Replacing sway bar

[morfeo_ur]

Hello everybody,

I have been annoyed for a while by a nasty clunking. It sounds every time I take a left turn and sometimes over bumps or uneven surfaces. I first thought it was the CV axle, but the boots seemed to be fine. For some reason too long to explain here, I ended up with a suspension kit that had both control arms, sway end links and tie rods, and I thought that by replacing all that the clunking should go away. But as I was getting started with the job, I noticed that the right bushing of the sway bar is completely worn out, and that seems to be the culprit. I thought, well, I only have to replace the bushing, ¿right? but now I just learned that it is vulcanized to the bar, so it seems that I'd have to replace the bar too.

So, long story short, I have to replace the sway bar. But I don't know if I can to do it myself, since I would have to lower the front sub-frame, which seems to be a big tackle. I am a grad student and money is a BIG concern. I would have to do it in the parking lot (I already replaced the radiator there, among other stuff. The neighbors don't like it that much, but... meh), and don't have access to a lift. Is there any chance I can get away with that job? How much would you think an indie shop will charge for the labor? Any tips I should follow if I decide to do it myself? there is not much literature on that respect (or at least I cannot find it).

Here are the links that have been helpful so far:

http://volvospeed.com/~volvo/Mods/sway_front.html



Also, is it be possible to take one from a pick and pull without much hassle?

Thank you very much for reading this, and thanks in advance if you have any information that might be useful right now.

[theWIFES_S70]

Hey morfeo_ur,

It's a doable job. Just not a very fun one or one that's for the faint of heart. Dropping the subframe is not "really" that hard, it is only held on by 4 supertorqued 18mm bolts. The directions for this job are pretty straightforward:

- jack car and place on jackstands,
- remove wheels,
- disconnect sway end links,
- loosen all four a little (I'd say maybe 60 degrees?)
- place jack under rearmost part of subframe
- remove rearmost subframe bolts
- slowly lower the subframe (I believe you only need to lower it 1/2 inch or so in order to be able to crack the sway bar bushing bolts)
- remove sway bar
- install the new sway bar and lift the subframe up
- reinstall subframe bolts using loctite
- you really should remove and reinstall the front subframe bolts with loctite, too (but I think a lot of folks don't do that)

I was thinking about doing this job as when I looked at my sway bar bushings, I noticed that they looked entirely eaten away inside. The bar itself is interchangeable across all the different models (for my 98 S70 anyhow), with the Base, GLT and Turbo ones costing more respectively. (I think the rubber is thicker as you pay more? I'm not sure.) I believe the cheapest version is only $120 from Tasca. ($121.50: http://www.tascaparts.com/volvo/s70/917 ... ilizer-bar) Which is not too terrible. But after having to do my subframe bushings twice, and removing and torquing those subframe bolts, and reading up on that user who broke off one of the nuts that those subframe bushings screw into, I figure it's not absolutely critical to do. However, if the wife keeps complaining about that noise, I'll have to address it...

I'm chasing a "KER-FLUNK" in the front end of my car and have scheduled a whole day to replace control arms, axles, and sway end links to see if that makes it go away... (I am after all two-years into a set of Karyln sway end links so lets hope it's just that!) If it doesn't go away, I'll know for certain it's the sway bar. But I don't know if I have the stamina to get under there again...

[morfeo_ur]

Hey theWIFES_S70,

thanks for your thorough response, it is people like you the ones that make me try to do what at first seems like plain madness. I have found that doing these repairs makes me more attached to the car. I don't know if it's good or bad, but it just happens. I have to admit that I have thought of getting rid of the car in the past for various reasons, but then I think about the hours I have put in it, and how I have felt while driving it after a difficult repair, and I just can't stand the thought. Right now I am also thinking of peeling off the old bushings (although I've read that it's a PITA) to save an extra hundred. I'll decide tomorrow.

Good luck hunting that noise! I know how annoying they are... remember that you can always upgrade the stereo! or put and aux jack to it so the wife never gets bored of the same radio!