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SRT8 Rear Sway Bar install on 3.7 WK

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4K views 19 replies 4 participants last post by  JeepFreak12 
#1 ·
It took me about 1 hour 45 minutes to complete, but 15 minutes of it was just washing my hands and arms and stuff when I was done. :D

I got the goods from Just4Jeeps.com:
Shipping was free (orders > $99).
SRT Bar - 52124303AA ($94.90)
Bracket - 52090271AB ($12.56) You need 2.
Bushing - 52124302AA ($13.36) You need 2.

As someone already mentioned, the job will go MUCH smoother if you have an 18mm, ratcheting, box-end wrench. I don't have one, and they're like $25 at Lowe's. That cuts into my beer money :eek: so I did it the hard way.

I started on the left (Driver's side). There's not much room to work. Not enough so I could get a deep-well socket over the bolt to the 18mm nut. There's a lot of room on the right, comparatively.

I couldn't get enough leverage on the wrench, and it didn't have enough room to put a bar on it, so I ended up taking off the sway bar links.

Once they were disconnected, I could had enough room to get the links off the sway bar. With the bar disconnected, I was able to remove the bushings (16mm socket). It was kind of a bugger getting them off the bar. I tried leaving them on, but I couldn't get it out. It kept getting caught up on stuff. I used a chisel and wedged it down both sides, between the bushing and bracket. They eventually gave in, and I won.

All that was the easy part. With the links and bushings out of the way, I was free to remove the sway bar.

The hard part was figuring how to get the darn bar out! I tried wrestling it out from left to right (driver to passenger) and vice versa. After 15-20 minutes I got it out on the driver's side. Getting the new one in wasn't much better! I worked in the same direction (right to left). It kept getting hung up on different things under the Jeep.

When I finally got it in, I started putting it all back together. As someone already mentioned, it's SUPER easy to get the bolts cross threaded!! I tightened them by hand *as much as I could* (probably 5/8 to 6/8 of an inch). I tightened the 18mm nut connecting the sway bar to the arm first. I kept things fairly loose, so I could move stuff around or move it into place. I did the same on the right. When the sway and the links were together, I worked on the bushings. I suppose there are a number of ways to actually get the bushings into the bracket. I probably did it the hard way. I usually do....

I put the bushings on the bar and got them close to where they needed to be. Then I put the bracket on as far as I could (which wasn't too far). I put the bolts through the holes and pushed the as close as I could to their respective holes and started tightening, BY HAND, until I was sure they weren't cross-threaded and had a good amount of the threads buried. I did the same on the right. That was all there was to it.

The picture is the old and the new bar, side-by-side.

I had some other pix to upload, but only one loads...
 

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#3 ·
Thanks, man!

Wouldn't have been able to do it w/o your sage advice!!

I know the how-to has been posted before, but not with the "oh crap! Now what do I do?!!" things or how to wrestle the bar out.

Geez. It must be nice to have a lift and room to work!! :)
 
#5 ·
Geez, I shoulda asked for pointers BEFORE I got into a wrestling match with that thing! My arms are all scratched up, and I think I'm STILL sweating! :lol:
 
#8 ·
If you have a lift (or access to one), it's prolly easy. If you're looking for a challenge, go it without! I had grease up past my elbows, and it was hot and humid (close to 90')! My arms looked like the cat got hold of me!!:lol:
 
#9 ·
Oh, @shams, it's freakin' *awesome*. WELL worth the $$, the scratched up arms AND the wrestling match!!

All you need are the part numbers listed above. I did it w/o the 18mm, box-end, ratcheting wrench, but I wish I had bought it!

There's this little, curvy, 4-lane road I take on the way to work. I could hit one turn around 50ish w/o too much roll. I can do it now at like 63 (speed limit is 35). It's super fun!

I highly recommend it!!:thumbsup:
 
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#10 ·
With the blessing of @Strongjeff, I bought some Energy Suspension bushings for my rear sway bar. They had em at Advance Auto Parts. Walked out the door @ < $22. That was the easy part. It took a bunch of research and emails to get the correct part number. ES gave me some BS line, "...we have not done any R&D on this suspension yet..."

Again thanks to @Strongjeff and @JeepFreak12 for the help! The correct part number for the rear, SRT8 sway bar is 9.5156(R or G - depending on whether you want (R)ed or (G)Black). The rear sway bar is 3/4" (or 19.05mm if you prefer the Metric System ->Jeff. :lol: )

I got home with the goods, all set for a little fun, only to find stoopid Advance Auto Parts had given me two *different* sizes: 3/4" (correct) and 1" (incorrect).
AAP isn't too far from where I work, but from home it's like 20 miles, and I don't feel like making ANOTHER trip today.

I was going to see if I could get the 19.05mm one on, just for fun. You have to TAKE OFF THE WHOLE DAMN BAR -again. Those I got from J4J had a slit in them, so they just slide open and go over the bar; no need to take it off. ES doesn't have the slit. You slide them on the bar from where it connects to the sway bar link!! Errrr! I hope it's worth all the effort!

While I was there, I *did* take the advice of @Jahkneefive (as well as my own past experience!). I bought an 18mm ratcheting, box end wrench, just in case I had to remove the sway bar. Unfortunately it's 12 point, not six point.
 
#15 ·
@JeepFreak12, how'd you separate the bushing to get it on the sway bar? Just open it and man-handle it on? Any tips (other than grease it first)?
 
#19 ·
AAP won't have another pair in till Wednesday. I'm not off till Friday (but have a 4-day weekend!). I'll let you know how much fun I have!
Me vs sway bar bushings. :slapfight:
 
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