DIY: Aftermarket Sway Bar Installation (HUGE pics)

3hree5ive0ero · 04-25-2007, 03:16 AM

I didn't see a working DIY for the sway bar install, so I figured I'd do a little write up. This isn't a hard DIY at all, so you should be able to do it even if you don't have much experience working on cars. It's pretty straight forward. Sorry for the huge pics, but I don't feel like resizing them. Plus, bigger the pics, the better.

Hope this helps some of you guys.

level of difficulty:
1.25 out of 5 (5 being hardest)

approximate install time:
about 60 minutes

tools:
jack and stands
socket wrench with extension
10, 14, 17mm sockets
wd-40/pb blaster

Rear Sway Bar:
*note: using pb blaster/wd-40 will help with the rusted bolts/nuts.

1. Jack up the car high enough using the standard jack points (or frame) so you can slide under the car easily.

2. Remove the rear right wheel for easier access to the sway bar. (I don't remember it really helping or not helping, but I remember reading it in one of the directions)

3. There are two plastic covers, each with three 10mm nuts/bolts, right under the rear sway bar ends. Remove them.

4. There is one nut at each end of the sway bar bolted to the end link, which you need to remove using a 14mm socket. "Unhook" the ends from the rear sway bar.

5. Remove the nuts that hold the mid-pipe and the muffler in place. It'll be easier to take out and put in the sway bar with them disconnected. It's also easier if you take the mid-pipe off the rubber mount as it will move more freely.

6. As you probably have seen, there is a metal bracket holding up the sway bar on each side. Remove them by taking off the two 14mm nuts holding each of them in place. (Be sure to re-use the stock rubber dampener that was fitted on your stock sway bars for the metal brackets, if your sways did not come with them)

7. Take out the rear sway bar by sliding it out between the mid-pipe and muffler.
[no pic]

8. Now, with the new sway bar, just follow the above directions, but in reverse order.
[no pic]

Front Sway Bar: (directions are similar to the rears, so this'll be shorter with less pictures)
*note: using pb blaster/wd-40 will help with the rusted bolts/nuts.

1. Jack up the car high enough using the standard jack points (or frame) so you can slide under the car easily.

2. Remove the huge splash guard directly under the engine to gain access to the sway bar. These are plastic push clips and screws (10mm).
[no pic]

3. Remove the 17mm nut from each end of the front sway bar/end link and "unhook" the sway bar from the end link.

4. Again, you'll see a metal bracket holding up the sway bar in place. There are four 14mm bolts holding up the brakets in place. Remove them and then the brackets.

5. Remove the front sway bar. (Be sure to re-use the stock rubber dampener that was fitted on your stock sway bars for the metal brackets, if your sways did not come with them)
[no pic]

6. Now, with the new sway bar, just follow the above directions, but in reverse order. When bolting up the brackets, be sure to thread them all in first before tightening.
[no pic]

ZSpectrum · 04-26-2007, 01:07 AM

where are the pics?

r0mey · 04-26-2007, 01:08 AM

yea where are the pics n thank u

3hree5ive0ero · 04-26-2007, 01:45 AM

Photobucket is down for site maintenance. If you need the pics before they're back up, then just let me know and I can email them to you.

edit-
The site is back up and the pictures are working fine.

350Z84 · 08-01-2007, 06:11 PM

Thanks for the write-up. I'll be doing this install next week.

3hree5ive0ero · 08-01-2007, 09:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 350Z84

Thanks for the write-up. I'll be doing this install next week.

You're welcome. Let me know if you need any help. I may be able to help, depeding on the day, time, and whether or not you'll show up to the drag race day.

350Z84 · 08-06-2007, 09:04 PM

I will be there for the drag day. I got off all day that day! I will hopefully be putting the sways in tomorrow after Fedex drops them off.

Quick question did you separate the exhaust muffler and pipe connecting up to it to remove the swaybar, and if so did you have to put a new exhaust gasket in when you put the exhaust back together? Or, did you just take off the bracket and pull the sway bars over the top and towards the rear of the vehicle.

Thanks,

3hree5ive0ero · 08-06-2007, 09:23 PM

As stated above, it's easier if you disconnect the mid-pipe from the muffler. I think it's possible to do it without unbolting the muffler, but why make it harder on yourself? And if you're using the stock exhaust, Nismo, or Fujitsubo exhaust, there's no gasket between the muffler and the mid-pipe. It's an O-ring, which is made of rubber. And it does not need to be replaced.

350Z84 · 08-07-2007, 12:35 AM

Awesome. That answers exactly what I needed. Hopefully Fedex will get here early so I can start on this first thing.

Accordaleer · 08-09-2007, 03:12 PM

Very nice, just as easy as when i did it on my 98 cavalier heh. I didnt have front or rear sways, just imagine.... I winded up totaling that car a few weeks after the install. The car oversteered real bad as hard to beleive as that is in a cavalier lol. Someone someone stopped short and i swurved around them and fishtailed and hit grass and slid into a tree sideways.... ugh lol, imagine the Z with no sways..... oh wow.

EDIT: meant to add, i had only installed a rear, thats why it oversteered bad. I was uneducated at the time =(

thinking · 08-28-2007, 05:32 AM

Did you grease those things?
Also, any clunking?

3hree5ive0ero · 08-28-2007, 08:32 AM

I didn't grease them and there's no clunking whatsoever.

ANXIOUZ · 08-29-2007, 02:33 PM

Nice writeup. Thanks for taking the time.

I should be tackling this install on Labor Day. Any tips on the difference with me installing Hotchkis sways with my Borla TD? I'd prefer to not touch the Borla at all (if possible) since I'm leak and rattle free at the moment.

And I need to pick up some new jacks/ramps. Any recommendations?

3hree5ive0ero · 08-29-2007, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ANXIOUZ

Nice writeup. Thanks for taking the time.

I should be tackling this install on Labor Day. Any tips on the difference with me installing Hotchkis sways with my Borla TD? I'd prefer to not touch the Borla at all (if possible) since I'm leak and rattle free at the moment.

And I need to pick up some new jacks/ramps. Any recommendations?

You're welcome. I don't exactly know the layouts of the Borla TD exhaust, but I'd assume it's basically the same. You may or may not have to unbolt pieces of the exhaust to replace the sways with less effort.

Just be sure to use floor jacks and not the scissor jacks (oem-like) and you should be good. Also, I heard that the Rhino(?) ramps from Wal-Mart are pretty good, especially considering its price. You may want to look into that.

Bahnzii · 09-02-2007, 01:56 AM

I took at quick glance at this write-up and got to work today.

Piece-O-Cake

You definitely do not have to take the rear wheel off to do the rear sway bar.
Just take your time and when you are under the car, swivel the passenger side towards the rear of the car and slowly start getting the curve over the exhaust pipe. Once you get a little ways over, it comes out just fine.

Putting the new rear sway bar in is just reversing the steps

The install notes for the Hotchkis front sway says to use a 14mm socket to take off the nuts for the endlinks, mine were 17mm (2007 350z) just as the OP noted.

I set the front at full stiff and the rear in the medium (middle hole) setting. You can definitely notice a difference in the (lack of) body roll in the corners now. I'm going to have to go corner carving tomorrow and see how well it tracks in longer and tighter corners

As far as ramps go, you don't need any for the rear, just jack it up from the pumpkin and then put your jack stands at the jack points.

For the front however, you would need a looong jack to reach the jack point.
So I drove up on my ghettos ramps (3 1x4's, staggered and nailed together) and then I could get the jack far enough under to reach the jack point.

I have Rhino ramps, but they don't work once your car is lowered, so I may have to try this next time so I don't look so ghetto

http://www.z1auto.com/prodmore.asp?m...ng&prodid=2346

ANXIOUZ · 09-03-2007, 06:19 PM

07's seems to have 17mm whereas all previous models use 14mm or 10mm for the endlinks. I forget which.

FWIW I couldn't get my **** up my Rhino Ramps...the ramps kept sliding forward.

But even with a 1/2" drop you're dealing with clearance issues.

Bahnzii · 09-03-2007, 06:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ANXIOUZ

07's seems to have 17mm whereas all previous models use 14mm or 10mm for the endlinks. I forget which.

FWIW I couldn't get my **** up my Rhino Ramps...the ramps kept sliding forward.

But even with a 1/2" drop you're dealing with clearance issues.

14mm from the OP...

As for the Rhino ramps, I had the same problem when I first got them with my other car. What I ended up using was one of those roll-up oil drip mats, it was wide enough to space out the ramps far enough drive up on and then the rubber backing on the mat kept them from sliding.

You could also try even something simple like a towel or some of that rubbery shelf liner (for the kitchen) to give them something "sticky" to grab on to the cement...

How did you like the mod?

I can totally feel the difference in the faster or tighter corners, nice cheap but totally must-do handling mod!!

04-25-2007, 03:16 AM	#1
3hree5ive0ero - - A d m i n i s t r a t o r - - Join Date: Dec 2037 Location: Dallas Posts: 7,341 iTrader: (28)	DIY: Aftermarket Sway Bar Installation (HUGE pics) I didn't see a working DIY for the sway bar install, so I figured I'd do a little write up. This isn't a hard DIY at all, so you should be able to do it even if you don't have much experience working on cars. It's pretty straight forward. Sorry for the huge pics, but I don't feel like resizing them. Plus, bigger the pics, the better. Hope this helps some of you guys. level of difficulty: 1.25 out of 5 (5 being hardest) approximate install time: about 60 minutes tools: jack and stands socket wrench with extension 10, 14, 17mm sockets wd-40/pb blaster Rear Sway Bar: note: using pb blaster/wd-40 will help with the rusted bolts/nuts. 1. Jack up the car high enough using the standard jack points (or frame) so you can slide under the car easily. 2. Remove the rear right wheel for easier access to the sway bar. (I don't remember it really helping or not helping, but I remember reading it in one of the directions) 3. There are two* plastic covers, each with three 10mm nuts/bolts, right under the rear sway bar ends. Remove them. 4. There is one nut at each end of the sway bar bolted to the end link, which you need to remove using a 14mm socket. "Unhook" the ends from the rear sway bar. 5. Remove the nuts that hold the mid-pipe and the muffler in place. It'll be easier to take out and put in the sway bar with them disconnected. It's also easier if you take the mid-pipe off the rubber mount as it will move more freely. 6. As you probably have seen, there is a metal bracket holding up the sway bar on each side. Remove them by taking off the two 14mm nuts holding each of them in place. (Be sure to re-use the stock rubber dampener that was fitted on your stock sway bars for the metal brackets, if your sways did not come with them) 7. Take out the rear sway bar by sliding it out between the mid-pipe and muffler. [no pic] 8. Now, with the new sway bar, just follow the above directions, but in reverse order. [no pic] Front Sway Bar: (directions are similar to the rears, so this'll be shorter with less pictures) note: using pb blaster/wd-40 will help with the rusted bolts/nuts. 1. Jack up the car high enough using the standard jack points (or frame) so you can slide under the car easily. 2. Remove the huge splash guard directly under the engine to gain access to the sway bar. These are plastic push clips and screws (10mm). [no pic] 3. Remove the 17mm* nut from each end of the front sway bar/end link and "unhook" the sway bar from the end link. 4. Again, you'll see a metal bracket holding up the sway bar in place. There are four 14mm bolts holding up the brakets in place. Remove them and then the brackets. 5. Remove the front sway bar. (Be sure to re-use the stock rubber dampener that was fitted on your stock sway bars for the metal brackets, if your sways did not come with them) [no pic] 6. Now, with the new sway bar, just follow the above directions, but in reverse order. When bolting up the brackets, be sure to thread them all in first before tightening. [no pic] __________________ -\|\|- 2003 DB 350Z Touring 6MT -\|\|- 252.75whp 233.16wtq (5/26/07) -\|\|- -\|\|- 13.212@104.75 mph (4/6/07 - N/A) -\|\|- 12.520@110.17 mph (11/16/08 - 75 shot of N2O) -\|\|- Lists of fastest 1/4 mile drivers/times on the forum. How do you compare?

04-26-2007, 01:45 AM	#4
3hree5ive0ero - - A d m i n i s t r a t o r - - Join Date: Dec 2037 Location: Dallas Posts: 7,341 iTrader: (28)	Photobucket is down for site maintenance. If you need the pics before they're back up, then just let me know and I can email them to you. edit- The site is back up and the pictures are working fine. __________________ -\|\|- 2003 DB 350Z Touring 6MT -\|\|- 252.75whp 233.16wtq (5/26/07) -\|\|- -\|\|- 13.212@104.75 mph (4/6/07 - N/A) -\|\|- 12.520@110.17 mph (11/16/08 - 75 shot of N2O) -\|\|- Lists of fastest 1/4 mile drivers/times on the forum. How do you compare? Last edited by 3hree5ive0ero; 04-26-2007 at 02:37 AM.

08-01-2007, 06:11 PM	#5
350Z84 Registered User Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Dallas, Texas Posts: 695 iTrader: (5)	Thanks for the write-up. I'll be doing this install next week. __________________ Audi Quattro Driver

08-06-2007, 09:04 PM	#7
350Z84 Registered User Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Dallas, Texas Posts: 695 iTrader: (5)	I will be there for the drag day. I got off all day that day! I will hopefully be putting the sways in tomorrow after Fedex drops them off. Quick question did you separate the exhaust muffler and pipe connecting up to it to remove the swaybar, and if so did you have to put a new exhaust gasket in when you put the exhaust back together? Or, did you just take off the bracket and pull the sway bars over the top and towards the rear of the vehicle. Thanks, __________________ Audi Quattro Driver Last edited by 350Z84; 08-06-2007 at 09:07 PM.

08-06-2007, 09:23 PM	#8
3hree5ive0ero - - A d m i n i s t r a t o r - - Join Date: Dec 2037 Location: Dallas Posts: 7,341 iTrader: (28)	As stated above, it's easier if you disconnect the mid-pipe from the muffler. I think it's possible to do it without unbolting the muffler, but why make it harder on yourself? And if you're using the stock exhaust, Nismo, or Fujitsubo exhaust, there's no gasket between the muffler and the mid-pipe. It's an O-ring, which is made of rubber. And it does not need to be replaced. __________________ -\|\|- 2003 DB 350Z Touring 6MT -\|\|- 252.75whp 233.16wtq (5/26/07) -\|\|- -\|\|- 13.212@104.75 mph (4/6/07 - N/A) -\|\|- 12.520@110.17 mph (11/16/08 - 75 shot of N2O) -\|\|- Lists of fastest 1/4 mile drivers/times on the forum. How do you compare?

04-26-2007, 01:07 AM	#2
ZSpectrum I HAS MANY WAX Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Dallas, tx Posts: 3,127 iTrader: (4)	where are the pics?

08-07-2007, 12:35 AM	#9
350Z84 Registered User Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Dallas, Texas Posts: 695 iTrader: (5)	Awesome. That answers exactly what I needed. Hopefully Fedex will get here early so I can start on this first thing. __________________ Audi Quattro Driver

08-09-2007, 03:12 PM	#10
Accordaleer Registered User Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Freehold,NJ Posts: 1,073 iTrader: (3)	Very nice, just as easy as when i did it on my 98 cavalier heh. I didnt have front or rear sways, just imagine.... I winded up totaling that car a few weeks after the install. The car oversteered real bad as hard to beleive as that is in a cavalier lol. Someone someone stopped short and i swurved around them and fishtailed and hit grass and slid into a tree sideways.... ugh lol, imagine the Z with no sways..... oh wow. EDIT: meant to add, i had only installed a rear, thats why it oversteered bad. I was uneducated at the time =( __________________ ~07 Silver Alloy Touring 5AT~ 20% Tint all around, S2k Antenna, Clear reflectors, Philips 6000k bulbs.... more to come..

08-28-2007, 05:32 AM	#11
thinking Registered User Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Right Here Posts: 163 iTrader: (3)	Did you grease those things? Also, any clunking?

08-28-2007, 08:32 AM	#12
3hree5ive0ero - - A d m i n i s t r a t o r - - Join Date: Dec 2037 Location: Dallas Posts: 7,341 iTrader: (28)	I didn't grease them and there's no clunking whatsoever. __________________ -\|\|- 2003 DB 350Z Touring 6MT -\|\|- 252.75whp 233.16wtq (5/26/07) -\|\|- -\|\|- 13.212@104.75 mph (4/6/07 - N/A) -\|\|- 12.520@110.17 mph (11/16/08 - 75 shot of N2O) -\|\|- Lists of fastest 1/4 mile drivers/times on the forum. How do you compare?

08-29-2007, 02:33 PM	#13
ANXIOUZ Registered User Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Orange County, CA Posts: 3,758 iTrader: (13)	Nice writeup. Thanks for taking the time. I should be tackling this install on Labor Day. Any tips on the difference with me installing Hotchkis sways with my Borla TD? I'd prefer to not touch the Borla at all (if possible) since I'm leak and rattle free at the moment. And I need to pick up some new jacks/ramps. Any recommendations? __________________ 03 BBY EVO VIII with stuff ::03 SB 350Z Track [Sold]

09-02-2007, 01:56 AM	#15
Bahnzii Registered User Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: CA Posts: 84 iTrader: (1)	I took at quick glance at this write-up and got to work today. Piece-O-Cake You definitely do not have to take the rear wheel off to do the rear sway bar. Just take your time and when you are under the car, swivel the passenger side towards the rear of the car and slowly start getting the curve over the exhaust pipe. Once you get a little ways over, it comes out just fine. Putting the new rear sway bar in is just reversing the steps The install notes for the Hotchkis front sway says to use a 14mm socket to take off the nuts for the endlinks, mine were 17mm (2007 350z) just as the OP noted. I set the front at full stiff and the rear in the medium (middle hole) setting. You can definitely notice a difference in the (lack of) body roll in the corners now. I'm going to have to go corner carving tomorrow and see how well it tracks in longer and tighter corners As far as ramps go, you don't need any for the rear, just jack it up from the pumpkin and then put your jack stands at the jack points. For the front however, you would need a looong jack to reach the jack point. So I drove up on my ghettos ramps (3 1x4's, staggered and nailed together) and then I could get the jack far enough under to reach the jack point. I have Rhino ramps, but they don't work once your car is lowered, so I may have to try this next time so I don't look so ghetto http://www.z1auto.com/prodmore.asp?m...ng&prodid=2346 Last edited by Bahnzii; 09-02-2007 at 01:58 AM.

09-03-2007, 06:19 PM	#16
ANXIOUZ Registered User Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Orange County, CA Posts: 3,758 iTrader: (13)	07's seems to have 17mm whereas all previous models use 14mm or 10mm for the endlinks. I forget which. FWIW I couldn't get my ** up my Rhino Ramps...the ramps kept sliding forward. But even with a 1/2" drop you're dealing with clearance issues. __________________ 03 BBY EVO VIII** with stuff ::03 SB 350Z Track [Sold]