NOISY rear sway after install! Help?

[DeltaNu1142]

Yesterday I installed a Progress Technology 22mm rear sway bar & Whiteline adjustable end links. I saw that the RSB was contacting my Magnaflow CBE, and I took it for a slow test ride to see if it was going to be a problem--it was. At low RPMS, the amplitude of the exhaust vibrating caused a rattle against the RSB. Here's what it looked like...

 

Position of exhaust cans:

 

http://i.imgur.com/wNb9Yl.jpg

 

Point of contact, passenger side looking rearward:

 

http://i.imgur.com/miTzFl.jpg

 

Driver's side looking rearward, no contact (parked and in motion, I think):

 

http://i.imgur.com/sF57jl.jpg

 

So, today, I realized that I could move the bushing brackets up maybe 1/2" or more... so I did. Here's the passenger side, looking forward, with the bracket at its highest possible position:

 

http://i.imgur.com/sNA9ql.jpg

 

Now the rattle is gone, but the noise (creaking) is really bad. Very audible inside & outside the car. The only point of contact was right here, on the body (bottom of spare tire well):

 

http://i.imgur.com/ENQXTl.jpg

 

Here's the whole bar. It touched on the left (driver) side & comes really close to touching on the right:

 

http://i.imgur.com/JxWgSl.jpg

 

In the middle of typing this post, I decided to go see if I could move that left side down & still clear the exhaust. I could, and it does. So now, it doesn't touch anywhere--clears the exhaust & body on both sides. It's close, but no contact. Triumphant, I rolled it off the ramps. SQUEEEEAAAAAAAK, SQUEEEEAAAAKKKK... what's going on?!? Any ideas?

 

Here are photos of the endlinks:

 

Driver side:

 

http://i.imgur.com/Cvc1Fl.jpg

 

Passenger side:

 

http://i.imgur.com/j0BPnl.jpg

[DeltaNu1142]

P.S. - I lubed the crap out of the bushings in & out with spray-on silicone. I hope it's only the bushings. At this point, that's the only thing I can think of.

[LosAngelesLGT]

^my first suggestion. Can the sway be shifted at all left to right? Are those the old bushings or new ones?

[DeltaNu1142]

That would be great--but the squeaking is NOT coming from the exhaust. Or the body, as far as I can tell.

 

The rattling against the pipe was there yesterday, but with some adjustment today, it's gone. Now, just squeaking. And LOUD. No noise in the front with the same setup (Progress & Whiteline).

[ClimberDHexMods]

Don't know... but I suspect you should use a real grease that is non-petroleum based, not spray on silicone lube.

Whiteline endlinks have been known to make noise, but not necessarily a squeak. Can you have someone jump up and down in the back while you're under the car and can pinpoint the issue? That way you can put a screwdriver or carefully your finder to each part part you changed, see what resonates.

 

These are just ideas to start you off for lack of any better input from anyone else. A more seasoned tech should be able to offer you more detailed advice.

[DeltaNu1142]

^my first suggestion. Can the sway be shifted at all left to right? Are those the old bushings or new ones?

Nope, it's centered, and can't shift left to right due to the collars on the outside of each bushing; no good photo of that above. These are the used aftermarket Progress bushings. They look to be in good shape.

 

Will I hurt anything if I just loosen up the bushing brackets & roll it off the ramps?

[DeltaNu1142]

Don't know... but I suspect you should use a real grease that is non-petroleum based, not spray on silicone lube.

Whiteline endlinks have been known to make noise, but not necessarily a squeak. Can you have someone jump up and down in the back while you're under the car and can pinpoint the issue? That way you can put a screwdriver or carefully your finder to each part part you changed, see what resonates.

I'll give that a shot. My wife is the dainty type--I doubt I can get her to stand in the trunk & bounce on it without a lot of protest.

 

This is aggravating...

[ClimberDHexMods]

Will I hurt anything if I just loosen up the bushing brackets & roll it off the ramps?

 

How loose? Obviously if you have too much bolt out, you could damage a bolt. So just be mindful of that. But sure, give it a shot if that might narrow it down. I really think you just need to get some real grease in there. Shmear it all over.

[DeltaNu1142]

Good tip, by the way. We just went down to the garage & with the trunk open, I had the wife bounce the car up & down. The passenger side bushing squawks in both directions. I didn't hear anything at the end links. I didn't think it was as simple as a bushing because it was just making too much noise, and because I lubed them up.

 

Off to the store to get lithium grease... will report back after. I left the front plastic off, too, so I'll grease the fronts while I'm at it.

[DeltaNu1142]

Good news - squeak is gone. The bushings are packed with more lube than the Bang Bus during senior's week. Also, the latest test drive demonstrates that the bars are working. Steering is ridiculously flat up to the 30mph I felt like driving...

 

Bad news - there's a bad clunk. I check contact points, and after some adjustments, the RSB is clearing everything. No exhaust or body contact. There's so much grease on the bushings that I feel like it has to be the end links.

 

I think this noise was always there--just masked by the bushing squeal.

 

I hear the clunk at low speeds, coasting, when turning or going over bumps. It is loud and sounds cheap. It pisses me off.

 

End with some good news - I'm becoming world-class at backing my car onto ramps and working a ratchet around hot exhaust.

[scoobyscoodle]

I usually use Mobil 1 synthetic grease, the red stuff. As for the new clunk, make sure the end links are tight at their connection points as well as the adjustment bolts on the end links themselves.

[DeltaNu1142]

Well, I just went for a good, long test ride after another whack at it... a few miles of highway, city streets, and a stretch of bumpy brick road that is barely comfortable at 25 mph. The clunk is gone. I can only attribute it to contact to the exhaust, which I corrected by loosening the bushing bracket, wedging a mallet in between the exhaust and the RSB, then tightening the bracket back down.

 

I also put some more torque on the end links. The stud on the Whiteline is somewhere between 13mm & 14mm. I couldn't find a wrench, metric or SAE, to fit it...!! Bizarre. Anyway, the 1/8th-turn on each, maybe, and the extra millimeter between the RSB & the exhaust, it's good!

 

Lessons learned:

• use lithium grease on bushings
  
• check the cabinet before driving to Advance Auto for lithium grease only to realize when you return that you already have some
  
• torque the bejeezus out of everything