Check Your Eibach Front Sway Bar Bushings!!

[Kazz]

I just spent the past weekend in Tennessee/North Carolina driving up and down the Tail of the Dragon. If you've never been there and think that you enjoy driving, you NEED TO GO! I could live there and just drive every day. Anyway...

After a day and a half of spirited and very spirited driving through the dips and curves, I developed a rattle in the front - driver's front. Once I was convinced it wasn't hurting necessary steering geometry or tire wear, I calmed down a bit. But it did shorten my trip by half a day. I had to find someplace to get the car in the air on a Sunday to check on it before the 9 hour drive back home.

Once in the air at a Firestone facility and looked at, the tech brought me back, telling me that the driver's side bushing in the Eibach front sway bar had slipped out of it's mounting location and slid towards the driver's side. The grease was still quite evident.

Next he showed me how both bushings had their edges/shoulders chewed up. Both outside edges of the bushings have a narrow raised portion that helps keep the bushings in place. The driver's side bushing was missing almost all of the raised edge on both sides and the passenger side clearly showed it had been chewed up. This damage is taking place on both the inside and outside edges of both bushings.

I've emailed Eibach, but have yet to hear anything back. I'm currently considering a split clamping collar:

or a split ring hanger:

or anything like them once I measure the OD of the front sway bar.

I'm attending Stingerfest in the St. Louis Missouri area next weekend and don't want a repeat performance while autocrossing!

Has anyone else experienced this? Any other ideas for solutions?

 

[itguy61]

Wow, not good! I guess I need to go under there car and look. How long have you had the bars installed?

 

[Kazz]

Wow, not good! I guess I need to go under there car and look. How long have you had the bars installed?

Since May.

 

[Freelancer]

Only since May? I am getting mine installed this morning along with springs. Guess I need to keep an eye on this going forward. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[Kazz]

Only since May? I am getting mine installed this morning along with springs. Guess I need to keep an eye on this going forward. Thanks for the heads up.

You bet! If I don't hear from Eibach in the next few hours today, I'll be calling them.

I'm really interested to see if others notice the edges/shoulders of their bushings being worn/cut off.

 

[NS_Stinger]

Do you have any pictures of the damage?

 

[Kazz]

Do you have any pictures of the damage?

I'm sorry I do not. I didn't even think about taking pictures while talking things over with the tech.

If you've seen the bushings, you can see the lips or shoulders on either side of each bushing. They'be being chewed off somehow. I'll be picking up some split collar clamps so I can ensure they don't move in the future. When I install those I'll take pictures. But it will be a couple of days.

 

[NS_Stinger]

I'm just wondering if the tech that installed them for you had tightened the brackets enough. The only thing I can think of that would cause that is if the bushing slipped out of the brakcets from it not being tightened enough and then the edges of the brackets got banged up from rattling against the bar while driving after the fact.

I also wonder if the mechanic lubricated the outside of the bushing where it contacts the bracket which would be a big no-no instead of just lubing the inside of the bushing that contacts the bar.

 

[Kazz]

I'm just wondering if the tech that installed them for you had tightened the brackets enough. The only thing I can think of that would cause that is if the bushing slipped out of the brakcets from it not being tightened enough and then the edges of the brackets got banged up from rattling against the bar while driving after the fact.

I also wonder if the mechanic lubricated the outside of the bushing where it contacts the bracket which would be a big no-no instead of just lubing the inside of the bushing that contacts the bar.

I understand and agree on both counts. But it's very difficult to know now.

I have to reiterate that this was under some extreme conditions - constant, sharp turns with dips and extreme camber changes while pushing acceleration and braking quite hard. I was making the Pilot Sport 4S's occasionally squeal with small, four-wheel drifts, all the while not really exceeding 40-45mph. That's how tight the road can be in places and I was driving at probably at least 8/10s of what the car could possibly deliver.

 

[robz32]

Wow....gald you caught that in time. Definitely sounds like a case of oversized collars, the bushings should not move or have any play regardless of the driving conditions.
Did you check the end links?

 

[Kazz]

Wow....gald you caught that in time. Definitely sounds like a case of oversized collars, the bushings should not move or have any play regardless of the driving conditions.
Did you check the end links?

They looked good at the time. I'm getting my split collar clamps today and hope to get her in the air before the weekend's over. I'll take a much closer look at everything then. I'm just wondering if anyone else is finding any wear on the edges of their bushings!

 

[itguy61]

I will look this weekend.

 

[CKeeler]

Interesting to see that this happened. My whiteline sway bars came with split collar clamps. The way that Whiteline explains it, is that they are there just to make sure the sway bar doesn't slide back and forth. Glad I put mine on.

 

[Kazz]

Interesting to see that this happened. My whiteline sway bars came with split collar clamps. The way that Whiteline explains it, is that they are there just to make sure the sway bar doesn't slide back and forth. Glad I put mine on.

Now this is great to know! I feel better about slapping them on my Eibach bar now!

 

[itguy61]

Kazz if this works will you be able to share where you found them at?

 

[Kazz]

Kazz if this works will you be able to share where you found them at?

Absolutely! There are many options, it seems. But I'll link to and report on what I do/try!

 

[MerlintheMad]

What about OEM front sway bar? Is it possible that a stock front sway bar (from the factory, i.e. no fiddling since taking possession) would manifest the same thing under repeated hard cornering?

And does anything like this potentially affect the rear sway bar?

 

[Kazz]

What about OEM front sway bar? Is it possible that a stock front sway bar (from the factory, i.e. no fiddling since taking possession) would manifest the same thing under repeated hard cornering?

And does anything like this potentially affect the rear sway bar?

Good questions. The OEM front's bushing is attached to the mounting plate as a single part (same with the rear). It's also not a tube shape, it has some curves, etc. to it that would help keep the "rubber" portion in place, even if it weren't attached to the mount itself.

I'm curious about the rear, as well. I won't be looking at it this weekend. Although, I may get appropriately-sized clamps for the rear and put them on next time I get the rear up in the air.

 

[itguy61]

The bushing on the stock unit do not allow the bar to pivot or rotate freely. The bar ends up more like a torsion bar. I would assume this also keeps the bar from moving left and right which it what it seems like yours may have.

 

[Kazz]

Finally spoke with a human. Still not impressed with their customer service - although I have no idea what they could do. Sending me four new bushings and speaking with R&D Monday. We'll see.