Old Library

Ryun Pavlicek &lt;&#112;avlicek&#64;mindspring<img src=/i/dc.gif border=0 width=35 height=15>&gt; wrote:
> I am finally getting around to removing my front sway bar. Obviously you
> undo the very ends but whar else do you need to take off? Do you need to
> undo the 19mm bolt under the control arm pivot?

  You need to loosen & lower the subframe to get the front sway
  bar out.

'Course, it goes without saying that you will need to jack the car up & put it on stand. The car needs to be high enough for the rear of the subframe to drop enough to get the sway bar out. I usually put stands under the side sills, on the stands' second to lowest notch.

  You need to unbolt the rearmost bolts (16mm, one each side,
  left + right), the middle bolts (18mm, one each side).

  You also need to loosen the front subframe bolts (18mm, one each side).
  DO *NOT* REMOVE THEM!  Loosen each bolt about 3.5-4 turns, but no more.
  (The back part of the engine sits on the subframe.  If you unbolt
  the front bolts and drop the subframe completely, it would be
  very difficult to get the sub-frame back up & lined up again.)


  The front subframe bolts are accessed through a hole in the base
  of the A arm.  It's the round hole right below the "lower A arm"
  label in the following pic:

    http://www.gti-vr6.net/library/body_exterior/p3250982_jack_under_a_arm.jpg

  Now you should be able to swing the back part of the subframe
  down far enough to get the bar out (after unbolting their clamps,
  of course).

  Tighten the 16mm bolt to 45 ft-lbs.  Tighten the 18mm bolts to
  52 ft-lbs plus a half turn.  The "extra half turn" business seems
  funky, but that's what the Bentley book sez.

  You may need a BIG cheater bar to loosen the 18mm bolts.  I got
  three of them off with a 18" flex handle + 18" pipe, but I couldn't
  get the fourth one off, even though I was pulling hard enough to
  bend the flex handle.  I made a trip to Home Depot for a 4' pipe |-):

    http://www.gti-vr6.net/library/body_exterior/p3250981_cheater_bar.jpg

  I used a jack to raise the sub-frame back up & hold it in place
  while I put the bolts back in.

  Finally, be sure to put something solid, like a wheel/tire, under
  the side sill(s) in case the car falls off the jack stands.

--
Andy Nguyen \ &#97;qn&#64;panix<img src=/i/dc.gif border=0 width=35 height=15> \ http://www.panix.com/~aqn/