Swaybar bushing replacement

[ABOSWORTH]

I was getting a clunking noise when going over bumps so I decided to replace my swaybar bushings and endlinks. Pretty easy job. The only hassle I had was removing the lower endlink nuts. I ended up clamping vice grips on the inside where the boot is and reefing them off just enough so I could fit my Sawzall in and hack the miserable fuckers off. Anyway, the only instructions I saw for the bushings was for a Gen 1 but the Pu is different. Endlinks, though they can be a real bitch to remove, are pretty self explanatory so I'm not going to bother explaining this much.

Tools needed:

Jack
Jack stands
14mm wrench and socket
Breaker bar
17mm socket
10mm socket
Screwdriver
Vice grips
Torque wrench

Optional but very helpful:

Ratcheting wrenches
Reverse flute ez out sockets
Breaker bar to slide over ratchet or wrench
Angle wrenches
Sawzall

First thing you want to do is jack the vehicle up and support on jack stands. Next, remove the splash shield on the bottom of the engine and the splash guards on the side from the wheel well. I would suggest at least removing the lower nut on the endlink but you might be able to replace the bushings with out doing this step. Unless they are new, I'd honestly just replace the endlinks.

After the endlinks are removed, you are ready to get the old bushings out. Get under the vehicle and locate the 2 rear bolts on the lower control arm. Remove them using a 17mm socket.

Once the two bolts are removed, you can pop the bracket off and then slide the old bushing out. I cleaned up the brackets well and then put some lithium grease on them where they touch the brackets. Not sure if this is necessary but I figured it might keep them from squeaking.

Attach the new bushing to the bar and then slide it into place.

Pop the bracket on and then put the bolts back in. Torque spec I found was 72.5 ft/lbs.

Put the endlinks back on.

Next, put the skid plate and splash guards back on


I got the bushings for 12 bucks at Rockauto. Endlinks were 21 each. The new bushings seemed to be much stiffer than the rubber ones that I removed. I think they are poly, not rubber. You can see the difference between the two. I also included a pic of the reverse thread sockets that I used to loosen one of the endlink nuts.