I am going to replace my front sway bar bushings this weekend (...um...going to try....), but wanted to find out form you all if it is better to do this job with the suspension still compressed (car on ramp), or with suspension extended (car on jack stands)? Anyone have experience with this? Thank you.

 

I did mine with the car on jack stands - no problem

 

I used jack stands also. I think you could do it without lifting the car but it is easier to reach the bolts if you do.

I did have some trouble lining one of the bolts on the drive side. I used another hydraulic jack to lift the sway bar slightly and the holes finally lined up so I could re-install the bolt.

Minus that little problem the job would have taken about 15 minutes - most of that time was spent lifting the car and removing/replacing the plastic cowling under the bumper.

You may want to have some liquid wrench on hand in case the bolts are rusted.

It is an easy job and it made a world of difference on my car. No more clicks/clacks and the car handles better.

Joe
98 VDP

 

Just did the repair. Easy to do, and I did it with the car on the ramps, rather than the jack stands since I was more comfortable that way. Cheap and easy. A good combination.

 

I just did this with the car on the ground. No jacking required. Some of my splash guards are missing though. Completely got rid of the super loud clunking sound coming from the front end. I thought for sure it was the shock mounts or something serious! Best 20$ I've spent on this car.

 

I think I'll tackle this next weekend when I do the brakes. Any recommendations where to buy the bushings? I'm glad to hear it was easy, I was trying to ignore it because I figured it was going to be a pain in the rear. Thanks for the push...

 

Yes, car raised. If you're doing brakes, all the better to combine jobs. I buy parts from a number of suppliers. Some good suppliers are site participants. I think I got the last set I needed from autohausaz.com, or rockauto.com.

 

No problem, here is where I got them from. Make sure you know if you have the comfort suspension or the sport.

https://www.trademotion.com/partloca...layCatalogid=0

 

replacing the bushings is an easy upgrade. it took away the clunking. did one side at a time by placing the car on a jack stand and using the jack to raise the sway bar so as to align the bolt holes. aligning the holes took the longest time in the process.

 

In case you are wondering (as I was), removing the link arms from the sway bar ("stabilizer bar" as it is called in the workshop manual) is not necessary to replace the sway bar bushings. It is not clear to me why the manual would have you remove the entire sway bar from the vehicle to swap out the bushings. After you remove the bolts securing the mounting brackets, the brackets and old bushings easily come off, the sway bar stays almost perfectly in place and the new bushings (lubricated as instructed (non-petroleum)) slip right on. I did this with both sides of the front end on jack stands and I did one bushing at a time (rather than removing both bushings before replacing either). Apologies if this was obvious to everyone but me.

Also, since it is relevant to this thread, the part number for the sport suspension bushings is MNC2102CG. I was unable to find these except at the local Jaguar dealer for $12.00 each.