Help with front sway bar bushings please

[bushhiker]

Hey everyone, I own a MSP that I love dearly but a few months ago the front suspension started squeaking badly and i had a shop replace the front sway bar bushing. they called me while working on it and said the subframe/streering had to be dropped and labor would be round 500 i said no. When i went to get my car i found out that they took off the passenger side bracket and bushing they told me it would be safe to drive without it for a few months so i went on my way. so in the past week i have been noticing a huge bang when i go over bumps i believe its the sway bar hitting the sub frame. i was thinking about it and i think with only the drivers side bracket on would the end links on both sides be damaged due to the slack in bar and stress?(plus maybe the drivers side bracket?) I need to get this fixed once and for all. I have tried to replace it my self but the clearance in the rear and front bolts on the brakets is very tight and theres no room for a wrench... Have any of you been able to replace these dang bushings. please help me thanks

 

[bushhiker]

anyone?

 

[OH10_MSP]

There are no pictures, but this may help you out.

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/show...W*-Front-Bushing-Install&highlight=front+sway

 

[mazdaspeedp]

s*** that sucks yo i would take it back to the shop and demand that they fix it now since it is causing other damage

 

[SoCalRyder7]

If you remove the control arm, you can squeeze your hand in there. Believe me, removing the subframe is a PITA! I did it for an engine mount replacement... damn, what a night that was.

 

[jdwk]

I just did it again last night. Yes it is a PITA, but no it is not impossible.

Here's some tips. Get your car as high as your jack or and stands will go, you are going to want the room.

You are going to need a small 14mm 12 point box wrench for the rear bolts. You can use a socket on the front bolt from the side of the car, but you'll get a click or two at most.

Take off your endlinks before starting this procedure, you'll never be able to pull down the sway bar and align the bracket and bolts at the same time.

Put the new bushing on first (lube it up really well first), then put the bracket over it, grab it with one hand on each side and pull down with all your might alternating hands and wiggle it down over the new bushings. This will be very tough, but you should be able to get it flush enough to get the bolts in. Also make sure the open end of the bracket is facing the rear.

You may have to push down on the bracket with one hand and start the bolt with the other.

It took me about two hours to do this job and it was the second time I've done it, so yeah it sucks. The biggest annoyance is that you can only get a 12th of a turn each time you move the wrench, so it's just time consuming and your hands will probably cramp up on you.

If you get stuck, pm me. Also, do it soon, because you are just knocking the paint off of your sway bar right now.