Sway Bar bushing replacement- Info

[dbruce]

91 V6 Camry LE

I decided to replace my rear Sway Bar bushings today. Noise has been coming from the rear for quite a while. Lately, it started to sound like a creaking noise and was getting on my nerves.

Off I went to Napa to pick up the replacements. Napa charges 50 per side for the bushings. The replacement kit contains the bushings including the bar and nuts. The replacement is solid steel.

The ones I pulled off the car were plastic. Not exactly sure why plastic is used to attach the sway bar to the wheels. Seems pretty retarded.

To remove you need the following tools, 14mm rachet and small vise grip.

The bushings are attached with two nuts, one to the wheel (or something attached to it) and one to the sway bar. To remove, attach rachet to 14mm nut and then attach vice grip to inside ring the nut screws into. Since I don't have pictures, you will have to find the ring on your own. If you do not use the vise grip you will be racheting for quite some time with nothing to show for it (been there).

Once the bolts are off, remove the bushing and put on the new one. You can do it 15 minutes a side if nothing bad happens.

The noise seems to be gone from the rear. I also think the rear end sway is decreased......I may be imaging things though.

There are cheaper bushing versions from Autozone etc. Not sure what they are made of or if they contain the entire bushing or just the rubber ends. Napa gets my vote for the quality of the part and the AAA discount.

[DIRTBIKEZ]

Sound like you just replaced the endlinks, not the bushings. The bushings are located between the swaybar itself and the body.

[dbruce]

I installed the Napa sway bar repair kit.....which definetely made some positive changes.

Assuming the bushing are what holds the sway bar to the body, I will need to go out and replace those also. There was definetly play on the sway bar with the endlinks replaced.........so I believe you have something.

From the repair I just did, replacing the plastic endlinks (I assume that is what they are) is a good move.

Thaks for the note.

http://www.napaonline.com/cgi-bin/nc...grpid=47798652

[dbruce]

Just took the car out for another test drive.

Assuming the new "end links" are stiffer then the original (hard to believe they wouldn't be), I believe the noise has disapeared due to the change.

Tomorrow I will pull out the bushings (I bought the end links as a repair kit). Not disappointed I replaced the end linlks....they are plastic and flex.

Little more work to mess with tomorrow.