Wednesday, April 16, 2014
How to Repair Your Cougar Rear Sway Bar
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.
2Elevate 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.
3Unbolt 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.
4Move 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.
5Bolt 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.
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Installing Sway Bar Links on a 1998 Caravan
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.
2Remove the lug nuts using a lug nut socket and impact wrench. Remove the tires.
3Remove 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.
4Position 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.
5Reinstall the tire. Install the lug nuts finger tight.
6Raise the vehicle with the automotive floor jack. Remove the jack stands. Lower the vehicle.
7Torque the lug nuts using the 1/2-inch lug nut socket and 1/2-inch drive torque wrench to 100 foot-lb. torque.
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
How to Install a Rear Sway Bar in a Porsche 944
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.
2Slide 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.
3Bolt 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.
4Lower 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.
