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Rear sway bar bushings

Started by Moparmade, April 29, 2023, 02:12:25 PM

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Moparmade

anyone have some of these ?
Hard as a rock been soaking them wd40
Anyone repo them?

Jay Bee

Ditto. I soaked mine in WD40 and they did soften up a bit BUT swelled up so much I couldn't re-install them.

Moparmade

Been days soaking one split seeing if anyone has a good useable set out there


Dakota

I'm not aware of any stock replacements.   I was looking for several years and finally gave up.  Modified some aftermarket brackets with bushings to fit.  It works, but no one is going to confuse it for  a stock set up.


Moparmade

I'll have to take a look
Thanks for the link

torredcuda

I`ll have to dig thru my receipts and see if I have the part numbers I used.
Jeff   `72 Barracuda 340/4spd
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Moparmade

Bar did 3/4

MoparCarGuy

The factory rear swaybar setup has alway plagued restorers. Bushings are almost impossible to replace without destroying the brackets.
A picture of an original and what I ended up doing to replace the bushings with 3/4" P-S-T urethane bushings.
Stainless steel carriage bolts with Nylok nuts installed after drilling out spot welds.


gzig5

These brackets are a very simple design, I'm surprised nobody has reproduced them.  It wouldn't be any trouble to offer two styles, one like factory with welded retainer and one with studs welded into the base to allow changing the bushing more easily.  I've got to make a set for mine because they were nearly rotted away underneath, so I'll take a look at what the tooling would need to be to make something that looks like the original parts.  The base is easy but the top strap with that embossed channel would be a bit more difficult to make.  Perhaps there are universal aftermarket parts that could be utilized?


GrandpaKevin

Quote from: gzig5 on May 01, 2023, 07:23:30 AM
These brackets are a very simple design, I'm surprised nobody has reproduced them.  It wouldn't be any trouble to offer two styles, one like factory with welded retainer and one with studs welded into the base to allow changing the bushing more easily.  I've got to make a set for mine because they were nearly rotted away underneath, so I'll take a look at what the tooling would need to be to make something that looks like the original parts.  The base is easy but the top strap with that embossed channel would be a bit more difficult to make.  Perhaps there are universal aftermarket parts that could be utilized?

If you plan to copy the bracket make sure you have original ones on hand and an e-body to test fitment.
The E body rear sub frame rails are curved and the brackets are curved to follow the contour with one end narrower than the other.
I believe the brackets are specific right and left.

Another issue is mounting the brackets as the brackets are fastened to the frame rails with self tapping bolts. 
Often the existing holes are too worn for new bolts to tighten properly.
I've seen some people try to run a bolt completely through the frame rail but that often crushes the frame when the bolts are tightened.

Finally for those removing the rear sway bar for the first time don't be surprised to see a nice hole in the frame rail smiling at you when you remove the bracket, over the years moisture often gets trapped in between the bracket and the frame rail and rusts the rail away.

gzig5

Quote from: GrandpaKevin on May 01, 2023, 09:05:44 AM
Quote from: gzig5 on May 01, 2023, 07:23:30 AM
These brackets are a very simple design, I'm surprised nobody has reproduced them.  It wouldn't be any trouble to offer two styles, one like factory with welded retainer and one with studs welded into the base to allow changing the bushing more easily.  I've got to make a set for mine because they were nearly rotted away underneath, so I'll take a look at what the tooling would need to be to make something that looks like the original parts.  The base is easy but the top strap with that embossed channel would be a bit more difficult to make.  Perhaps there are universal aftermarket parts that could be utilized?

If you plan to copy the bracket make sure you have original ones on hand and an e-body to test fitment.
The E body rear sub frame rails are curved and the brackets are curved to follow the contour with one end narrower than the other.
I believe the brackets are specific right and left.

Another issue is mounting the brackets as the brackets are fastened to the frame rails with self tapping bolts. 
Often the existing holes are too worn for new bolts to tighten properly.
I've seen some people try to run a bolt completely through the frame rail but that often crushes the frame when the bolts are tightened.

Finally for those removing the rear sway bar for the first time don't be surprised to see a nice hole in the frame rail smiling at you when you remove the bracket, over the years moisture often gets trapped in between the bracket and the frame rail and rusts the rail away.

My frame was Swiss cheese under the sway-bar brackets.  Freaked me out when I found it but was just the first of many surprises to be dealt with.  You make some good points and I'll pay attention when I get there.  I prefer the original mounting scheme if I can keep it as opposed to some of the aftermarket options I've seen that hang below the diff.

70 Challenger Lover

I picked up a complete rear sway bar set up with the last e body I bought. I was hoping to use it on my barracuda but wasn't sure on frame attaching.

So to confirm, the frame rail brackets get held on with large screws as opposed to through bolting?

Skdmark

Quote from: 70 Challenger Lover on May 04, 2023, 06:40:43 PM
I picked up a complete rear sway bar set up with the last e body I bought. I was hoping to use it on my barracuda but wasn't sure on frame attaching.

So to confirm, the frame rail brackets get held on with large screws as opposed to through bolting?

Correct screws not bolted through.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/70-74-E-Body-AAR-Cuda-T-A-Challenger-Rear-Sway-Bar-to-Frame-Bolts/383266144756?pageci=f85970db-22e4-40c7-8440-024ae0de27d4&redirect=mobile
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