now pull .9 g around corners?, of course not. But when I enter a slanted driveway at an angle, I can feel much less flex in the car than without it.

[94cylcamry]

Haha, well a slight improvement is all I'm looking for. Sounds good. And hey, your engine bay looks great! How did you get everything looking so shiny?

[Mazeraski]

It's a front tower strut brace. I've heard good things about the Freedom Design one here:

http://www.freedomdesign.com/Merchan...e=strutbraces4

I plan to get this one soon. Hope that helps

[eurohazard]

Thanks for the complement. I had just got done washing it, so that didn't hurt! You can see my son in the car "helping". Honestly I think being a California car all its life has helped the overall condition under the hood. I bought it used, and I did a lot of detail work, but all and all it was in nice shape. The only flaw is the top of the windshield washer fluid holder, the Cali sun's UV rays cracked the top of it. It appears just enough of it came through the gap between the fender and hood.

I painted my grill gloss black, you can see the blue spark plug wires, and intake. I also polished my exhaust manifold shield using 1500 grit wet and metal polish. And I think the sun is hitting the valve cover just right to make it seem shinier than it is. I cleaned it with a wire brush, but no polishing was done to it.

[5SlowFE]

Yes, you should get it aligned, and as for steering looseness at highway speeds, you should check your tie rod ends and ball joints, especially since you said that the steering feels worse now that the axle shaft has been replaced.

A strut tower bar will not correct loose steering, it only helps with chassis flex during hard cornering ( and it should be triangulated to the firewall to REALLY work properly, the cheap-o ones are just for show ). I'll make my own when I get around to it...

[cellings]

your struts may be bad.

[deezeejoey]

Originally Posted by eurohazard

I bought a cheap-o strut bar on ebay. It looks decent enough, and helped stiffen the front a bit. Can my car now pull .9 g around corners?, of course not. But when I enter a slanted driveway at an angle, I can feel much less flex in the car than without it.

How much did it cost, and how easy was it for you to do your intake?

[94cylcamry]

I'll have to check and see if the struts have ever been replaced, and when.