F41 front and rear stabilizer bars

[84aLkI]

I bought the pair to put on my Elco (84) and i was thinking when i put them on ima need new larger brackets and bushings for the front bar OR can i use the same brackets i have now and can i go to pep boys or kregan and ask for z28 front stabilizer bar bushings and use those and the bar on the rear ima have to just figure out how to to put on cause i dont have one on car now any tips or suggestions :?: :?

 

[billyjack]

For the front, buy a kit with polyurethane bushings and brackets and also a link kit with firm bushings. You'll be happy you did, as the improvement over the stock rubber pieces is really noticeable. The only hardware necessary for rear bar installation is four bolts and two spacers to keep the control arm from collapsing when the bolts are torqued. If you didn't get the spacers with your rear bar, you can cut 4 pieces of steel tubing or even iron water pipe as suitable spacers. I did the same upgrade to my Camino years ago. Absolutely a night and day difference in cornering with no ride penalty.

Bill

 

[84aLkI]

i just finished putting on the front sway bar and theirs a big diffrence the night and day comparison was right. I got energy suspention bushings and a link kit but the links were to short and couldnt get the bar on so i used the old ones the bar just slipped right in but after i was done the front looked higher and now the back looks saggy i have air shocks (soon to be thrown away and swiching to gas shocks) i took it around the block and it took the turns like a brand new car but im wondering why it looks high from the front now did i do something wrong or is it cause i used the same old long links

 

[billyjack]

There is nothing in the front sway bar or hardware that would affect the vehicle height unless you had some kind of highly unlikely serious bind between the frame and the end links. If the suspension actually cycles up and down you're OK. In normal two-wheel compression or rebound the front bar just follows the movement of the control arms. It only provides resistance when one side moves in a different direction than the opposite side, such as cornering, where one spring compresses while the opposite side extends.

Bill

 

[84aLkI]

the front feels pretty stiff now its not all bouncy and springy the way it was before but it turns nicely its just wierd to me i think ima take it to shop and get it checked out

 

[bill]

This post is regarding the Energy Suspension link kits for the Gbody and why they dont seem long enough. Has anybody been able to successfully install these links on their car? Just curious. I really want to use them if I can.
Thanks!

Bill

 

[oldtinsmith]

84aLkI,
The front sway bar shouldn't raise the front of the car by itself, unless 1) the wrong size bar bushing (to small a diameter), 2) didn't use bushing grease on the frame bushing, 3) didn't tighten the frame bushing brackets after the car was sitting on the ground on all four wheels (no jacks). Other than those three guesses, I have no idea why.

Doug

 

[frog-man]

I saw someone put the sway bar on the wrong way, upside down. The sway bar would sit on the frame and made the front end really stiff. Just a thought.

 

[billyjack]

This post is regarding the Energy Suspension link kits for the Gbody and why they dont seem long enough. Has anybody been able to successfully install these links on their car? Just curious. I really want to use them if I can.
Thanks!

Bill

I had the same problem on my Camino. In order to keep the bar in the same position as a factory setup, the tube spacers on the end links need to be at least 2 1/2 in. long, which requires about a 6-6 1/2 in. bolt. IIRC, the spacers in the kit are about an inch too short. I had some steel tubing in stock, but you could always use pieces of 3/8 ID pipe from the hardware store. When you buy longer bolts, make sure to get at least grade 5.

Bill

 

[bill]

This post is regarding the Energy Suspension link kits for the Gbody and why they dont seem long enough. Has anybody been able to successfully install these links on their car? Just curious. I really want to use them if I can.
Thanks!

Bill

I had the same problem on my Camino. In order to keep the bar in the same position as a factory setup, the tube spacers on the end links need to be at least 2 1/2 in. long, which requires about a 6-6 1/2 in. bolt. IIRC, the spacers in the kit are about an inch too short. I had some steel tubing in stock, but you could always use pieces of 3/8 ID pipe from the hardware store. When you buy longer bolts, make sure to get at least grade 5.

Bill

Im thinkin maybe the combination of the bigger, stiffer link bushings and longer spacers cause it to be too short to get the nut on the bolt with everything in position. So I quess I should cut the spacers to 2.5 inches? The bolts seem to be long enough but I cant measure them against the stock ones cuz I had to cut em to get em off...lol and they are gone to the recycle bin.