sway bar creaking???

[cvt]

weird...a week after i installed my hotchkis street sway bars (which is costing me so much gas cuz i am lovin' the ride!!my car handles like a totally different car ever since i got them.)i notice that when i go over bumps there is a creak(ing) sound from the rear. or when i come to a stop sometimes i hear a creak from the front. the bushings were greased well...does anyone have this creaking problem?hmmmm

[FoolioABC]

i have this problem too, but haven't yet be able to figure out what it is...

[cvt]

i checked the connections and everything is fine.....just baffles me...

[Blue Bomber]

Maybe check your endlinks?

[lunchbox]

Originally posted by Blue Bomber
Maybe check your endlinks?
.
Yes it sounds like your endlinks are bad

[DopeCelicaGT]

Endlinks are bad? :confused:

[coronaman247]

there is a good chance that you over-tightened your endlinks. Get a torque wrench and torque to specified poundage given in instruction manual for the sway bars.

[DA-newbie]

Did you over apply the amount of torque needed?

Edit: oops didn't see coronaman247 post. lol

[Vamp]

hopefully your endlink nuts aren't rusted on. Mine were. Ug. In case you do run into issues "getting your nuts off," I have some tips.

http://vamp.darkravers.net/TipsRemovingSeizedSwaybarEndlink.cfm

[Jesse IL]

You also may not have greased the bushings adequately. Urethane bushings will creak like crazy if you don't use that special urethane grease.

[DopeCelicaGT]

Originally posted by Vamp
"getting your nuts off," I have some tips.

http://vamp.darkravers.net/TipsRemovingSeizedSwaybarEndlink.cfm

LMAO for some reason this comment just seems funny! :chuckles: :naughty:!

[Vamp]

The fact that you cut the quote at the point, makes it look funnier than intended. Lol.

[celica001]

its the endlinks....i have hotchkis swaybars and i have went through two sets of endlinks in two years, they wear out fast, i now have hypermotive endlinks and it seems aight....but just get a new endlink and u'll be fine, i had the same prob....

now if its RUBBIN sound than its the bar hittin the firewall....knockin sound is definitly the endlinks, heard it five cars, and i was right every time....

[cvt]

how much are endlinks since they seem to wear faster??

[LoCore]

Originally posted by Jesse IL
You also may not have greased the bushings adequately. Urethane bushings will creak like crazy if you don't use that special urethane grease.

What Jesse said.

[DopeCelicaGT]

So if you buy the endlinks that Hotchkis sells for their insane prices then you are saying that you will have to replace them periodically? That would kind of suck since they are like $200 a pop!

[B1mmer]

I'm betting it's not the endlinks, but the torque on the actual bar mount. The torque should be 12 lb ft, which is extremely little. Hell, most don't have a torque wrench that can measure it.

When we did a bar change on a GT once, we over torqued the bar by about 20 lb ft, and it creaked and moaned a lot. After removing the bolts, lubricating the mount bushings, and setting the torque to 12 lb ft, it all went away. I'd try this prior to buying endless amounts of endlinks. - AB

[DopeCelicaGT]

I don't quite understand how endlinks can go bad so to speak from stiffer swaybars. Can someone elaborate a little?

[Throttle]

I had a problem with my TRD front sway bar rubbing against the metal arm that arches up to the top of the strut mount on the drivers side. It was causing a metal to metal creaking sound. For months I kept lubing the urethane bushings with energy suspension's formula 5 lubricant with no success. Finally resolved the issue by purchasing hypermotive adjustable end links. Since my car is lowered I had to adjust the end link so it was shorter than the factory end link so the sway bar would be at the correct angle as it was factory. I believe I read that the arm should be close to parallel with the ground. Even though it may be a rare case check your bar to see if it is rubbing. My bar rubbed so slightly that it only took the powder coating off the bar. Hope this helps.

[01 Spectra GT-S]

Will the sway bar rubbing or hitting against firewall be the type of noise I hear from my glove box? it sounds like a bag of marble inside my dash everything i go over a bump.

[cvt]

Originally posted by B1mmer
I'm betting it's not the endlinks, but the torque on the actual bar mount. The torque should be 12 lb ft, which is extremely little. Hell, most don't have a torque wrench that can measure it.

When we did a bar change on a GT once, we over torqued the bar by about 20 lb ft, and it creaked and moaned a lot. After removing the bolts, lubricating the mount bushings, and setting the torque to 12 lb ft, it all went away. I'd try this prior to buying endless amounts of endlinks. - AB

well i checked the endlinks ad it may very well be over tq'd...just cuz when it was installed there was no way of knowing how much it was tq'd down.....hmm, i'll try this.

[tlminh]

ttt, i think im having the same problem