Front sway bar link bushes

[Rumbl]

hey i wanna change my front sway bar link bushes on my vr the ones on there are gone
just wondering if i have to take the sway bar off to change the bottom ones at all?

[VrWagz1]

just drop the 2 brackets that hold it up, and then do one side at a time. You'll have to put it upon ramps to get under there. Its not real hard at all to do them, i put in those z type ones with the polly bushes, i didnt really notice much of a difference but it stopped the clunk i had.

[Rumbl]

so i dont need to take my wheels off to do it?

[BOOZTJUNKEY]

its alot easy if you do you have to hold the actuall link with 13 or 14 mm spanner cant rember exactly and undo the nuts then change the bushes it would be awkwid with the wheel on i think...

[Cheap6]

You might also like to read the "How To" I wrote on changing the link rubbers - VR/VS aren't very different to VN/VP.

[greenacc]

would be better off with a shifter on the flat on the link rod and a 14 spanner on the nut. Its only difficult if your car is not level when you do it cos there will be tension in the bar.

[VrWagz1]

i did it with the wheels on, i didnt see alot of benifit in having it off. It would have taken me longer to take the wheels off then to just hook in and work with it.

[Rumbl]

i thought you had to jack the whole front end up cause if its on ramps wont the sway bar have pressure on it? or i could be wrong

[stocky]

i thought you had to jack the whole front end up cause if its on ramps wont the sway bar have pressure on it? or i could be wrong

thats the point really. you dont tighten them up to much

[SweetWagon]

14mm ratchet spanner comes in handy for this job

[greenacc]

i thought you had to jack the whole front end up cause if its on ramps wont the sway bar have pressure on it? or i could be wrong

The sway bar will only have pressure on it if you put it on one ramp or jack up one side. If you drive it up ramps it will be level so there wont be any pressure on it.

[sweefu]

i jacked up the whole front, cracked wheels off and did it without loosening the sway bar

[S2_VR_]

remember to check them in a week or so..... (the nuts) if you dont do them up tight enough... well you know the rest

[Cheap6]

i jacked up the whole front, cracked wheels off and did it without loosening the sway bar

You can certainly do it that way but it is virtually impossible to get the new rubbers to sit properly in the cups on the end of the anti-roll bar; they get squashed out of position because of the angle between the 'bar and the links. They end up being halfway to failure before you put the car back on the ground. That is why, with the wheels off and suspension drooped, it is better to drop the two brackets off the front of the 'bar so that it becomes possible to tighten the link bushes in place with the 'bar level and the links vertical relative to the 'bar.

The transfer of weight off the front end with the car on ramps is probably not going to be enough to greatly affect the angle of the links, so yes, changing them with the front wheels on ramps should be OK. (A four post hoist would be even better.)

[VrWagz1]

again ramps are fine, i did mine on ramps with the wheels on. Its no different to any other vr/s and there was no problems

[whits86]

Is there an easy way to replace the front sway bar on a VX witrhout removing the whole front meember??

[ScoHar]

Is there an easy way to replace the front sway bar on a VX witrhout removing the whole front meember??

6 bolts, 2 in each bracket holding the sway bar, and then the one in each of the sway bar ball joint/linkage.

Wrong section though, might be better asking a question in the VX section, although its not much more than above, you most certainly don't need to remove the crossmember.