TRD rear sway bar installed 09..

[vibedrivermatt]

Hello I put a TRD rear sway bar on my vibe on my 09 vibe (TRD p/n PTR11-12080). I thought the site could benefit from a few pics of one of these being installed. Please keep in mind that I am not a professional mechanic. I did the installation on ramps. Its my understanding that there aren't any unusual stresses or pressures on the sway bar while the wheels are in contact with the ground so ramps are OK. I didn't forget to chock the wheels. I decided to spray some lubricating penetrant on the nuts before breaking them loose. Here's the fasteners. I took a few precautions with these parts because I didn't want them getting messed up. I washed the parts off to remove the lubricating penetrant and then made sure they were dry before reusing them. I thought it could be possible for the lubricant to throw off the torque values and let them get over tightened. That would be a big no no. This is the torque wrench I used to torque the nuts down to spec. I found a big piece of plastic pipe (cheater pipe) and attached it to the end for a little more control and leverage of the torque wrench. The nuts could still get torqued down correctly without this but didn't hurt having it. I torqued each side down in a few increments time until I reached the torque specifications for the fasteners. The specification for the fasteners is 184 ft-lbs.DONE!! Time to drive off ramps and put tools away.

[joatmon]

can you feel any noticeable difference with the new sway bar?

[Sublimewind]

Wow so simple... it took me 10min to thread my rear sway into my subie.. lol.. I shoulda dropped the exhaust..

[vibedrivermatt]

Quote, originally posted by joatmon »can you feel any noticeable difference with the new sway bar?Its kinda hard to tell honestly but, I think it has made a small difference after driving with it a few weeks. I think there's less under steer now. I cant say there's been a huge improvement in the way it handles. Its drives a little better. I should point out that the stock sway bar has a rubber bump stop on its center. I assume that its supposed to prevent a knocking sound were the stock swaybar to flex enough to come in contact with the suspension cross member which it resides in. The TRD bar does not use this which leads me to believe that it must be stiffer than the stock swaybar and doesn't flex enough to touch anything.

[jake75]

'Splain to me what the advantage of the TRD sway bar is - other than it is red and the stock one was black. They look the same.

[vibedrivermatt]

Quote, originally posted by jake75 »'Splain to me what the advantage of the TRD sway bar is - other than it is red and the stock one was black. They look the same.Well the swaybar is supposed to improve the way the car handles by giving the car less body roll. Also other people who have installed these report that the car seems to wander less or track straighter at highway speeds.

[ou.grizzly]

Any updates? Have you noticed a big difference?

[vibedrivermatt]

well no its not a huge difference but theres been a little improvement for sure.The sway bar has been working fine for a few months now. The vibe seems to handle well and track very straight.

[WaveAction]

such a shame the pretty red will get all dirty and stuff now..but it looks good!

[vibedrivermatt]

ahh thats what the garden hose is for my friend but I can also climb underneath and spend all day lovingly, buffing away at it with turtle wax.

[Old Tele man]

...and, the Turtle Wax makes it "work" faster!

[vibedrivermatt]

Just giving this thread a bump to save it from old thread oblivion.