My front sway bar isn't center, could that cause a clunking noise?

[CheeseHelmet]

I've been getting a clunking in my font suspension lately when I go over bumps. It happens on both wheels and is more pronounced when I hit the bump with only one side of the car (ie. more noticeable when I hit a pothole than when I go over a speedbump).

At first I thought it was my control arms, I recently had to take them off and put them back on when I took out my transaxle. I didn't tighten up the bolts with the car on ramps and only after did I read that perhaps that's not the right way to do it. So this afternoon I put large bricks under the front wheels and loosened and re-tightened the control arms. It didn't change anything.

I then took the wheels off to inspect the rest of the suspension and noticed that my front sway bar is pushed towards the driver-side of the car. Also when I lightly tap the bar with a rubber mallet it makes a similar clunking sound. I have pictures to illustrate what I'm talking about, they're not the best but hopefully they'll make things clearer.

Driver-side (notice that the sway bar is 3-4cm from the crossmember):

Passenger-side (the sway bar is almost touching the crossmember):

The reason why it moved is because the little bushing that's mounted on the passenger-side of the sway bar (the service manual calls it a "Positioning Bushing) seems to have broken free (the metal band around it broke). I still have the rubber bushing but the metal band is gone (I don't think those are reusable anyway).

Here's a picture of the bushing I'm referring to:

Finally, we get to the questions:

1. How would I go about moving the sway bar back to center?
2. Where can I get that little metal band that went around the bushing?

 

[HKPRO5]

if you buy aftermarket bushings they come with new brackets. I have the energy suspension ones.

When you removethe old bushsing to install the new one, the bar will be somewhat free to move around.

You may want to check some other things while you are down there.

Check the sway bar to see if you have any damage from hitting the crossmember. That may be the problem.
But check these also.

Endlinks -top and bottom
Steering rack bushings
loose items in the engine bay.
tightness of undercarraige bolts

 

[CheeseHelmet]

if you buy aftermarket bushings they come with new brackets. I have the energy suspension ones.

When you removethe old bushsing to install the new one, the bar will be somewhat free to move around.

You may want to check some other things while you are down there.

Check the sway bar to see if you have any damage from hitting the crossmember. That may be the problem.
But check these also.

Endlinks -top and bottom
Steering rack bushings
loose items in the engine bay.
tightness of undercarraige bolts

We're talking about two different kinds of bushings, I'm talking about the "Positioning Bushing". Unless you think I should change the stabilizer bushings, but why?

How would I go about checking if the endlinks are bad?

 

[yangsui]

Center the sway bar. I assume it'd require a bit of muscle ...or a hammer. Then get one of those locking clamps and secure the positioning bushing back on.

While you're down there, might as well check that the endlink bolts are tight. I usually just grab and wiggle the endlink. If it feels loose, tighten it.

 

[CheeseHelmet]

Center the sway bar. I assume it'd require a bit of muscle ...or a hammer. Then get one of those locking clamps and secure the positioning bushing back on.

While you're down there, might as well check that the endlink bolts are tight. I usually just grab and wiggle the endlink. If it feels loose, tighten it.

They're tight, and by tight I mean rusted in place

Where do I get those locking clamps? I've never seen them before. I was thinking of trying to find a skinny hose clamp, but I've never seen one of those either...

 

[HKPRO5]

you can use a hose clamp. It doenst have to be anything special.

 

[CheeseHelmet]

you can use a hose clamp. It doenst have to be anything special.

All the hose clamps I've seen are wider than the little bushing. I wouldn't want the metal of the hose clamp to be rubbing up against the stabilizer bushing.

How bad was it to remove the bolts that hold the bracket in place? There really doesn't look like there's much room to work in there.

 

[speedracr79]

i had a noise every bump i hit and mine was the same thing the bushing had come off and moved around but when i upgraded to a Racing Beat one it had new bushings....man thats alot of rust

 

[CheeseHelmet]

man thats alot of rust

You know you like it

Luckily that metal is pretty thick, I'm not worried...

 

[speedracr79]

You know you like it

Luckily that metal is pretty thick, I'm not worried...

how did you know..... so i guess yall have rust pretty bad up there what is it the weather. like the snow or something but yeah their pretty sturdy parts on these cars so good luck with the fix

 

[CheeseHelmet]

how did you know..... so i guess yall have rust pretty bad up there what is it the weather. like the snow or something but yeah their pretty sturdy parts on these cars so good luck with the fix

Quebec has a horrible climate for cars. In the winter the roads are salted and in the summer we always have humid weather (at least near montreal). Unless you keep your car in a garage (and make sure to wash the salt off in the winter) it'll start rusting very quickly. I see a Mazda 3 with rusty wheel-arches at least once a week, it's bad.

 

[Dermen]

You can get a new clamp from the dealer, the rears are $10 a piece, don't know about the front. I still haven't gotten around to reinstalling my rear sway bar because I don't have those bushing/clamps and don't want to pay the almost $40 it would cost to get them from Mazda.

 

[yangsui]

They're tight, and by tight I mean rusted in place

Where do I get those locking clamps? I've never seen them before. I was thinking of trying to find a skinny hose clamp, but I've never seen one of those either...

I meant hose clamp. Dunno, maybe make your own positioning bushing with a thick and wide strip of rubber? ^Else go to the dealer and see if they can source that little metal clamp thingy.

The bar had to shift that way somehow. Try cornering vigorously to one side and see if the bar gets pushed back

 

[CheeseHelmet]

I meant hose clamp. Dunno, maybe make your own positioning bushing with a thick and wide strip of rubber? ^Else go to the dealer and see if they can source that little metal clamp thingy.

The bar had to shift that way somehow. Try cornering vigorously to one side and see if the bar gets pushed back

Hah, I like your thinking!

I suspect what did it was driving for 20-30KM on some bumpy dirt/sand roads up north

I think I'll just use a hose clamp, if it ends up ruining the other bushing at least it'll give me an excuse to get new ones.

 

[RABID_MP5]

+1
And whenever you want to push the bar laterally (or do end link stuff) remember to jack up both sides to take most of the load off everything.

 

[CheeseHelmet]

The clunking is GONE!

The "Stabilizer Bushings" do a good job of keeping the sway bar in place. I had to loosen the bolts holding their brackets in place and only then was I able to tug the sway back back to it's center position. The hose clamp was easy to install and it looks like there's nothing in it's way that it can accidentally rub up against.

Thanks for the input guys!

 

[CheeseHelmet]

BAH! Apparently I was wrong, the clunking is still there albeit not as loud. (braindead

The noise seems to only come from the driver-side, yet hitting a bump with either tire will cause it to happen. However, if I hit a bump with both tires at the same time there's no clunking (or it's significantly less noisy).

This leads me to believe that my driver-side endlink is bad. At first I thought it might be the ball joint but I can't think of a way to explain why a bad ball joint would cause the above-mentioned symptoms (can you?).

I'm thinking of removing the endlinks tomorrow to see if that gets rid of the noise. I'll probably have to destroy them to get them off (damn rust) . It's ok if I drive around for a few days without front endlinks, right?

 

[yangsui]

It's ok if I drive around for a few days without front endlinks, right?

Only if you secure the sway bar somehow so that it's not flopping around. Zip tie it to the chassis maybe?

 

[CheeseHelmet]

Only if you secure the sway bar somehow so that it's not flopping around. Zip tie it to the chassis maybe?

Of course

 

[CheeseHelmet]

Driver-side endlink (bottom ball joint) is shot.

I used some lashing wire to keep the sway bar in place for the time being. The clunking is gone, but taking tight corners is a bit more interesting now.

Amazingly I got both endlinks off without destroying them! I skipped the allen-key+spanner method and went with an impact wrench, it worked so well