DIY: Sway bar installation (rear)
 

This DIY describes the removal/installation of the rear sway bar.
For the front sway bar see here.

Tools required:
Jack stands
Torque wrench
12mm socket
14mm socket


http://www.the370z.com/members/chris...4-img-7586.jpg
http://www.the370z.com/members/chris...3-img-7587.jpg


Securely block front wheels, jack rear of vehicle and support securely on jack stands. It is not necessary to remove the wheels but it does make access easier.


Loosen end links with 14mm socket but don't disconnect.
http://www.the370z.com/members/chris...8-img-7573.jpg



Disconnect rear exhaust from muffler, let the exhaust drop down gently.
http://www.the370z.com/members/chris...6-img-7584.jpg


Unbolt 4-point rear brace. Try to keep the 2 front bolts of the brace loosely connected to make reinstallation easier.
http://www.the370z.com/members/chris...5-img-7585.jpg


Remove sway bar clamps.
http://www.the370z.com/members/chris...7-img-7574.jpg


Disconnect end links. You should now be able to maneuver out the rear sway bar over the exhaust and rear brace. It is a fairly tight fit.


Grease bushings of new bar and install on bar.
http://www.the370z.com/members/chris...3-img-7568.jpg


Installation
- Slide in new bar
- Loosely connect end links in selected hole setting. Outer hole is softest setting, inner hole it tightest setting.
- Bolt clamps to chassis and tighten to 33 ft/lb
- Tighten end links to 41 ft/lb
- Reconnect rear exhaust and tighten bolts to 43 ft/lb
http://www.the370z.com/members/chris...2-img-7588.jpg

Thanks Chris!

It might be a good idea to place a link to the other sway bar install DIY post you made from this one and vice-versa?

Nice DIY. I suggest you guys wait on Hotchkis to develop better sways or buy another brand who doesn't have that stopper welded on the bar. That weld joint creates a high stress concentration and possibly small cracks which could fail due to creep, which was exactly what happened to my last pair of Hotchkis.

Interesting feedback, g96818, thanks!

Interesting point. I noticed the stock bar has a crimped on stopper.

+1 for torque specs

it's crimped? well that might be a little better, but we'll see. i can't believe they are still making sways with that stopper. let us know if anything happens, hopefully they relieved the stresses.

sry if it seems like i'm bashing hotchkis, but great DIY write up :tup:

The stock bar has the stopper crimped. The Hotchkis has the stopper welded but it is only spot welded in 2 places, shouldn't create a large stress point ... hopefully. Time will tell I suppose.

Wow chris. This looks so easy with your instructions i think i can do it my self.

It really is easy even if you don't have a lot of mechanical experience. The front is a lot easier than the rear, especially if you synchronize it with an oil change as you have to remove the splash guard. After that the front is just a couple of bolts. The rear has the hassle of disconnecting the muffler from the exhaust pipe, but other than that it is a piece of cake. When you do the rear I would recommend that you remove one wheel to give yourself more room for sliding the bar in and out as you still have to get it over the rear brace. When you slide the new one in just make sure it is facing the right way or it wont fit :tup: A torque wrench is definitely recommended, but if you don't have a torque wrench take care not to over-tighten the brackets in particular.

Just did the rear with the Stillen exhaust. With the muffler section detached (as above for the stock exhaust) and the rubber hangers disconnected it's barely doable. It's easier to just go ahead and disconnect the single center flange as well to get more play in the exhaust. I went with the medium setting for now. Now on to the front...

Agreed. I think sway bar installs are a great way to practice working on your car. If you feel comfortable jacking the car, and changing the oil, then sways and brakes are a great next step in becoming a DIYer. Just take your time and don't get frustrated. Always good to have a second pair of hands around also.

I strongly urge always using a torque wrench. Its very important not to under or over torque. Most service manuals or Forums will have torque specs

chris, which setting did you use in the rear? how does the balance of the car feel now with both front and rear? at yesterday's auto-x, there was way too much body roll and more understeer than i'd like for auto-x (but for track, the bit of understeer is probably not too bad). sway bars would be a huge help. esp., if they could be adjusted to be a bit stiffer in the rear relative to front compared to stock.

i'm debating b/t hotchkis and stillen. need to decide soon.

thanks.

Sorry, didn't see your post until now.

I went full stiff on the rear, but unfortunately without correcting the front camber you will actually get more low speed understeer due to the reduced body roll. If you add front camber arms in addition to the sway bars the car turns in amazingly. Adding either rear-sway or camber arms bumps you to BSP though.

I have -2.6 front camber, 0 toe, stock caster.
Rear is -2.0 camber, 0.125 toe-in.

don't forget to say to unbolt the large rear brace. I see you did it in a pic but didn't see the instruction for doing that there is now way to get that bar off with it still on.

Yes you are right, I will correct the instructions. I think you could probably leave the front of the brace loosely connected as it is tough to get back into position doing it by yourself.

do we have to replace end linkages as well?
For street use, should i just set it to softest setting?
thanks kevin

No the stock end links are fine. Yes, I would go with the softest rear setting for the street. I use the middle setting on track and just leave it there for the street as well.

Maybe i will need another alignment after the sway bar install. Apparently installing sways can throw existing alignment off.

Installing sway bars does not change the alignment at all. However you may find that with a stiff front bar that you desire more front camber to counter the increased understeer.

ahh, i see. thanks for the input. rep+ lol.

Nice DiY Chris,
a late Mega rep for You. :tup:

Thanks Trip, mega rep is always appreciated :tup:

Is there a button for Mega Rep, lol? If there is, I will mega rep this thread. lol

This thread saved my install, I was sitting there looking at the Stillen instructions when the sway bar would not come out no matter how I tried to twist it but this guide had the info on lowering the 4 point brace which made all the difference.

Yeah, I had the equally useful Hotchkis instructions which were for a G35 - which of course doesn't have that brace. Actually when I did it I completely removed the brace but found it was a real pain to reinstall solo, hence the suggestion to just drop one end.

I took your recommendation and left the two rear bolts in and the four others at the front forks off which let it hang down enough to get the old out and the new in. Thanks Chris.

Great writeup. One question: You said you experienced increased understeer after the install. Did you install a larger front sway bar at the same time? I ask because usually a stiffer rear sway bar will decrease understeer, while a stiffer front bar will increase it.

Yes, the understeer was a result of the front sway bar.
http://www.the370z.com/diy-section-d...ion-front.html

I essentially eliminated the understeer by increasing camber with adjustable upper control arms.

Great. Thanks for the info.

Thanks for the DIY write up.
Only thing I noticed on my 2011. I had to disconnect a few of the rubber exhaust brackets so the exhaust could be dropped down.

Was that with the stock exhaust? I don't remember having to do that as the pipes dropped quite a bit once disconnected from the muffler.

Yes stock exhaust. There were 2 of the rubber brackets about 24" forward from the exhaust bolts removed. I also disconnected a rubber bracket on the muffler to help maker disconnecting the exhaust easier.

hehehe

thank for it

Easy install, thanks for the great directions. It was a tight fit but unbolting the rubber exhaust hangers made it much, much easier.

:iagree: I had to unbolt the hangers also.

Great DIY!

Installed :)
 

Thanks for the write up, you missed the pic with taking off the cross brace and i was puzzled for like 20 minutes lol. It was an easy install after i took the cross brace off, thanks for the write up.

Thanks for the write up. I know now that I should do this at the same time I'm installing my FI CBE when it gets here.

Great write up! I used this to remove my rear sway bar and it went well except for one of the bolts on my exhaust ended up being cross threaded