DIY: Sway Bar Bushing Replacement

[bugasm99]

If you are hearing any noise from the front of you car over bumps, or are simply looking to perform some maintanance on a high mileage bug, your sway bar bushings are probably in need of replacement. With 125k on my odometer I decided to swap mine out for a set of prothane sway bar bushings.

If you just want a replacement and will not be under your car enough to watch and relubricate the bushings, i recommend purchasing a set of OEM sway bar bushings. Be sure to have your VIN handy as VW changed both the diameter of the sway bar and the style of bushing/ bracket over time.




This procedure is for the Sway Bar bushings only and does not include the end link bushings as mine were in ok shape and I did not replace them yet.

Tools Needed

- Jack and Jack Stands
- 13 mm socket
- 16 mm socket -or- box wrench

Procedure

- Raise both front wheels off the ground and place on jack stands. Make sure you use jack stands as you do not want your car coming down on top of you. Make sure to use the proper jack points for both raising the car and placing it on the stands.

- Remove both front wheels from the car.

- Pick a side to work on and turn the steering wheel toward that side of the car. So if you want to work on the passenger side front, turn the steering wheel all the way to the right. This will move the inner tie-rod boot out of the way and give you enough rough to work on the bushings.

- Remove the sway bar end link where at attaches to the lower control arm. This is a 16mm bolt holding the lower link into the control arm. Once the bolt is removed simply swing the end link up and out of the way.



- You will find the sway bar bushing above the back side of the control arm in front of the accordion boot for the inner tie rod end.

- On top of the bracket holding the boshing is a 13 mm bolt. This can be removed using a socket or a box wrench. There is not much room to work in, but with the tie rod pulled into the steering rack you will have enough room to remove the bolt as well as remove the bracket.



- The bottom of the bracket has a hook on it that loops into the subframe. With the 13mm bolt removed you should be able to wiggle the sway bar itself. By shifting the bar around you will loosen the bracket and can then rotate the top of the bracket away from the bolt hole. With the top rotated toward the rear of the car and the sway bar raised in the air, you should be able to "unhook" the bracket.

- This image shows you how the bracket looks off the car and you can see how the hook works.



- Once the bracket is removed from the car you can pull the bushing itself off of the bar. The bushing is split on the back side and is simply pulled apart and wrapped around the sway bar. Depending on how old/ how many miles you have the bushing will most likely be worn and will come off the bar fairly easily.

- In this pic you can see how the bar sits without the bushing/ bracket in. This should also give you an idea of what your working with the get the bushing and bracket back in.



- Reinstallation is simply the reverse of the above procedure. Make sure you use the provided grease/ lubricant or the bushings will creak and make noise over time. Since the bushings are new it make take a little strength to get the bracket back into place where you can thread the 13 mm bolt back into place. By wiggling the sway bar and shifting the bushing you will eventually get the bolt to thread into place.

- Repeat on opposite side of car.

- When finished, bolt the wheels back on, lower off the jack stands, take a nice drive and enjoy a cold :beer:


Extras

- In this pic you can see the difference between the old bushing (left) and the new bushing (right). The OEM bushing was worn and the center hole for the sway bar was enlarged quite a bit allowing the bar to shift around.



As always, I take no responsibility for any mistakes you make or anything that may happen to your vehicle as a result of this. I am not a mechanic and these are just guidelines.

[noR]

The discussion for this how-to is located here:
DIY: Sway Bar Bushing Replacement - DISCUSSION