Broken rear sway bar.......
12-21-2007, 05:28 PM
#1
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: San Francisco, Ca
Posts: 805
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Broken rear sway bar.......
yeah, i now have a custome 2 piece Stillen rear sway bar........
When i had the fuel hose/evap hose recall done i had a clunking noise afterwards from the rear. I put the car on a lift and could not find the culprate. Every time i have had the car on a lift afterwards i look and cannot find anything. I figured my endlinks were shot (OEM) so i planned on replacing them. Well a few days ago as i pulled away from a stop i heard a HUGE POW. Today i put the car on a lift to fix a tire and again looked for my clunk, i went to the back and found my Stillen sway bar in two pieces
. It broke on the driver side just inboard of the bushing/mount. All of the techs i work with had never seen or heard of a sway bar doing this. For the record i did have the front and rear bar at the stiffest setting. The only problems i have had before this was the clunking and creaking on uneven pavement.
Iknow TTIWOP but i didnt have my camera with me. If you guys really wanna see it i can try to get some on the ground, or when i replace it......
When i had the fuel hose/evap hose recall done i had a clunking noise afterwards from the rear. I put the car on a lift and could not find the culprate. Every time i have had the car on a lift afterwards i look and cannot find anything. I figured my endlinks were shot (OEM) so i planned on replacing them. Well a few days ago as i pulled away from a stop i heard a HUGE POW. Today i put the car on a lift to fix a tire and again looked for my clunk, i went to the back and found my Stillen sway bar in two pieces
. It broke on the driver side just inboard of the bushing/mount. All of the techs i work with had never seen or heard of a sway bar doing this. For the record i did have the front and rear bar at the stiffest setting. The only problems i have had before this was the clunking and creaking on uneven pavement. Iknow TTIWOP but i didnt have my camera with me. If you guys really wanna see it i can try to get some on the ground, or when i replace it......
12-21-2007, 05:34 PM
#2
Registered User
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Washington
Posts: 645
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Lucky it didn't go POW at fast speeds and you somehow ended up in a wreck...don't know if that could happen if the swaybar breaks but I've never heard a sway bar break before.
12-21-2007, 06:09 PM
#4
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: San Francisco, Ca
Posts: 805
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by Jarred@Z1
Wow that is odd and very scary good to know though.
Yeah!! I am going to contact Stillen and see what they think. It is not exactly hard to install and i know i didn't mess it up.
12-21-2007, 06:38 PM
#6
Banned
iTrader: (24)
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: San Diego
Posts: 1,474
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Never would have thought I would here about this happening on these cars. All the Z's & G's that I install adjustable sway bars on (including Stillen) are set to full stiff, thats crazy this happened. It must have been a defect, cause I am sure that givin what we put our cars through, I would have seen this problem before. Let us know what Stillen says.
Last edited by WA2GOOD; 12-22-2007 at 04:56 PM.
Trending Topics
12-22-2007, 02:34 PM
#10
I wonder why the Stillen has that little bulge of metal before entering the bushing, instead of just a soild bar going all the way threw? Just makes it seem like that would be a weak link there, if it's not one soild piece instead of two, where it might join together causing a bad connection.
Last edited by VIZAGE; 12-22-2007 at 03:52 PM.
12-22-2007, 02:35 PM
#11
Sponsor
Z1 Motorsports
Z1 Motorsports
iTrader: (4)
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Peachtree City
Posts: 1,194
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by VIZAGE
I wonder why the Stillen has that little bulg of metal before entering the bushing, instead of just a soild bar going all the way threw? Just makes it seem like that would be a weak link there, if it's not one soild piece instead of two, where it might join together causing a bad connection.
NOne of the other popular sways have that.
12-22-2007, 02:55 PM
#14
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: San Francisco, Ca
Posts: 805
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I am not bashing Stillen in any way, I loved the bar and seriously think it has to be a defect. I have emailed them the pics and am awaiting reply, I think they should get to look at it if they want and offer advice/assistance. The ring is to keep the bar from moving from side to side in the mounts. I thought the 350evo or cusco had it, maybe im wrong.....
Another thing that makes me think it was a defective bar is i am running OEM endlinks and would think they would break before a bar shearing in half.....I dunno i am not an engineer, I want them to see pics and hear what they think.
Another thing that makes me think it was a defective bar is i am running OEM endlinks and would think they would break before a bar shearing in half.....I dunno i am not an engineer, I want them to see pics and hear what they think.
12-22-2007, 02:57 PM
#15
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: San Francisco, Ca
Posts: 805
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by Control 350z
i have never heard of sway bars breaking i have seen them rip the subframe but not break like that
Yeah, ITR rear sways will rip the subframe of regular integra's if they are not properly reinforced. I have seen that failure a few times....
12-22-2007, 03:42 PM
#16
Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: sacramento
Posts: 856
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by CLETUS
Yeah, ITR rear sways will rip the subframe of regular integra's if they are not properly reinforced. I have seen that failure a few times....
12-23-2007, 08:06 AM
#17
Registered User
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Canada
Posts: 420
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hard to tell from the picture but it looks like that collar is spot welded (that thicker piece going into the rubber bushing) there could have been some under cut created thus weakening the bar.
12-30-2007, 04:47 PM
#18
Registered User
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Sandy, UT
Posts: 191
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
i actually had my front cobb tuning bar break on my wrx right on the inside of the bushing. they ended up hooking me up with a new piece. never happened again after that. probably a defect.
05-28-2010, 07:40 AM
#20
Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Edmonton
Posts: 9
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Avoid the Stillen!
Sorry to bring this thread back from the dead, but my Front Stillen Sway Bar recently broke!
Installed October, 2005. Started making noise which I thought were the suspension arm bushings last fall or maybe a bit earlier (2009). Lots of noise a couple of weeks ago, and last week-end, I heard a big noise (sound of it snapping?)
Removed on the W/E (46,000 miles on the sway bars). Looks like it started as a crack last fall since part of the break is starting to rust. Finally let go last W/E.
I’ve never tracked the car, and though I’m an enthusiastic driver, am not overly aggressive. The bars are set on ‘medium’.
Stillen says that their bars are only warranted for 1 year so it’s not covered! I’m pretty disappointed with their response. I probably should have gone with Eibach which Stillen warranties for 1 million miles. Looks like they have more faith in other manufacturers than their own!
Installed October, 2005. Started making noise which I thought were the suspension arm bushings last fall or maybe a bit earlier (2009). Lots of noise a couple of weeks ago, and last week-end, I heard a big noise (sound of it snapping?)
Removed on the W/E (46,000 miles on the sway bars). Looks like it started as a crack last fall since part of the break is starting to rust. Finally let go last W/E.
I’ve never tracked the car, and though I’m an enthusiastic driver, am not overly aggressive. The bars are set on ‘medium’.
Stillen says that their bars are only warranted for 1 year so it’s not covered! I’m pretty disappointed with their response. I probably should have gone with Eibach which Stillen warranties for 1 million miles. Looks like they have more faith in other manufacturers than their own!
Last edited by Gordgee; 05-28-2010 at 07:41 AM.