Just closed up a job to replace the sway bar bushings on my 05 XJ8L. I started this project once before, but gave up due to the problems encountered.

Same problems this time, but the German in me wouldn't let me quit this time, so here's what the task entailed.

First to remove the cross bar--or relocate it (which I did). Two bolts on drivers side gave no problem, broke loose like any good bolt should.

Now to the passengers side. Had to drop the under pinning, so I could get my hand and tool up pass the oil filter to the bolts. Encouraged by the ease in which the drivers side came loose, a small grunt and they too came loose.

Now to the bolts on the sway bar bushing clamp. Being able to move that cross bar around made that job workable and the front and rear bolts came out. Have read post by others who said things like "cross treading and the like, I examined these two bolts very closely and compared them to the cross bar bolts------very different.

Putting the new bushing on the sway bar proved to be a slight problem because of the close quarters to work with, (getting it open enough to slip over the bar) but solved that by sliding the bushing on from the end of the bar.

Next came to bushing clamp. Putting that over the new bushing revealed that the bushing was somewhat larger then the old one, but getting it over the new bushing just took a little wiggling and pushing. Unlike on my XK8, these bushings do not have a tab which sits in a cutout, so they just sit flat against the frame.

Now for the bolts. Try as I may, I could not get them to start. Remember above I said I examined them very closely? Well, these bolts have a more pointed profile and the first threads have what looks like small holes in them.
What I think we have here are self tapping bolts and are put on at the factory with a tool that pushes them into the receiving boss located in the frame and screws the bolt home while it cuts the threads in the boss. I don't think these bolts are intended to be reused. Well, I did use them again and basically like the factory did. I ran the bolts through my Metric die set. Size
is: 10mm x 1.50. With this done, I was able to get the bolts started and with
hard work and some cutting oil, I was able to get the bolts seated and the bushing clamp flat against the frame as designed.

I then put everything taken off for access, back on and in/on. The bar end links were as new, so didn't replace those. I'm leaving the passenger side for a much latter date, because I think that's going to entail disconnecting hoses and such. As old as I am (80) my arms look like I've been horse wiped from all the broken skin and bruises, so at lease until all that clears up, I'm resting.. Total work time--much of which was trying to get the bushing cap bolts back in was about 10 hours.

I'll test drive it later, right now I need a good long bath.

Cheers

 

Well done Chuck. You have 5 years on me and my back hurts just reading your post.

 

Chuck, great write up, and my experiences exactly. I actually found the RHS easier to do than the LHS, even though there are all those pipes in the way. My old bushings did not look degraded our anything, but certainly allowed the bar to move such that it made a substantial thump on certain road conditions. I thought some other bushing must have been responsible, but have NO noises now. I hope I can keep working on my car at your age, there's hope for me yet.

Mine had done 162k miles, but no rust, no rain in California.

 

Ditto on the scraped arms and hands, Chuck. At least you didn't try to put the driver side bushing clamp on with the longer cross bar bolts like I did and mess up the threads in the body. Ditto too on using a thread restorer to clean them up, although all the bolts on my 06 SV8 looked like the same thread before I messed them up; mine did not look like self tapping bolts and the ones for the clamps had a nose on the end as a starting aid.

When you get to the passenger side bushing clamp (If it understood correctly that you only replaced the driver side) I had to start the bushing clamp bolts from below and the front one was not easy as it is hard to both push and turn it while reaching up over the clamp from underneath (running a male thread restorer up from the bottom helped) but once started I was able to tighten them both from above using a long 3/8 extension with a short wobble joint extension on the end; the wobble joint allowed just enough angle to seat the socket on the bolt heads and was easier than trying to keep a universal joint oriented while snaking the extension down between the engine and that mass of small hoses. I did not have to disconnect any hoses, (although I did have to manhandle the lower radiator hose on the driver side to start the crossover bar bolts). I found it easier to finish tighten the cross bar bolts from underneath on both sides with the road wheels removed.

I did mine three weeks ago and my hands have pretty much recovered by now, but not my memory of what a B___H of a job it was. I spent parts of three days, including my bolt mixup and fix up, and I hope I never have to do it again.