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View Full Version : Addco sway bars pissing me off...



2ndGenGuy
06-28-2006, 11:41 PM
So I get my new Addco swaybars in the mail after waiting two weeks. I honestly don't think they are supposed to fit this car. The "manual" it came with, which was one whole piece of paper, which says 1982. I checked thier website though, and it lists 1982-1985.

I read in the suspension thread that the end links were changed in 84. It makes sense, because so many other things changed in 84. I'm thinking that this company just assumed because they looked the same, that the sway bars would fit.

Heres a pic of them side by side, not quite the same curvature at the ends. This, I believe, is where the problem lies.
http://localdomain.net/~john/pics/sway-bar/swaybars.jpg

As you can see, the swaybar actually hits the subframe where the control arm is connected. Yes, I know that you're not supposed to mount the swaybars with the wheels hanging. I set the car back down on it's wheels, and it still seems to do the same thing. It hits up top on the cover that goes around the rack as well.
http://localdomain.net/~john/pics/sway-bar/ithitsw.jpg

Also, look at the stupid brackets they gave me for the hangers. How is this supposed to work? The directions say to just slide the end of the bracket into the groove, and use the original bolt to bolt it on. The original bracket is pretty tight on the bushings, and they have to be bent open slightly to fit. Once I bent the original ones to fit, they were no longer spaced properly for the hole to line up with the bolt hole.
http://localdomain.net/~john/pics/sway-bar/hanger-brackets.jpg

I don't know if this was a bad idea or not. I'm sure it weakens the brackets, but I don't really care at this point. I drilled out the hole bigger to make the bolt line up. It looked more like the aftermarket bracket hole that came with the swaybar. The problem now is that the original brackets are too tight and are squeezing the bushing and will cause it to wear out very quickly.
http://localdomain.net/~john/pics/sway-bar/bracket-modded.jpg

So what I was wondering, is if anybody knows of a picture or has a picure of the end links on an 82 so that I can see how different the two cars are. If they're drastically different, I'm going to declare that this swaybar doesn't fit 84-85 Accords. If they're pretty similar, then I'll go with the fact that I'm a moron, and just don't know how to bolt up a swaybar. :dunno:

Ichiban
06-29-2006, 12:24 AM
The 82 swaybar endlinks look more like your factory ones than the Addco ones..they bolt on to the end of the bar using a big nut and two bushings, with the "triangle bracket" that bolts to the LCA sandwiched inbetween.

2ndGenGuy
06-29-2006, 12:29 AM
The Addco ones are supposed to connect differently. Basically there is a long bolt that goes through lower hole on the control arm where the old swaybar bolted on. Then there are 3 bushings that go on the bolt, one on top of the sway bar end, one between the sway bar end and the control arm, and one below the control arm. Washers then go on the very top and bottom and sandwich it all together with the bolt and nut.

If the 82 sway bar looks just like the 84 sway bar that I have pictured, then it's probably me doing this wrong. I'll get some wheel ramps and try again tomorrow night...

Ichiban
06-29-2006, 12:32 AM
The diagram's fucked but it's the best I could come up with for the 82

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j263/guyhatesmycar/susp.gif

Ichiban
06-29-2006, 12:34 AM
that mounting system is stupid.

I'm assuming you have to use their new brackets and bushings because the new swaybar is thicker right? I wouldn't worry about how tight the bushings are, the movement is minimal at that point, and as the rubber wears, it stays tight...i guess.

2ndGenGuy
06-29-2006, 06:47 AM
I coudln't use thier brackets that mount on the hangers. They don't have the little notch in them to stick into the slot in the hanger. I just used the original ones, bent and drilled them out a little bit. They're actually holding the sway bar up right now. I think that I'm past that hurdle right now. The current hurdle is trying to figure out how to connect the endlinks without the swaybar itself hitting the structure.

PhydeauX
06-29-2006, 12:19 PM
Addco's stuff is complete garbage.... I could give you quite an ear full about that sh'tty company. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if it wasn't bent right. I've got a set of bars in my garage now that arn't bent right.... Pretty much gave up on ever getting the right bar or my money back from them. You probalby don't want that sway bar on your car anyway if you're going to be auto-xing. You'll be reducing body roll, but with no bar on the back its going to understeer like a pig.

andy

2ndGenGuy
06-29-2006, 08:41 PM
Yeah, fuck em. I spent all evening trying to "make" them work. The brakets aren't right, the bends are all wrong. It ALMOST works, but it hits the damn crossmember. I'm sending mine back ASAP. I'll find a front and rear set somewhere.

Ichiban
06-29-2006, 09:53 PM
...
well, let us know what you find out there, I'm heading out tomorrow or saturday and won't have internet until september:thumbdn:

If you want to come up with a drawing for an endlink bracket, I could probably fab it up, sometime, in september:thumbdn:

2ndGenGuy
06-30-2006, 01:59 PM
w00t! The company I orderd the swaybar from is really cool. They took the return without any hassle, and even is sending me a shipping label to pay for shipping it back to them. I ordered it from performancecenter.com. Pretty good people it seems. The person on the phone said "oh Addco?, yeah we had a guy with a 1990 Accord just return his earlier today".

So good news is refund is on its way, and I recommend stay away from Addco.

Funny now that I look at the pictures, the bends are nowhere alike. The path of the bar should be the same, even if the endlinks connect differently.