Rear Sway Bar Installation

If you have a base Talon, Talon ESi, or Eclipse RS, you may want to install a rear sway bar like your DSM siblings. First off, you will need to order the parts. The original parts list came from Rich Benner, Jr. The following is my updated version:

               Amount needed Part Number

                   1 bar                 mr130722
                   2 brackets        mb515245
                   2 bushings        mb303540
                   4 bolts               mf241251
                   4 nuts                mb288653
                   2 links               mb892982
                   2 arms               mr131754

              Order parts well in advance in case of back-order problems

First thing to do is to block both front wheels. At some point the entire rear end will be off of the ground and the front wheels will be the only thing keeping the car from rolling away. Next, jack up one of the rear corners of the car and support it with a jackstand or blocks of wood. Remove the wheel and spray down the appropriate bolts liberally with WD-40.

If you have ABS, use a 12 mm socket to remove the 3 bolts that hold that ABS line in place. This allows you access to the bolts holding the lower arm in place. Use a breaker bar with a 17 mm socket to remove the lower arm bolts. I like to use a box end wrench to hold the other side of the bolt. You can use a hydraulic jack to hold the wrench end if you don't have anyone to help you. It take a decent amount of force to break those bolts loose. Don't worry about the knuckle dropping on you leg when you pull the lower arm out, it is being held up by the springs. You also might need to jack up the exhaust pipe to remove the furthest lower arm bolt. You may wish to pound the bolts out with a wooden dowel and mallet.

Now that you've got the lower arm out, compare it to the turbo one. The old arm looks awfully flimsy compared to the new one. Notice the turbo one has be boxed in with some extra metal. This has got to give it greater rigidity in twisting.

Now you should attach the link to the lower arm while you've got it away from the car. Wrap it in a cloth and put it in a vice. The cloth is to protect the paint, don't want to invite rust. Use two 14 mm wrenches to tighten the link bolt to about 28 ft-lbs. Now you can install the lower arm loosely. Don't fully tighten the bolts. This is where it gets tricky. With this side of the car on jack stands or blocks, repeat the process on the other side. Eventually, you should be left with the rear end of the car on jack stands with loosely bolted on lower arms on each side.

Now you can put the sway bar in place. You can put the brackets on loosely to hold the bar before attempting to attach the links to the bar. You should also lubricate the bar and bushings to eliminate squeaks. About 10 mm of the yellow strip on the bar should be showing on each side. When the bar looks even from left to right, you can use a 12 mm socket to tighten the bracket bolts to 7-10 ft-lbs [it doesn't need to be accurate].

Now you can tighen the link bolt to the sway bar end. Use a 14 mm socket and wrench to tighten it to 28 ft-lbs.

Now it gets even trickier. The lower arm bolts need to be tightened with the weight of the car on the knuckles [make the car think it is sitting on its wheels]. First, you need to jack up both sides of the car and remove the jackstands or whatever it was sitting on. You need to find two piles of wooden blocks that can safely support each knuckle. Place the blocks under each knuckle and SLOWLY lower the car off of the jacks. Go slow because the blocks under the knuckles may try to shift and pop out. Once the car is fully supported by the knuckles, remove the jacks and place a block or something sturdy to catch the car if it does fall off of the knuckles. Use your brain and you'll be safe. While the car is fully supported, torque the lower arm bolts up to spec with a torque wrench and replace the ABS line bolts. Check to make sure you have tightened all of the bolts. Now you can jack up the car off of the knuckles and put the wheels back on. Take the car out for a test drive. You should notice a difference. Before you really judge anything too much, be sure to get a good alignment. Don't forget to verify if you have proper tire pressure too.

Contributed by Corbin
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Cars Modifications Control Suspension_and_Handling Sway_Bars Rear Sway Bar Installation

Document statistics: Last modified on 2008-12-28 16:56:12 by Corbin