So I reinstalled my rear sway bar about a month and a half ago. After tightening the bushing brackets to spec, I noticed the bar wouldn't move freely even after lithium grease. So I loosened the brackets thinking the bushings were too tight on the bar and wouldn't allow it to rotate like normal. Now the bracket is no longer flush with the mount and I am afraid to loosen it anymore, but the bar still doesn't want to move that much. So I installed the endlinks even though the bar wasn't moving that easily. Now when the bar moves it pops and pushes on the upper endlink bolt, the one that attaches the bar to the endlink. Every time the bar pops free it loosens the endlink bolt, and now I have been losing the nut, bolt, and lock washer that hold it together. I am wondering, is the lithium grease not as good as teflon tape, are my bushings bad, has my bushing bracket deformed from the bigger bar that was previously on there, is my bar deformed because I stored it standing up, am I using my stock fsb bushings instead of rsb, because the bushing doesn't even fit in the bracket completely, or something else? Thanks for the input. Its been too cold just to go down there and tinker with everything.
well the bar should be able to move freely but still tightly. did you upgrade the mounts at all...or did the rear bar come with larger diameter bushings that are still made to fit within the factory brackets? what brand bar is this? or did you reinstall the factory one. i doubt your bar has deformed from being stored a certain way, the bracket how ever could have.
I don't know if your bushings could cause that popping sound, but I do know that when my RSB was not tightened to spec it made lots of noise. I didn't even lube it up or check for movement, but after I tightened it to spec the popping went away. I used specs from this thread: http://www.clubwrx.net/forums/showthread.php?t=80548&page=2&highlight=torque+specs
Its the stock bar. I have the Subaru Service Manual, and I tightened it to spec using that. I probably just need to tinker. I wasn't sure if it was common to have bushings go bad or something like that.
Stock bar? There's your problem! At least your stocker isn't a 13mm like mine was. Sounds like a good excuse to upgrade the bar and bushings together. Of course if you want to keep the stock bar, I'm sure there are some with leftover bushings from their upgrades. I do, but again they are 13mm. As far as bushings going bad, I know rubber degrades much faster than polyurethane, and when it degrades it gets hard a brittle. There might be stock sized poly bushings out there, aren't there companies that make poly replacements for most bushings on the impreza?
I had the 26mm whiteline and whiteline endlinks. It was fun while I had it, but wanted to go back to stock and make some money in the process.
Well I readjusted the rear bar. I put some teflon tape on with lithium grease and added a second washer to the upper endlink mount. So now both sides of the endlink have washers and an additional lock washer. I took the car for a little shakedown action on a forest service road and everything seems to be ok. No clunking or binding of the bar.