Lol. This might sound kinda dumb but i'm n00b and don't know how to do it myself. I have the Hotchkis bars, and want to put the rear bar to stiff. How much should a shop charge for this little task? Also, is there anyone in the 818 or valley that could help me out with this!! Thanks!!

 

I just did it 30 minutes ago, it took 10 minutes to do it and all you need is a 14mm wrench... you don't even need to jack up the car.

 

really? So what? you undo them, and they just move around into the next hole? I don't know how tight it's supposed to be either. It doesnt seem like i can reach it without a jack.

 

You'll have to do reaching, but it can be done with a TRD drop; this is something you want to do with the suspension under load, it'll make adjusting the sway bar easier. Just remove the 14mm nuts and unhook the endlinks from the swaybar, move the sway bar until you can hook the endlink into the proper hole, do the same for the opposite side, replace the nut and tighten (I don't know the torque spec, but feel it out). Take a test drive, if you hear a clunking noise on one or both sides, you didn't tighten the nuts hard enough.

 

well, i tried it just now, i had a ratchet, but it wouldn't reach. I found this little wrench thing that fit but i couldn't loosen the nut if my life depended on it lol. It felt like it wason there really hard and the position i have to be in limits the amount of strength i can use. Whatd u mean by suspension under load?

 

You want the suspension compressed i.e. supporting the car or supported by a jack.

 

So should i jack up a side and unbolt the compressed side?

 

You want to do this with the wheels level. If you must jack up the rear of the car, put it on jack stands to adjust the sway. If you don't have jack stands, go buy some. If you take it to a shop, it'll cost you more than the jack stands. This is really easy to do on the ground if you have a 6" long ratchet and a little strength, trust me... I do this with a 1.5 rear drop with no problem, you just have to become one with the ground. This is a good way to learn how to solve problems and work on your own car. Don't worry, you'll figure it out in time.

 

Just use an extension to help loosen, and it should only take a minute to move it to the next set of holes and tighten.

 

Anyone care to explain or link a noob what exactly happens when you set the sway bar to stiff?

 

I actually just took mine off of stiff and put them in the middle. I had to jack it up, cause the Hothckis drop put something right in the way of the nut, and my 14mm wrench broke, so I had to use a ratchet. It also takes a little more effort to put it in the hole for the stiffest setting.
When I had my TRDs in, I could do it on flat ground, and it felt better on stiff with the front on soft. Now with the stiffer Hothckis, the front onsoft and the rear in the middle are perfect.

Oh, by the way, it took me 30mins, including the time to put my car on jack stands, and my 3 year old daugher helped me.

Don't pay anyone to do this for you.

 

Just curiose, since you obviously didn't install them yourself either, how much did you pay to get your swaybars installed?
I called around and they wanted more then I actaully paid for the bars, which is why I ended up doing the front myself. I had already done the back, cause it's cake.

 

yeah it is quite a bit at most places. I think i paid 140 for front and back installation. Some places charge more. I remember one shop (won't say the name) that wanted to charge me 600 bucks for installation on front and back. Crazyyy

 

More importantly, did you adjust your rear sway yet?

 

lol no, i haven't had a chance yet. I'm pretty sure i don't have the right tools to use and i dunno how i'm gonna get the bar to move into the new spot.

 

The only tool you need is a 14mm wrench, maybe a wratchet.
If you can't budge it, just stick a piece of pipe on the end of the wrench to give you some leaverage. I actually have a breaker bar ($10) which works great, but I was able to bust mine loose without it. Maybe try using WD-40.
After you get them BOTH off, you can twist the bar up a little. The arm and the bolt both move freely, so you should be able to stick them in the other hole, then put the nut back on and tighten it.

So how much did you pay for install?
The dealership told me $175 for the front and $150 for the rear...IF I bought it from them. Since I didn't they were gonna charge me $250 for the front and $180 for the rear!

Here's a pic of my son helping my with the rear install:

 

haha cute

 

Haha nice. I tried again today. Problem with me is, the ratchet just doesn't fit in there. I have a TRD drop also. So i don't think ratchets are going to work. Maybe some jackstands would help. Right now though, i don't really have anything that can fit there where i can use some force to turn it. Can anyone post a pic of something that can fit in the area so i know what to look for?

Install front and back was $140 from 2k Racing here in Reseda.

 

did they install it well? i might go there to get mine installed.... are you having any weird noises or problems???

thanks man

 

Damn, that's a really good price.
Just go to Sears and get a crafstman 14mm wrench. If you crank to hard a brake it, they will replace it.
While your there, get some jack stands!