Have you ever taken turns and feel like the body of car tilting towards the outside corner, while you stabilize it using the steering wheel? This is a really common problem amongst cars that are towing or even just driving. Luckily, you will not have to worry about this any more when you use a sway bar link for your car. Therefore a question that you may have “is it expensive to install sway bar to your car” In this article, a detailed analysis on the cost-burden of every sway bar link replacement, is also discussed. Here we go with Car Garagee.
What Is a Sway Bar
A sway bar refers to a rigid metal rod that is used to link parts likely to fail in situations like a vehicle is taking a turn, or the road is bumpy. It helps to increase the stability of the car’s body. On taking a turn, your car`s body leans towards the outside of the road due to centrifugal force.
This means the engine has a torque of the chassis and the outside wheels in the corners will lose their traction, preventing the car to drift into the curve since the weight is move on the outside wheels. Moreover, think of the point of driving to the corner at a high speed. You can definitely overturn if the result of centrifugal force is a large overturning torque.
So what’s a sway-bar link and what is its purpose in that condition? Just as the name can imply, an antiroll bar will aim to prevent your vehicle from swaying. In that point, a sway bar will attach two wheels located at the same axle (left, right), to bring an accord between them when turn a corner and then provide a stability and handling improvement of the car being flatter to the road surface.
Sway Bar Location
The sway bar is commonly connected onto the frame and it has a u-shape. It is installed on the front of the vehicle, and firmly connected to the suspension system.
Apart from this, there are a few car which come only with front sway bar links while some others have both the front and rear sway bar links present in go.
Sway Bar Replacement Cost
According to the common data, the average price of replacement of the sway-bar is between $125 and $160, while the labor consumption is about $50 to $70, and the price for the part is from the range of $55 to $110. It doesn’t happen often to replace the whole sway bar. Mostly, a car will require new end links or stabilizer bushings for sway bar.
The replacement cost of the stabilizer bushing is estimated approximately from $125 to $160. Labor takes up $95 to $120 of the total cost while the cost of the part varies within $30 and $65.
Except for few cases, it’s recommended not to screw your own suspension part replacement because this system is a primary equipment for vehicle handling. However, with a bit of mechanical knowledge and the needed tools, you are capable to change the end links or bushes of the sway bar.
What Is Sway Bar Link?
As mentioned earlier, the ends of the sway-bar are connected to the suspension with the help of sway bar link. The connections are aided by the self-centering hooks on the bars ends which allow each part to align with the bar end and the suspension element it is attached to.
Bad Sway Bar Link Symptoms
Vehicle Handling becomes worse
The weakened connection of the sway-bar link can lead to some degree of handling loss in your car when it gives way. While the amount of lean may be substantially felt as you drive through a corner because the bar is no more doing its job.
Unusual sound
Just to clarify, the sway bar link is that piece that ties the suspension system to the body of the car. So when this component will fail, you will hear some unusual noises like: rattling, clanking or grumbling.
Listen to the given audio and repeat the detected words: These sounds can be spotted by anybody when driving through spots with potholes and speed bumps. Don’t stay indifferent towards the squeak or creak noises that emerge once you drive over the bumps. Some even complain about seeing or hearing unusual sounds when they travel on a straight road.
Excessive Body Roll
When your sway-bar will be faulty the traction and stability of your car will be reduced. Although when you are not turning your car and going straight you will still observe some handling problems. If your car is rolling more than usual than it’s also a strong sign that you have a bad sway bar link.
Noise When Going Over Bumps
If any of the above symptoms are not observed, the sway-bar link might have separated from the bar ends or the suspension. If this is the reason, you will observe a loud clinking sound when the car goes over a bump.
Sway Bar Link Replacement Cost
The replacement cost of sway bar link is usually less than the sway-bar replacement cost. These parts themselves are usually cheaper and the labor expense in sway-bar link replacement is also less because it’s a simple job. The replacement cost of the sway-bar link can vary on the make-model of the car and can range from $50 to $150 for the parts only and a labor cost of $50 to $100 can also be added if you want to use the labor depending on the labor rates of your area.
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How To Do Sway Bar Link Replacement
Tools needed:
- Torque wrench
- Wrench set
- Jack stand
- Penetrating oil
- Socket set
- New sway bar links
Steps for Replacement
Safety precautions:
Firstly park your car on a smooth surface, push the parking brakes and place the wheel chocks behind the wheel to ensure your safety.
Lifting your car:
Use a jack stand to lift your car at an appropriate level and make sure that the car is fully stable before working.
Removing wheels:
Then you have to remove the wheels close to the sway-bar links in order to get better access to the sway bars and its other parts.
Locating:
After removing the wheels now first locate the sway-bar link of car. They are commonly found on rear end of vehicles and work as a joins between the sway bars and the suspension.
Spraying penetrating oil:
I would advise you to lubricate your nuts and bolts with oil if you find it difficult to remove them especially when they are full of rust. The penetrating oil will assist you in removing them quickly.
Removing Old Sway Bar:
Now use the wrenches and sockets to remove out the sway-bar links nuts and bolts. Apply a wrench to fix one side of the bar link and detach them using the second tool.
Comparing:
Compare the new and old sway-bar links before installing them to ensure that the new sway-bar link are of the same size and type.
Installing new sway bar links:
Now position the new sway-bar link is placed rightly and start placing the nuts and bolts with your hand. In the next phase, get the nuts and bolts in place and, finally, use the tools to tighten them. Make sure not to tighten the nuts completely until the car’s weight is back on its suspension.
Test drive:
After the new sway bar link has been installed now take a test drive to ensure that there are no unusual sounds and the car is turning correctly. After replacing pay attention to how the car is performing on bumps and turns now.
I would advise you to lubricate your nuts and bolts with oil if you find it difficult to remove them especially when they are full of rust. The penetrating oil will assist you in removing them quickly.
Now use the wrench and socket to remove nut and bolt. Use a wrench to hold one end of the sway-bar link and remove the nuts using the second tool.
