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Sway bar 33mm vs 30 mm - Dorman - will the 33mm work on my car?

G

GT2001Aurora

New member
I couldn't be more peed off right now. I replaced the whole strut assembly and control arms on my 2001 GP, also replaced the anti-sway bar since the ends were cracked. I'm trying to put everything back together and noticed the new anti-sway bar is slightly larger than the old one. Called Rockauto (purchased from them) and they NOW tell me that the 33mm probably won't work on my car if the original was 30mm. WTF.. just now finding this out on Saturday night before Easter Sunday, I'm screwed. I called around most parts stores don't carry a 30mm, it's discontinued. Does anyone know if the 33mm will work? I dropped it in but there's very little clearance between the stabilizer bar and the steering arm. I try to lift the bar to get the bushing in place and it hits the steering arm. Maybe I need to place some weight on the wheel and let the frame down?? Not sure if that would help, seems like it will only raise it more and reduce what little space I have between bolt hole in the bar and the bolt hole in the control arm frame. HELP!!
 


It fits, many people run it.

If you dont like the clearance, try flipping the bar.

Can you see the markings on the bar that tell you which side should face down? It should be near the centre.

Also, put the links together and in the LCAs, then lower the bar onto the links, then put the tops on and bolt it down.

Also, Aurora Ontario? If so, GM dealers were open? Because the only sway bars that were that small were GM bars. Dorman bars are 32-33 mm depending on were you measure.
 
I recently replaced my front sway-bar with the Dorman unit. I dropped the frame to make it easier but it was still a PITA to do.
 
Yes, the bar had a tag on it which said "drivers side down" so I made sure I put it in/on correctly. I guess I could try flipping it, I assumed it wouldn't line-up correctly if I did this. What do you mean by "put the links together and in the LCA"? The problem I have right now is that there's only about 3" inches between the sway bar bolt hole and the control arm hole and I need about 5 or 6 inches for those bushing to fit in. When I raise the bar with my hand it hits the steering arm/rod, doesn't seem right, shouldn't there be a few inches clearance between the steering arm and sway bar?
 


GT2001Aurora said:
Yes, the bar had a tag on it which said "drivers side down" so I made sure I put it in/on correctly. I guess I could try flipping it, I assumed it wouldn't line-up correctly if I did this. What do you mean by "put the links together and in the LCA"? The problem I have right now is that there's only about 3" inches between the sway bar bolt hole and the control arm hole and I need about 5 or 6 inches for those bushing to fit in. When I raise the bar with my hand it hits the steering arm/rod, doesn't seem right, shouldn't there be a few inches clearance between the steering arm and sway bar?
Click to expand...


i think hes saying to put the end links on first, then line up the caps and bushing and bolt them down.
 
scottydoggs, did you replace just the bushings or did you replace the sway bar as well? If sway bar was your old one 30mm and the new 33?
 
GT2001Aurora said:
scottydoggs, did you replace just the bushings or did you replace the sway bar as well? If sway bar was your old one 30mm and the new 33?
Click to expand...

I put this bar in, did not have this issue. You could pop a tie rod off, but I can't see how you'd need to pop both off seeing as I only needed to pop one off to get the bar in place. After that, it rotated enough to get it over the end link bolt.

I inserted the bolt from the bottom of the LCA upwards. Then assembled the spacer section of the link, then pushed the sway bar down onto it, then the top bushing, washer and bolt into place.

At this point I'd need to see pictures to be able to provide anymore input.
 
I see!! I just saw that on a video, they put in the long bolt with bushings first, lightly tightened, then put the rubber bushing with U-clamps on and lightly bolted those to the frame. Lowered the car down and then tightened everything. I'm simply afraid that 33mm is bent a little differently than the original 30mm and now leaves little clearance, might end up damaging my steering arms or something. Wonder if I should skip work on Monday and hit the junk yards for a 30mm.
 


found a pic. it looks close, but they dont hit.

IMG_20130330_135207.jpg


IMG_20130330_141229.jpg
 
Trouble adding a photo, after I select it I'm not seeing an option to upload. I think the upload link doesn't work with IE-10. I'll try from another PC.
 
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try photobucket.
if you dont have an account it takes 2 minutes to make one and its free, i havent gotten spam emails from them either.
 


As you can see from the photos I can barely fit my finger between the sway bar and steering arm. The U-clamp isn't cranked down to the frame yet but if it was then this would leave even less room between the hole on the control arm and hole on sway bar where bolt/bushing go. The way it is now I'll hardly have enough room to jam the bushing in there. BTW - IE10 doesn't play nice with this forum, can't upload images or use the return key.


22.jpg11.jpg
 
thats normal looking, the cap bolts are a inch up still. then the end link will hold it down as well. carry on, your doing fine.
 
Thanks everyone, I'll run with it and see what happens. Probably won't get back to it until Monday unless I can break away from the in-laws early enough tomorrow. One last question , how tight do I crank that bolt down on the bushings? Same with the bolts on the control arm?
 
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you want the cap bolts tight enough so that the cap is flat on the frame, then make it tight. not crazy tight, but tight.

the end links you make them tight enough for the bushing start to get smooched, then your done. you want the bar tight in the middle of all them bushings.
 
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