rear swaybar installation problem???? someone please comment

1093 Views 14 Replies 8 Participants Last post by DasoGTI, Mar 3, 2002

Rave'nGTi

Discussion Starter · Feb 11, 2002

Back when I installed my neuspeed rear bar (25mm) I got it as centered as I possibly could.. using the indentions on the beam as refrence points... and then the shock mount itself. I got the beam mounts tight.. and then did the drivers side endlink no problem. The pass side though.. the bolt only went halfway through the endlink and then I had to pry the bar a bit and bang on the bolt. It was a bit tighter fit. I reloosened all the bolts and yanked on the bar to see if it would shift to the drivers side a hair.. then tightend it all back up. I didnt think anything of it again since there didnt seem to be any bind or odd noises... until....
I had posted this pic yesterday after washing the car

and everyone had immediatly commented on how my car was sagging on one side!! people said they had noticed it before too and didnt comment... and someone asked if I had tightnd the swaybar too tight on one side... or got it misalighned when I installed it.
I took these measurements as it sat in the driveway
DF 26 5/8 PF 27
DR 27 7/8 PR 27 1/2
Then I said.. well duh heh... and pulled it into the garage.. which I think is fairly level. Then I got:
DF 26 6/8 PF 26 5/8
DR 27 5/8 PR 27 5/8
I measured axle shift from side to side in relation to the body.. using a straightedge and a level from the fender lip to the ground.. measured from the straightedge to the lip of the rim. It was within 1/16th of an inch.. with the 1/16th shift to the pass side.
I measured my endlinks and they were exactly the same length.
I noticed at work today though that it was canted to one side again though. perhaps its the pavement I thought... since I was parked where the pavement ended and the concrete for the curb began. So I pulled out and over and reparked and measured it again. Again pass side about 1/8th inch low... but I think air is low in that tire.
So I measured from the wheel lip to the fender to take out any sidewall differences and got:
DF 23 6/8 PF 23 6/8
DR 24 3/16 PR 24 1/8
but now i'm paranoid that I screwed up when I had to pry on that bar a little to get the bolt through. When i tightned the bolt I noticed it sucked that end of the bar ever so very slightly towards the drivers side. Hence why I loosend the axle mounts and tried to shift it a bit.
Do you guys think everything is A-OK???

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FlashRedGLS1.8T

· #2 · Feb 11, 2002

Re: rear swaybar installation problem???? someone please comment (Rave'nGTi)

That looks nasty! Something has to be wrong. Check tire pressure and get that thing in the air to make sure the nothing is wrong with the sway, because it shouldn't be like that!

Rave'nGTi

Discussion Starter · #3 · Feb 11, 2002

Re: rear swaybar installation problem???? someone please comment (FlashRedGLS1.8T)

well thats what I'm saying..
the picture was taken on the driveway... its angled and broken up pretty bad... not exactly even pavement... this was reflected in the measurements I took on the driveway as well.
However when its on even, level pavement then the car sits level!!!
So it sits extremely level as long as its on decent pavement... but people have me paranoid anyways.. thats why i'm asking about it

vedubau

· #4 · Feb 11, 2002

Re: rear swaybar installation problem???? someone please comment (Rave'nGTi)

A suggestion: Disconnect the end-links and drive the car around the block or some short distance and pull in to your drive way the same way and place that you took the photo. If the bar is causing this problem, you will notice a change. Another suggestion, before you do this, take a couple measurements with the bar attached and do the same without just to eliminate any unusual measurements.
I honestly don't think you have a problem. Most of your measurements from what I have read, are within a 1/4" of each side. Most concrete surfaces are not that flat! Good Luck

Rave'nGTi

Discussion Starter · #5 · Feb 12, 2002

2

Re: rear swaybar installation problem???? someone please comment (cchristensen)

well I cant disconnect both endlinks cause then the bar would drag the ground

would just unhooking one work?? that way the other endlink should hold it in place.... but the bar would be out of tension.
maybe I should just email this thread to neuspeed

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vedubau

· #6 · Feb 12, 2002

Re: rear swaybar installation problem???? someone please comment (Rave'nGTi)

Good point, you could tie-strap it up but undoing one should work too. However, My point was to prove that it doesn't affect it. I see no physical way the swaybar could cause the problem. A swaybar does not add lift to your suspension, it only opposes one wheel from moving against the other. I honestly think the problem is measuring on irregular surfaces or the car itself.
BTW, I ordered this same bar Saturday, and should receive it before the weekend. I'll let you know if I run into the same problem.
I hope you figure it out and that its not really a problem

Rave'nGTi

Discussion Starter · #7 · Feb 12, 2002

Re: rear swaybar installation problem???? someone please comment (cchristensen)

thanks.
I think I've pretty much figured out that its not a problem!!
I found a picture taken months before the swaybar install (Dec 27th... three days after I bought the car) and its just as 'crooked'

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M this 1!

· #8 · Feb 12, 2002

Re: rear swaybar installation problem???? someone please comment (Rave'nGTi)

your endlinks are adjustable aren't they? they're threaded and intended to be adjusted. you need to disconnect one side and drive around the block and then unscrew or screw in the endlink til the bolt fits without having to stress the bar. the bar should be in 'neutral' when the car is on flat ground. you may have to adjust both so it works perfect. do you have stock springs and shocks? if you don't it looks like one of your rubber shock inserts is upside down and that shock isn't sitting all the way in it's hole

soundzero

· #9 · Feb 12, 2002

2

Re: rear swaybar installation problem???? someone please comment (Rave'nGTi)

I have 28mm NS rearsway as well, and the difference it makes on handling is awesome but it has been making clunking sounds.
Judging by your photo, it has to do with your end link. One is tighten than the other.

I did the same thing when I installed mine the first time

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Rave'nGTi

Discussion Starter · #10 · Feb 12, 2002

Re: rear swaybar installation problem???? someone please comment (soundzero)

ok..
I thought we established here that the swaybar is fine... and there is nothing wrong with the car!!!
The car sat just as crooked in the driveway without the swaybar... and it sits almost perfectly level when its not in the driveway!!

M this 1!

· #11 · Feb 12, 2002

Re: rear swaybar installation problem???? someone please comment (Rave'nGTi)

well if you only have this problem when you're in the driveway, who the hell cares. pull out of the damn driveway before taking pictures, problem solved. but if not, all cars aren't flat on flat ground and that is why the swaybar is adjustable in this manner. other than that, your shock isn't set in right, if it's also angled in the street.

vedubau

· #12 · Feb 16, 2002

Re: rear swaybar installation problem???? someone please comment (Rave'nGTi)

Just wanted to let you know I installed my bar this morning. The car is setting the same after, as it did before the bar was installed. One thing I noticed when I put my endlinks together is that the threaded female end on one endlink, was not as deep as the other. When the male ends were threaded all the way in, I had like 1-2 threads exposed on one, but none on the other. So I backed them out a little and used a good precision steel ruler and measured between the holes. When I installed the bar, I had no trouble inserting the bolts...no hammer needed. So, if you still think you may have a problem, I would check the endlinks to make sure they are identical in length.

Agtronic

· #13 · Feb 28, 2002

Re: rear swaybar installation problem???? someone please comment (Rave'nGTi)

Looks like an optical illusion to me!

rastta

· #14 · Mar 2, 2002

Re: rear swaybar installation problem???? someone please comment (Agtronic)

Dani, there is no way the sway bar could affect the ride height of the car. Only two things could do that - a bent torsion beam or a misaligned or loose shock or possibly a bent shock mount. First - we can rule out a bent torsion bar cause your car has not been crashed. Second, if your shock was tightened correctly and sits in the mount straight, it's not the shock. The only possibility is if the shock mount on the trailing arm portion of the torsion beam was bent dramatically so the shock doesn't sit in it squarely.

DasoGTI

· #15 · Mar 3, 2002

Re: rear swaybar installation problem???? someone please comment (JLucchio)

Here's my thought, my car also looks crooked in my garage, but that's cause the ground's not level. The center of gravity of the car is no longer over the center of the car, meaning the weight shifts a little. This tiny little bit is absorbed by the suspension on one side making it compress a little. It's the opposite on the other side, less weight so less compression. so the car get crooked.
I don't think you've got to worry. You've even stated that when it's on nice level ground the car is straitened out just fine.

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