Lift problem

Ken

Forum Member
Joined
Feb 19, 2009
Messages
5
Just fitted aussubaru 2inch strut lift and was noticing the extreme amount of tension it puts on the plastic swaybar links, is this a problem I should be worried about, is there another link you can get that is longer or should I just disconnect the buggers. Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated as always.

Cheers Ken
P.S She's just about finished :discomonkey:
 
What year is the car?

DOes it look like this
DSC00606.jpg


DSC00607.jpg


If it does dont worry about it. Mine have been like that for almost 2 years now to no ill effect. I could fix it but it requires breaking bolts (literally) and other hardware issues.

My fronts werent really affected.


nipper
 
With the end links like that your rear sway-bar is doing nothing. When the lateral link gets raised from the suspension compressing, the end link is just pivoting and doing nothing.
 
Actually I disagree.

Have had the lift for 2 years no and no issues in cornering. Also been advised by subaru itself that those bolts are a real %$#@$!! to remove and i dont have the power to remove all the bolts to solve the issue. The radius bars have to come off and be swapped, and those bolst arent really made to do that. Even a few body shops I have talked to have said they snap them off.


So they stay as it is, and I am fine with it. Its been through some high speed twisties with no issues, so I am happy.


nipper
 
So no one will take the word of an automotive engineer (ME) that takes the car off road regularly that there has been no differnce at all in the cars capability?

nipper
 
Nipper,
I understand you to be saying that the swaybar is still working fine on-road.
I think that those who have removed the sway bar are saying that removal has improved operation off-road, but made it worse on-road.
These comments don't seem contradictory to me.
If my interpretation of what both groups of commenters is saying is correct then, ideally, when I fit a lift kit, I would like to be able to make the sway bare easily removable, for the best of both worlds - a bit like how the 'big boys' lock their front hubs manually when they need to engage 4WD.
 
Yep, definitely worse on road and way better off road. But its only a shopping trolley on road, so me dont care. And i still hang it out in the wet :p
 
This is the only list that seems to think that. I guess anything I say doesnt mean anything, so after 2 years of taking it in the mountains of the black hills, pacific north west, Rockies mountains, all in a full loaded car, at times towing a trailer. i guess i am wrong (i wont be responding to this post anymore).

nipper
 
As Nipper asked "what year is the car". I suspect from Ken's posts that it is a later model with different end-links (although he does say "plastic"). I've removed the front sway bar and have the rear disconnected. I snapped the end-link mounting tab on the front radial arm when offroad and have head of snapped bars from others. Extending and/or removing the end-links for offroad is a good idea.
 
frogstar7055 said:
Agreed,that bar is doing nothing like that.
Click to expand...

You are thinking one minded, and one side at a time. Of course the sway bar works like that. If you think about the angle the suspension travels (towards the front of the wheel arch), the suspension would hardly move before it started pulling on the other side.
Alternately, if a wheel is compressed up, the other side then looses its ability to fall down.
I dont see what doesn't work about it. At most, the wheels could prob only be around 2inches different from side to side.
 
2jz929 said:
You are thinking one minded, and one side at a time. Of course the sway bar works like that. If you think about the angle the suspension travels (towards the front of the wheel arch), the suspension would hardly move before it started pulling on the other side.
Alternately, if a wheel is compressed up, the other side then looses its ability to fall down.
I dont see what doesn't work about it. At most, the wheels could prob only be around 2inches different from side to side.
Click to expand...


Nope I don't see it.
The positions of the pivot points (bolts) totally negates any transfer of force from one side of the suspension to the other in the vertical.
When one side is compressing the other side is unloading and both are just pulling the bar forward.
Off road it's great because it's like it's not there. Any effect is negligible at best.

Just take it off and pitch it,you'll never miss it off or on road.
 
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nipper said:
Actually I disagree.

Have had the lift for 2 years no and no issues in cornering. Also been advised by subaru itself that those bolts are a real %$#@$!! to remove and i dont have the power to remove all the bolts to solve the issue. The radius bars have to come off and be swapped, and those bolst arent really made to do that. Even a few body shops I have talked to have said they snap them off.


So they stay as it is, and I am fine with it. Its been through some high speed twisties with no issues, so I am happy.


nipper
Click to expand...
you may have no issues but the rear sway-bar is doing nothing. you should just take it off, or put the end-links on the right way. The sway bar cant be twisted with the end-links like that. The lateral link is just pivoting about the sway bar. Im not saying you cant drive with it like this, you can, im just saying the sway-bar is not doing anything the way it is. Just compare the picture to yours you will see why.
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Also on another not those bolts are not hard to get off at all. Spray them with some pb blaster let them soak and they will come off easy.
 
yeah ive had pretty much evefry part of my rear end apart at one time or another and never had any problems as far as breaking bolts.
granted i have the older style swaybar links
 
Hey all, Interesting topic you've got here!

I'm on the "that sway bar is doing nothing" side. If you want to see you sway bar not doing its job, drive the rear of your subi up on ONE wheel ramp, this will force one wheel up into the mud guard (the one on the ramp surpise surprise!) and the other one down from the mud guard. Now stick your head under there and have a look at what those end links are doing.

I bet that one is lower than the control arm and the other one is higher than the control arm. That means your sway bar is not doing a thing. And the reason for that is it has not been lowered with the rest of the suspension. Two ways to fix this - make longer links in the middle of the "C" section or make and install two inch blocks for the sway bar to mount to. I'd probabily go for the first option if it were my subi.

The sway bar is a torsion bar in some regards - it makes each wheel play off eachother to try and keep the car level, best effect is when cornering - or when offroad, it may not be desired but it'll still happen. You won't see the sway bar working when you're parked in your flat driveway, one wheel needs to be higher than the other for it to be doing something. The sway bar is pretty much a mechanical stability control device - a little far fetched but that is what it assists with.

Removing or disconnecting the sway bar will help in offroading as each wheel is freely allowed to hang down in a hole while the other wheel on the other side of the vehicle can be pushed up into the guard while on high ground.

Hope that makes sense and clears up the dilemma.

Cheers

Bennie
 
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