[Pointer0986]

Having an issue with new front sway bar brackets and insulators. The brackets match the size of the surviving original from the car but the insulators seem way too tall to comfortably bolt the brackets on. I've attached a picture of what I'm talking about. I confirmed I ordered what should be the right parts. Are they really supposed to look like this?

Thanks,

Dan

[coonhunter70]

I don't believe that's right but i'd have go out to the garage to look at mine to be sure.

[Old Goat 67]

Completely wrong.

[dataway]

That's what mine looked like also when I tried to install them. Forget how I fixed it, or if I replaced them, but it was impossible to tighten them down without of course distorting the bracket completely.

I might have just trimmed them. .... I have definitely seen this issue come up before. I've seen a TON of them made that way ... bar spaced out way to far from the curved end of the bracket. It's supposed to be a tight fit ... but these type insulators are way off. I tried pulling them down with the bolts, bends the bracket, squishes the bushing out the sides.

Just checked the Ames website ... appear to be the exact same bushing. Not sure why so many of them are wrong.

[Pointer0986]

Thanks guys, seems like an obvious issue but just wanted to confirm. I'll call Ames tomorrow and have them take a look into this.

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

[68ragtop]

When I pulled my chassis back apart, I noticed I had the original rubber in those brackets & that surprised me. Now that you made this post It completely rings a bell for me. And this was over a dozen years ago. I have been scratching my head as to why I would have re-used them.
This might be why.....
Sub'd

[dataway]

I'll try to get a photo of what I did to solve the problem.

Pretty sure I just cut them. But that still leaves the bar too close to the frame, and too far from the bottom side of the bracket.

[Pointer0986]

Here is the response from Ames -

This correct and intentional. The amount of force at this point requires such a tight fit. The pro tip for installing this is to use the jack to lift this into place. The weight of the car is whats needed to push this into place. Once you have the nuts started it will go much easier.

Guess the sway bar will be one of the last things getting bolted on the car...

[coonhunter70]

I suppose that would work. You can also buy polyurethane for your stock sway bar.

[TN68GTO]

Are they implying that you use a jack to jack the car up by the sway bar to compress the bushings and then bolt the brackets on?

One question about sway bars and the brackets. what is the factory correct finish for the front sway bar and brackets?

[Pointer0986]

Don't lift by the sway bar alone, it will bend. What they are suggesting is to put the bracket/bushing/sway bar together in your jack saddle and lift it into position against the frame to get the bracket close enough to get the bolts threaded.

The finish of the repro brackets appear to be the same as OEM from what I have seen. The sway bar itself I've seen done both ways (cast color or black). I know my sway bar was an untouched original and there was black paint present. Of course, could have been differences between suppliers/factories/etc.

Dan

[dataway]

Yep, if that's the case then I'll have to wait till I get the engine installed because the force it would take to compress the insulators I had would lift the corner of the car if I tried that method now. And most likely flatten the bend out of the bracket. I got the bolts started without a jack and it was still bending the bracket up trying to seat them. And if I could have gotten it seated the insulator was oozing out like a balloon. And it was the right insulators for the right size bar.

Still haven't checked on it, but pretty sure I cut the bevel off the end of the insulator to make it fit, and it was still very tight. But they are correct that this area needs about zero deflection for the bar to do it's job.

Considering this information ... I might remove my rubber bushings and put poly in that location.

[dataway]

Here are some pictures.

Couple of pics of one side with the insulator bevel cut off and tightened down. You can see the bushing was starting to distort so bad that it wrinkles around the bar. Also the bracket could not even be tightened down all the way as it starts to bend. These are re-pop brackets ... but they appeared identical to the stock units I removed. And this is WITH the bevel cut off. If it was still on there you'd strip out the bolt holes before getting it tightened down ... so the jack method would have to be used for sure. But I still think that would totally distort the bracket before it would compress that bushing all the way.

Last pic shows the other side .... that apparently I left un tightened, with an uncut bushing because it appeared there was a problem.

Would love to see the factory assembly method ... no way they just tightened them down with that size/stiffness bushing in there. Makes me wonder if the original bushings were considerably softer and compressed much easier.

I greased the ID of the bushing that is installed ...but my guess is a full size bushing tightened down the way they suggest will destroy itself within a few thousand miles.