Most liked posts in thread: This Noob Wants to Attempt a Rear Swaybar Install

Swaybars, I've seen a million of them...

I think the collective royal we are wondering where are the sandwich pictures.

 

Ramps won't work for this job, you have to remove the wheels.

Just get a good set of stands under a solid point and you'll be fine - the best place is the jack points on the sides of the car for this work. Since you 'll be loosening and lowering the subfame, you can't set the car on that.

 

The first time, allowing for mistakes and such, about 2-3 hours.

Having a clean, level, smooth floor that's well lit helps immensely too.

Air tools are not needed, they just speed things up in the right hands.

It also makes things easier if you have an extra set of hands around to hold things or push the new bar in while you hold the subframe down slightly and so on.

 

Me too, you'd be going to the store for more beer & sandwich fixings. :wink:

 

It was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I know on my car, it's a pain in the expletive to do, but this was easy. And fun! I bled, but not that much.

And for the record, the sandwiches were incredible. They always are

 

Congrats on your swaybay ectomy, nice job! After a bit you'll probably want to stiffen that bar up to the max. This old man likes his bar stiff, some old men want it soft. Sorry couldn't help it. :smilewinkgrin:

 

Numero uno..... Use safe solid jack stands... Or get it up on those solid RHINO Ramps (Walmarts sells them and "others").... Don't get under the MINI unless it's rock stable....



"2. I know my way around tools." There are a few tools on this site.... But we're here for ya...

Nothing more fulfilling than doing the "mod" yourself... Go for it...

 

No abduction needed...I come willingly but you do make some bomb sammiches, so I won't turn that down. I think this will be easy and fun. If I bust a knuckle though (likely), I will require a GI Joe band-aid.

 

If you weren't on the wrong coast I would be glad to help you out. :lol:

 

Lol...why is it all the cool people are so far away?

 

Being comfortable enough with your manhood to even utter "scrumptious" much less put it on the internet for all of posterity to be able to Google is all the proof one needs that the ManCard is not only valid, but forged of titanium.

 

Taking the stock bar on & off a couple of times is darned good practice. :wink:

 

I can tell you now what you're up against. The floor, rear sub frame and fuel tank.

It will be like an old game of "Operation" but you will not get shocked. :lol:

Jack the car up and put it on jack stands (2) in the rear, remove the tires. disconnect the (2) end links from the old bar, disconnect bolts that hold the old bar in and loosen the (4) long rear sub frame bolts.

FYI I back them all the way out one at a time and then put them back in for about 4-5 full turns. This way you will have plenty of space to play "Operation" with the anti-sway bars.

 

On my R53, and I bet your car is similar, you might find it helpful to back off the bolts for the fuel tank straps and let the tank drop down a little. Doing this created a little more wiggle room to sneak the old bar out and the new one in. Snaking the sway bar past the wiring harness is the tricky part, but it's not that bad.

Just make up your mind that you're going to attack it like a puzzle and finesse the parts in and out rather than using brute force.

I swapped mine by accident sort of. I had just washed my car and pulled it onto the car port. At the time, I was taking care of my mother who was bed ridden with MS. She was engrossed in a movie, so I told her I was going to be just outside looking at the MINI and scoping the sway bar job. I jacked the car up, removed the wheel, and just started looking with a flashlight. I disconnected the end link on a whim, and before I realized it, I had the bars swapped. I didn't even pull it in the shop. All I really planned to do was look the job over...

If we weren't on opposite coasts, I'd say to bring it over to my shop and we'll use my lift, jacks, air tools, HVAC, etc. You can leave my house with a full tank, run the Dragon, and make it back here without buying gas, so testing it out isn't an issue. We also have plenty of challenging but unknown roads within 15 minutes of here.

Try to do as much of the work yourself as you can. It's a great "learner" project, and you won't be a noob anymore!

The hardest part is convincing yourself that YOU CAN DO IT!

 

Also if Code3_Mini cuts himself we need to see bare wound pictures so we can make fun of him. :lol::lol::lol:

 

Looks great, and you ain't a NOOB anymore!

Tell us more about the job. Easier or harder than you expected? How's it drive? Learn any interesting new curse words as a stream of blood mysteriously appeared?