Rear Sway Bar Mounting Bushings

[cudabob496]

On my Cuda, the rear sway bar mounting bushings seem to be welded to brackets, that
bolt to the frame. Where can I buy new mounting bushings of same design?

[dakota]

If it's the same set up as the rear sway bar I bought for my Challenger, I don't think you'll find a direct replacement. I drilled out the welds on the brackets to get at the bushing.  I haven't finished it yet, but I will either add studs to the mounting plate so I can use brackets that came with the Energy Suspension version that is the right diameter, or cut up and weld on the ES. Bracket.

Maybe someone else knows of a source of a stock replacement.  I looked hard but couldn' t find one.

[cudabob496]

ya, looks like if you do not want to replace the stock sway bar, you're gonna
have to do some welding or modifying just to put a new poly bushing in there.


http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=cuda+rear+sway+bar+brackets&view=detailv2&&id=6292BACDC07FA9BAF2E1B5CA56167B8A4C06DE56&selectedIndex=8&ccid=kSWahrij&simid=607993569641958685&thid=JN.4m5Es45r6vaPrXJnqwz6vQ&ajaxhist=0

[burdar]

The rear sway bar bushings were not a serviceable item.  If you need to replace them, you'll need to get creative.  Wade(Bullitt) has a write-up on how he replaced his.  Look in his restoration thread for the pictures...

[ChallengerHK]

Depending on where you're at in the work, you might also want to pay attention to how those mount to the frame rails. Some people have reported the bolts tearing the sheet metal if you're a spirited driver, or you have an oversized bar or stiff bushings. If you're a cruiser only you probably won't have an issue.

[Katfish]

I'd like to do this too, wish someone offered a modified bracket.

[burdar]

Depending on where you're at in the work, you might also want to pay attention to how those mount to the frame rails. Some people have reported the bolts tearing the sheet metal if you're a spirited driver, or you have an oversized bar or stiff bushings. If you're a cruiser only you probably won't have an issue.

That's not a bad idea.  You could drill out the holes and insert some tubes into the frame rail.(like the spacers used on alternator and PS brackets) That would keep the frame from crushing if you use a through bolt/nut instead of the factory screws.

[ChallengerHK]

That's not a bad idea.  You could drill out the holes and insert some tubes into the frame rail.(like the spacers used on alternator and PS brackets) That would keep the frame from crushing if you use a through bolt/nut instead of the factory screws.

That's the way I'm going.

[cudabob496]

so the bushings in there now are probably there since 1972

[whitewatersky]

yeah, i was gonna replace the bushes.
ordered a supposed replacement and they didn't like anywhere like suitable so left them as-is for now.

my car was clunking in the back. determined that it was the sway bar and yeah, we tightened it and it's loose again after a week

we were thinking of a sleeve and bolt thru, so good to know others are on the same wavelength

[cudabob496]

http://www.cuda-challenger.com/cc/index.php?topic=39789.0

the poly bushings do have a split in them, and they can be modified with a bench grinder (had to do it on my front sway bar bushings, cause I had the wrong size),
so the easiest thing to do might be to cram a new pair in place of the old pair. May not be perfect, but should be better than ones that are 40 years old. Or, other options are welding, etc, as above.

or maybe stock rubber ones would squish in there easier?

[djw383]

You can buy just the bracket and bushings from Firm Feel if you call them, but I needed to make 2 adjustments to the bracket. One, the bracket is not perfectly square and fit on the frame sloppy so I had to put the bracket in a press to make a nice fit. Two, the bolt holes don't line up with the factory frame holes. Instead of drilling another hole in the frame I made one hole slotted so it looks adjustable and fit perfect. Like most aftermarket parts it needed to be massaged, but worth the work because it has a grease fitting, cleared Dr diffs rear brake kit, and when you look at the car from the rear you don't see an aftermarket sway bar hanging off the rear.

http://www.firmfeel.com/e_body_mopar_rear_sway_bar.html

[Bullitt-]

someone might want to check the measurements on these ... look mighty close

http://www.amazon.com/Mevotech-MS50401-Stabilizer-Bar-Bushing/dp/B0049TSVI6/ref=pd_sxp_redirect

[dakota]

Well, I took a shot at retrofitting the stock bushings for the rear 3/4" sway bar with a greaseable 3/4" sway bar bushing and bracket set from Energy Suspension.   I drilled out the welds that held the brackets in place over the stock bushings.  About 3/8" was cut out of the middle of each slot area of the ES bracket to match the length of stock mounting hardware.  Holes were drilled through the mounting hardware to line up with the openings on the modified ES bracket.  Bolts were held in place by tacks on the face of the bracket, then the bolt heads on the backside were ground off.  Some weld material was added to the backside of the bolts to reinforce them (this will probably create some issues with how snug I can get the bracket on the subframe, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it).  The tacks around the bolts on the face of the mounting hardware kept the bracket and bushing from fully seating, so a shim with a pair of oversized holes was added (I didn't want to widen the hole on the bracket out of concern it would weaken it too much).

It may be a couple of months before I actually hang the sway bar.   I'll add some more pictures when it finally happens.

I have a new found appreciation for the talents of those of you who can fabricate things easily with metal.  This was a challenge for me but one I enjoyed. 

[crash340]

Thats how I more or less did mine, I bought my poly bushes from FF, the bushes did not sit as high as the original so, I drilled out the spot welds, welded a 1/4" plate to the face of the original frame bracket, drilled and tapped it for a couple of studs (like you have) welded them to prevent them from turning and the 1/4" plate spaced the bushes out to match original, then I just used a couple of nyloc nuts, good to go, Have had no issues for 4000 miles.