I'm having trouble with my sway bars. For some reason they make a lot of noise, and I can't seem to figure out why. There are clunking sounds when I go over bumps, almost like they're loose, but I know they're not loose because I was told that I may have missed a nut or bolt on the reinstallation process. So, I went back to my garage and did it all over again; checking and re-checking, making sure everything is to specs.

Guess what, I still have this clunking problem. Does anyone have any information, or ideas as to what I can do.

P.S. For anyone who is installing this product, and doing it in their garage, at home, with jack stands instead of a lift; Hotchkis doesn't offer this little bit of information, but I recommend using your "jack" to support the craddle on the way down. It will help keep all the bolts aligned!!! They tell you that it will drop down and to just let it hang there, and it does, but believe me it will make the job that much easier on the reinstallation.

did you use bushing lube for the sway bars? did they enclose
any? do they reccomend lubrication?

I used the lube they recommended, and supplied? I have the bars set to the racing setting, so I think what I'll do next is try adjusting that, and then see what happens. I don't know what else to do after???

I also noticed that the stock front sway bar has two, sort of, braces that go in between the brackets, and I think prevent the bar from slipping to far, thus no clunking sound. I don't know! It's all a bunch of estimates at this point, and hopefully someone has the answer!

it's a good idea to tighten all of the bolts after a day of driving.

i had some come loose after i put my rear sway in, all i had to do with tighten everything up.

I just did it on Sunday, and the sway bars were tight, then today they seem real loose under there. Should have thought of that!

What type of sway bar did you install, TRD, Hotchkis? Why did you only do the rear? Is it better to stay stock on the front? That's where the problem seems to be.

Thank you,

We've had a fair amount of feed back from our customers and so far, each time the clunking noise popped up, one of the ends was loose. It's a good idea to go back after a day and check the install.

Ken

How much did you buy your kit for and where? Can you tell a difference with it? Was it hard to install?

Thanks, John

I got it straight from hotchkis, but tctunerz.com has it for cheaper now. I notice a great difference, but I'm having a problem, as you read, with the clunking sound. I'm gonna work on it tonight, but there's a definite difference in turning and taking corners. I may just put the front sway bar in and leave the back one on. I think the front is too stiff, and that's where the clunking is coming from anyway. That just might solve both problems. I'll let everyone know!

Installation was medium. Just take your time and don't force anything. If this is your first time, make sure you have a good portion of the day, or another car to drive! hahaha...nah you'll be fine.




https://www.tctunerz.com/store/

thanks for the info, glad to hear you can feel a difference. I hope you get your sway kit to work properly. Best of luck, John

so did you get your problem solved?

I haven't installed any sway bars in the tc but i have put em in before on my old car. I would check what sparks said first, but another possibility may be that the bar itself is installed flipped around(if thats even possible). Another thing i may suggest is to double check clearances.

I just did it on Sunday, and the sway bars were tight, then today they seem real loose under there. Should have thought of that!

What type of sway bar did you install, TRD, Hotchkis? Why did you only do the rear? Is it better to stay stock on the front? That's where the problem seems to be.

Thank you,

i got the TRD rear from sparks while they were on the cheap. i think i paid 70.

rumors say they made a front, but pulled it because of issues or something.

i'd drop it out for a matching hotchkis set if i had some cash. maybe someday.

I think I figured out the problem, but I'll have to check it out tonight. What I think happened is that I mixed up the set of brackets for the front and the back. One set of brackets are slotted for movement, and the other set have just a hole going straight through for mounting, so I just need to move them from front to back and back to front.

Sparks, are you able to verify?

After doing that I'm going to drive it around for about a day, and then tighten everything again. That should do it!

if you can take any pics installed that would help....

For sure!

glad to hear you solved the problem, cant wait to see the pics

i got the TRD rear from sparks while they were on the cheap. i think i paid 70.

rumors say they made a front, but pulled it because of issues or something.

i'd drop it out for a matching hotchkis set if i had some cash. maybe someday.

wow! 70 bucks?? what a steal..... is that deal still goin?

i wish, i shouldve jumped on it when i had the chance

I have a set of Hotchkis front and rear sway bars set.. i got rear ended by an old lady totaled my car.. i never even put them on.. I never even got a chance to open the box i was going to install them this weekend.. but i guess not anymore.. i'll sell em for $250 plus shipping. if any1 wants them. mail me at desaixcj@yahoo.com

Somebody should jump on those sway bars from cd!

Sorry about your car cd!!!

Boys and Girls, I finally fixed my Hotchkis sway bars, and the best thing is I did it myself. It took me three tries, but well worth it. I learned a lot and it was fun.

First off, the job, if you do it yourself, will take some time and a lot of patience. Patience during this installation is important because if you don't have it, you will get frustrated. Secondly, follow the instructions step by step, but there are some tricks I learned after the third install...hahaha, you would think so huh! Some of this stuff I tell you, you may think "well duh", but hey I didn't think of it.

The directions will first tell you to remove the old front sway bar. By this, you will need to lower the craddle. However, before you start with the directions you will want to get your car up on the lift or jack stands, then remove the front wheels. Removing the front wheels will give you better access to and viewing of, the end links and the brackets that hold the sway bar in place. Once your car is in the air and your wheels have been removed you are ready to get started.

Now follow the directions. The directions will tell you do lower the craddle which will give you access to the brackets. Here's my second tip! Hotchkis didn't offer this information. The first time I atempted this, I had trouble returning the craddle to its original position because I couldn't keep all the bolts lined up in their respective holes. So, the second time I decided to use a diamond shaped jack that I had extra from another car. You could probably use the jack that comes with the tc. Place the jack in the middle of the craddle for support, as you remove the nuts and bolts. Follow the nut and bolt removal patterns explicitly according to the instructions! Once all nuts and bolts have been removed, begin lowering the jack by hand. This will lower the craddle slowly and keep all the bolts in line for reinstallation. This is where you will remove the old sway bar and install the new one. Be sure to grease the bushings.

Once the new Hotchkis sway bar is in place, you can now begin to raise the jack, by hand, and begin to put the nuts and bolts back on. Being sure to follow the nut bolt pattern on the reinstallation. Tighten all nuts and bolts to spec, and you are all set.

The rear sway bar is soooo easy compared to the front! It should be a breaze. You'll see!

Sorry I don't have any pics, but I did attach a link for you to check out. It's off of Hotchkis's website. It's the installation of sway bars, but for a Toyota Celica. But the process is the same, and the sway bars are the same, its just of a different car. This information I gave you plus the instuctions from Hotchkis, plus the instructions for the Toyota Celica, will get you through the installation process.

One more thing. I set my front sway bar to the soft position, and the rear to the hardest (race) setting. It feels great! Many people don't think you should replace the front sway bar, but I think differently. Take this information for what it's worth. Take your time, be careful, and most of all have fun!!

Hope this helps!

Can't wait to do the next mod.

http://www.hotchkistuning.com/bin/instructions/22400.pdf

:clap:

Does anyone know of any way that I can lube up my sway bars without having to un-install them?

I am having noises coming from my car. I am assuming that it is because I did not lube the bars up well enough while I was installing them.

What options do I have to lube up these bars without having to take off my sway bars(Front and Rear)?

If you notice on the bracket there is a black cap covering a screw. It's a grease point, so what you would need is a grease gun that threads on there and the proper lube.

A FEW QUESTIONS:
Rear: Since the tC didn't come with a rear sway bar does it have the bolt holes to bolt to?

Front: Do you need to support the engine from the top or the bottom to install the front sway?

About how long does it take to install both?

The tC has a rear bar stock so its a simple remove and replace operation using the same mounting points.

The top of the engine does not need to be supported, but if you have access to a crane you can use that as an option. A jack under the cradle is all that is necessary.

Expect a few hours at least if you havent done the front bar before. The rear is a 20 minute swap.

how did you solve the popping noise with your front bars ty6? i got the same problem. is is that it needs to be lubed more or are the bushings on wrong? what was your solution.

Hotchkis said something about the slotted ones are supposed to go in the rear

I havent installed mine yet, but for what Ive gathered, the bushings are shipped in the wrong brackets form Hotchkis. If you look at the part number/item description breakdown in the manual the slotted brackets are for the rear, but the correct bushing is shipped in the front bracket. If the rear bushings are used in the front, the bar will be able to move atound since the holes are too big. Not sure if that helps, but it is something that might be easily overlooked.

just so you know a lot of people have had problems with noises because when you lower the car it lowers the end link position and since nobody has made adjustable end links you WILL have problems with the bar rubbing against the lower control arm or tie rod so be aware that if you lower your car with the hotchkis front sway bar you WILL have problems. even people with hotchkis springs have had this problem (go figure) i think the only ones that don't have this problem are the trd springs as they don't lower the car too much. try a search there are pictures of what i'm talking about.

So as long as correct bushings are used in right places, does it matter which bracket is used?

I didn't take notice of there being a difference when I installed it, but as luck would have it I put the right bushings in the rear, just with the wrong bracket.

Not sure if that will make a difference or not.

The instructions specifically say to use the slotted brackets in the rear. Im sure its there for a reason or they would have just used the same brackets front and rear.

I think the sloted brackets are for the ease of installation, since you had one bolt and one nut to thread in the rear, it was hard to line up and even harder to tighten with an allen wrench since the bracket had to flex as it was tightened.

Slots or no slots, once the bracket is tight it shouldn't move. It's up to the proper bushing to keep the bar from banging around.

That's just my opinion, I could be wrong, but I'm not about to go through all that again just to swap brackets.

Those instructions were bogus, if you followed them and did the front bar first (as they suggest), it said nothing about which bracket to use on the front, only what bushing to use. Then on the rear they tell you to use the slotted bracket. Then they shipped the wrong bushing in the wrong bracket?

That's some old B.S.

some good info here everyone!