Repair And Fix it

The rear sway bar on a Mercury Cougar provides added stability for the car when cornering or making other maneuvers at speed. The sway bar mounts on the rear frame and ties the chassis to the rear suspension to reduce occurrence of body roll. If the sway bar incurs damage from an impact, or simply suffers end deformity from wear and tear, youll need to replace it as the sway bar itself is not repairable. If youre known for your mechanical aptitude, you can accomplish this job in less than one hour.

Instructions

1

Place the wheel chocks against the Cougars right-front wheel to prevent the Mercury from rolling.

2

Elevate the Cougars rear end using a floor jack. Position a jack stand under the body rail jack points on either side of the back of the Cougar and lower the car onto the jack stands. Move the floor jack away from the rear of the car.

3

Unbolt the ends of the Cougars rear sway bar from the sway bar links using your socket set. Unbolt the rear sway bar brackets with the socket set and lower the sway bar to the ground by hand.

4

Move the old sway bar out from under the Cougar by hand. Replace it with the new sway bar. Hold the new sway bar in position and bolt the sway bar brackets back in using your socket set, making sure the sway bar bushings dont squirt out while tightening the brackets.

5

Bolt the sway bar ends to the sway bar links using your socket set. Lift the Cougars rear end off the jack stands using the floor jack. Move the stands away from the car before lowering it to the ground.

Heritage Softails come equipped from the factory with a light bar. Well known aftermarket vendors like Kuryakyn and Harley-Davidson sell bolt-on auxiliary lighting for Softails. The extent to which extra lights brighten the road is open to debate. Many jurisdictions mandate that the extra light be turned off when the headlight is switched to high beam. But it is undeniable that the extra lights make the motorcycle brighter and make it, and the rider, easier to spot.

Instructions

EFI Fuel Tank Removal

1

Ride the motorcycle until the gas tank is almost empty.

2

Pull off the electrical caddy cover, on the right side of the motorcycle, with your hands. Pull the fuel pump fuse out of the fuse array with a fuse puller.

3

Run the engine until it dies. Push the starter button for another three or four seconds.

4

Pull both ends of the quick connect fitting under the gas tank in opposite directions until the two halves of the fitting come apart.

5

Loosen the screw that holds the rear fender and the seat together with a Phillips head screwdriver. Lift off the seat.

6

Loosen the black battery cable with a combination wrench. Pull the cable from the negative terminal.

7

Loosen and remove the nut in the middle of the instrument panel with an Allen socket and socket wrench. Pull the instrument panel up and pull the male and female halves of the fuel pump module connector apart.

8

Plug the end of a short length of 5/16 inch diameter, rubber hose with a bolt of the same size. Secure the bolt in the hose with a hose clamp and a screwdriver.

9

Place a 5 gallon gas can next to the motorcycle. Sever the clamp on either end of the crossover fuel line with metal shears.

10

Pull the loose end of the crossover line off the tank fitting and immediately replace it the open end of the 5/16 inch hose. Drain the crossover line into the 5 gallon can.

11

Clean up spillage with rags and remove the rags from the work location. Set the can aside.

12

Unplug the crossover and vent lines from the bottom of the tank. Unbolt both the front and rear mounting bolts, washers and nuts with a combination wrench. Unplug the male and female halves of the fuel gauge wiring plug.

13

Pull the tank off the motorcycle with your hands.

Auxiliary Lighting Installation

14

Attach the right and left light bar mounting clamps in the accessory lighting kit to the two fork tubes using the Allen screws in the kit and an Allen socket. Tighten both screws to 75 inch pounds of torque with the Allen socket and a torque wrench.

15

Thread the wires from the accessory lights through the holes in the mounting brackets and fasten the lights to the brackets with the washers, retainers and clamp blocks included with the kit. Tighten the retainers of 19 pounds with an open end socket and torque wrench.

16

Slip the inner nesting rings in the lighting kit onto the light bulbs in the kit. Lock the black wires to the black terminals next to the indexing tabs and the grey wires to the grey terminals.

17

Install the accessory light bulbs into the chrome trim rings using the screws included with the kit and a screwdriver. Thread the light wires through the chrome tubes in the kit.

18

Place the accessory lights wiring harness in the shallow pan that holds the seat. Stretch the longest wires along the backbone of the frame to the steering head.

19

Remove the hex nut from the ground wire stud with a combination wrench. Slide the ground wire ring from the accessory lighting wiring harness onto the stud and replace the nut.

20

Snap the white wiring harness connector into the "B" positive connector on the accessory lighting wire harness.

21

Tie the accessory harness to the main wiring harness with the cable ties included with the accessory lighting kit.

22

Stretch the longest wires in the auxiliary harness past the steering head. Route the light switch wires up the triple trees and across the left handlebar to the clutch lever cover.

23

Disassemble the chrome, switch mounting bracket with a Torx driver, install the light switch and reassemble the mounting bracket.

24

Remove the lower screw from the clutch lever housing with a Torx driver. Put the switch bracket tab over the hole and reinstall the screw. Tighten to 68 inch pounds using a torque wrench and Torx socket.

25

Push the light switch wiring harness into the handlebar wiring retainers. Remove the trim ring from the headlight with a Phillips head screwdriver.

26

Unplug the connector block from the headlight prongs. Unwrap the waterproof boot from the rear of the headlight.

27

Squeeze and remove the retaining clip from the headlamp assembly. Twist the clip away from the headlamp and remove the headlamp bulb.

28

Push the end of the light switch wire through the rubber ring in the headlight housing. Splice the switch wire to the yellow headlight wire using the crimp connecter in the lighting kit and a pair of pliers.

29

Replace the headlight bulb in the headlight housing.

30

Slip heat shrinkable tubing from the kit over the white wire in the accessory wiring harness. Strip the insulation from the end 1/4 inch of the two auxiliary lights power wires with a wire stripper.

31

Splice all three wires with the three-way tube connector in the kit using a crimping tool. Cover the connector with the heat shrink tube and heat with a heat gun until the tube shrinks around the splice.

Final Assembly

32

Secure all loose wires with the clips included in the kit.

33

Reattach the gas tank. Refuel the motorcycle.

34

Reconnect the black battery cable. Replace the fuel pump fuse.

35

Reattach the electrical caddy cover and seat.

The sway bar links of a 1998 Dodge Caravan connect the front struts to the sway bar. The sway bar transmits torque across the minivan from one side to the other. When cornering, the weight of the Caravan shifts to the outside of the turn, compressing the strut more on one side than the other. The pressure is transmitted through the way bar links to the sway bar, placing pressure on the opposite strut. This reduces roll and stabilizes the 1998 Caravan. The sway bar links have ball and socket designs. Over time, the socket wears and a clunking noise emits from the sway bar link. Eventually, the stabilizer link will break if it is not replaced.

Instructions

1

Park the 1998 Dodge Caravan on a level flat surface and set the parking brake. Lift the front of the vehicle with an automotive floor jack. Place jack stands under both sides of the front of the vehicle under the subframe.

2

Remove the lug nuts using a lug nut socket and impact wrench. Remove the tires.

3

Remove the nuts attaching the sway bar link. The sway bar links attach with a stud and nut at both the front strut and the front sway bar. Place a wrench on the nut first. Use a small 8 mm wrench to prevent the stud from spinning while loosening the nut. Repeat for the second nut. Repeat for the opposite side.

4

Position the sway bar links. Install and tighten the nuts. Use the double wrench setup to prevent the stud from turning as you torque the nut.

5

Reinstall the tire. Install the lug nuts finger tight.

6

Raise the vehicle with the automotive floor jack. Remove the jack stands. Lower the vehicle.

7

Torque the lug nuts using the 1/2-inch lug nut socket and 1/2-inch drive torque wrench to 100 foot-lb. torque.

The Porsche 944 was a joint effort between Porsche, Volkswagen and Audi in the 1980s to design a front engine sports coupe. It was a great handling car, however Porsche felt that the VW influences were diluting its brand and manufacture stopped in 1991. One of the key components to the Porsche 944s handling were its sway bars. Sway bars connect opposing wheel assemblies to make the chassis more rigid. This helps the coupe hold corners better and prevents the body from rolling about from inertia.

Instructions

1

Jack the Porsche 944 up on all corners. Slide the car jack in under the car frame, jack that corner up and then slide in a jack stand to hold the corner up. Repeat this process on all the corners. Remove the lug nuts from each wheel with your tire iron and then slide the wheel off by hand.

2

Slide the two sway bar bushings onto the sway bar. The bushings have a slit on one side where you can hammer the rubber ring on the bar with a rubber mallet. It does not matter where on the sway as the bushing can slide back and forth. Place the metal supports over the bushings and then slide the support and bushing to match up with the bolts holes on the 944s frame. Thread each bolt in first, then wrench them down tight.

3

Bolt in the top of the sway bar linkage on the right side first. The sway bar linkage top bolts on to the side of the hub assembly in the right wheel well. Then bolt the bottom of the sway bar linkage to the right end of the sway bar. Move the sway bar to the left or right to align it with the linkage. The bolt in the left sway bar linkage onto the hub assembly and then onto the left end of the sway bar.

4

Lower the Porsche 944 from the jack stands and take it for a test drive. You will not notice any difference in straightaways but you will in the corners.