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:
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: