Going to remove and paint front stabalizer bar tomorrow.... any advice or warnings?

Pkay

Member
Anything crazy about taking it off or things to watch out for when removing it? Seems simple but I always ask before I do something to my car.
 
Careful when putting the strut bar back in place. When you tighten the bolts it's easy to strip the paint you just put on. Other than that, don't loose the bolts;)
 
I replaced my front strut bar. Didn't like the look of the factory one, my new one has a nice chrome finish to it, it looks real sharp! I will post a pic soon.
 
here we go.
 

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umm folks, I hope you are talking about the STRUT BAR (see pic), NOT the STABLIZER bar... the strut bar does NOTHING to stablize the car

if you want to take out the stablizer bar, prepare to spend at least 4 hours under the car... and the stablizer bar is powder coated from the factory, NOT painted... if you do paint it, expect the paint to fall off in a few years
 
I was able to remove the front SWAY bar pretty easily, just unbolting the member brace, and the endlinks, then the bushings, and tada.
 
TheMAN said:
umm folks, I hope you are talking about the STRUT BAR (see pic), NOT the STABLIZER bar... the strut bar does NOTHING to stablize the car

if you want to take out the stablizer bar, prepare to spend at least 4 hours under the car... and the stablizer bar is powder coated from the factory, NOT painted... if you do paint it, expect the paint to fall off in a few years

Yeah, these are two entirely different parts. I agree, it's not worth the hassle to remove the SWAY (Stablizer) bar. It's not as easy as unbolting the end links and sway bar brackets. You'll have to drop part of the subframe. And unless you get it powdercoated, the paint will probably crack/rub off from the bar flexing.
 
Just make sure that your paint can works before you start.

bad experience:(

Lets see the pics when your done.

Later
 
i just painting my strut for the second time. first i painted it blue. drove it for like 4 months then just yesterday i painted it chrome. it's nice, but not anything like it would be if it were dipped.
PKAY: make sure you use a heat resistent paint, either a primer or a clear coat.
 
TheMAN said:
umm folks, I hope you are talking about the STRUT BAR (see pic), NOT the STABLIZER bar... the strut bar does NOTHING to stablize the car

if you want to take out the stablizer bar, prepare to spend at least 4 hours under the car... and the stablizer bar is powder coated from the factory, NOT painted... if you do paint it, expect the paint to fall off in a few years

I removed my STABALIZER bar in about 1 hr.
 
I just got a quote from a place in town... $85 to powdercoat my strut bar. Says it takes 2 weeks, cause he's real busy. That would mean I have to drive the car without the strut bar for two weeks... would there be any problems with that?

Also... is this worth it, in your opinion?
 
i personally won't waste the money on powdercoating the stock strut bar. for the money that your gonna spend pwdercoating it, you might as well buy a better type of strut bar. the stock isn't the best looking strut bar for under the hood, but it does the job. it's up to you though
 
$ 85 seems a bit steep to me for just the strut brace. I would recommend taking any other parts you might want done too, as most powdercoating places quote by the job and you're paying for the paint and time. Powder coating is the way to go for durability.

Also removing the strut brace won't affect anything while driving. It just adds more chassis rigidity to the car. Don't forget the standard proteges don't have it either. :)
 
d_stickney said:
I just got a quote from a place in town... $85 to powdercoat my strut bar. Says it takes 2 weeks, cause he's real busy. That would mean I have to drive the car without the strut bar for two weeks... would there be any problems with that?

Also... is this worth it, in your opinion?

It's worth it, I had mine done, but not for that price...$85 is alot for just one bar.
 
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