Hey everyone. Today, a buddy and I installed my new front and rear sway bars from ac.net.
On the rear bar, where it attaches to the L-shaped brackets on the spring plates, the directions call for only 5 lb/ft of torque on the bolt. When tightened to this spec, the nut only goes onto the bolt just far enough that the bolt fills the nut, but does not protrude from the nut. This has me concerned. Is this really tight enough for the bar that is supposed to hold roughly 450 pounds per side from leaning back and forth during hard corners?! The clamps that hold the rear bar and bushings to the torsion housing also only called for 5 foot pounds. This seems loose to me.
On the front bar, we had a helluva time getting those new clamps (the screw-on type) on. It was almost impossible to squeeze them closed with your hands so you could start the nut. We had to use a HUGE pair of pliers opened all the way to close them to start the nut. Since the instructions for the front bar were for using those POS stock clamps, there were no torque settings for the new clamps we used. What should it be? It's a 3/4" bar with the red urethane bushings.
Anyway, I took the car for a spin, and AWESOME! This thing handles SO much better now. I was shocked. But I am still concerned that the loose tightening torques will have parts falling of my car within a week. Mind you, the nuts are nylon inserts, but still. 5 foot pounds?!
Thanks for any replies!
~Anthony