Anyone Break rear sway bar Bracket before?

[loserkidwac]

Well Driving around the other day and everytime i hit a bump I hear a clunk...thinking maybe something in my trunk I ay down the back seats to see and drive around, nope nothing back there, i get home and look under at the rear suspension and first thing i notice is my rear sway bar to frame bushing bracket is torn apart(pissed) WTF... I don't even know what would cause that, I didn't think the rear sway would ever be under any extreme load so I am thinking manf. error but who knows...Local dealer wanted $34 for the bracket and didn't even have any in stock so i went online and found a dealer in VA that had them for $24 and also picked up some new bushings since mine started to "creek"

I'm going to weld the bracket tonight just so i can drive the car till i get the new ones...


Anyone else ever have this happen or know why?

P.S. Any Honda/CRX owners around I just finished my B18b turbo set up Its fast as all hell to...

 

[Black_Protege_5]

Stock bracket? Either way it is due to stress. I have cracked 2 brackets already.

 

[red_s5_fc3s]

Black P5 is right. If you used a thicker aftermarket sway, but held it on using the stock bracket, it will break. Hit up AWR for their bracket relocation kit. They will sell it to you without the swaybar.

But yes, that bracket will fail due to daily driving stress if you're using a thicker sway bar.

 

[Velocifero]

i just recently broke an AWR bracket and I have broken off two of the welded bolts on the inside of the crossmember that the brackets are bolted on with, one was due to over tightening and the other due to stress.

 

[red_s5_fc3s]

It sounds like someone needs to fabricate something stronger. Let's see how many people have run into the same problem.

 

[Black_Protege_5]

Well I have the Progress bar and those clamps are twice as strong as the stock clamp. But daily stress will crack anything. Its only a matter of time.

 

[loserkidwac]

I am all stock...there is no reason the brackets shold break within in a coupe years of manufacturing the vehicle...come on my CRX is over 14 years old and i never broke a sway bushing bracket...There is some poor design on Mazdas part if this is a common problem...

I already ordered stock replacements maybe i'll weld some supports on them before install to prevent any future problems, i'll let you all know how they work out....

 

[Black_Protege_5]

Well I wouldn't really consider the msp stock kinda of deal. Its an upgraded suspension from factory. The real stock set up is a 16mm hollow bar to allow flex. 20mm is still pretty beefy and they didn't really beef up the brackets for it and added a soft bushing which allows for a lot of flex. The original design from Racing Beat was the Delsing Bracket or AXR design. But to cut cost they didn't want to keep it that way so they made it like the regular version. It allows for a lot of flex and a narrow stance. Get the AXR brackets and you will never have a problem and that is what that bar was made for.

 

[CorkSport]

Interesting, personally we have not heard of this one.
On a side note I recently broke off the end-link mounting tabs on both rear struts, using AWR adj sway bar and end-links. Two new Mazdaspeed adj struts to fix that one and I'm not sure I want to use the end-links again.

 

[Black_Protege_5]

What rear struts did you have before.

 

[deepfriedsushi]

Are the brackets you guys are talking about the horseshoe clamps?

As for the tabs, I got some scrap 1/8th in. thick steel, cut a small triangle to fit under the tab, and welded one side to the bottom of the tab, and the other to the body of the strut. btw I'm on stock struts.

Even tho I haven't had the RB sway for that long, I haven't had any problems.

 

[Black_Protege_5]

Yea. The ones that go over the bushing.

 

[loserkidwac]

Word i ment stock equip but yea MSP isn't really stock...I guess I will have to wait for the next time they break since I already spent my money on stock one not gonna spring for the AXR ones but it seems there have been some problems with aftermarket bars and bracktes also...

I don't understand how the rear sway is under so much stress some cars don't even come equip with rear sways... wont the UCA and LCA acccount for any movement that the sway will? I'm also not a huge fan of the endlink design on these cars, i like ones that bolt direct to the LCA but i guess we can get what we want all the time?

 

[Mike R]

I stripped a bolt out of the AWR relocation bracket and broke the horseshoe clamp...

24 bucks for the bracket? online the list is like 3 bucks! Glad I'm just running no rear bar!

 

[loserkidwac]

I stripped a bolt out of the AWR relocation bracket and broke the horseshoe clamp...

24 bucks for the bracket? online the list is like 3 bucks! Glad I'm just running no rear bar!

Thats what i saw too but if yo acctually call and get the correct one it won't be the $3 one...when i called the VA dealer there was 2 listed one for $3 and on for $30 or so and he told me $24 so i don't even think the MSP one was listed?!?!

Oh and do all dealers require you to give them the last 8 of he vin? I'm used to Hondas where I can just tell them what i need an they can figure it out...and I couldn't find any site that had good picutres labled with the part numbers either

 

[Black_Protege_5]

No they just need the year and model. Its pretty basic since we don't have 3 different versions of the same car.

 

[Mike R]

They will ask for the vin. It's friggin annoying. I like going to ford. I tell them what I want and they get it.

They have a bunch of different listings for the cars. (even though they don't really exist) I think it's because all of the proteges are grouped together.

 

[loserkidwac]

No they just need the year and model. Its pretty basic since we don't have 3 different versions of the same car.

Oh i called 2 places and they both asked for the vin? I assumed that it would really easy to figure out since they were MSP parts but nope, oh well...

 

[Black_Protege_5]

Yea. I tell my dealer just the year and model and they can find everything. That is a lame dealer.

 

[loserkidwac]

Well I welded the bracket tonight just for a temporary fix and it seems to be fine atleast till I get the new one...

I see the problem is the bottom side of it has the elongated hole I guess to allow for some adjustablity but that makes the metal very weak there and thats where it snapped...I also noticed the top bolt had some play and the welded nut had broken free (mostlikely caused by the dealer when I had the bushings replaced under warrenty) So i think the combination of those 2 were the cause of it breaking...