Change Sway Bar Bush

[Boxey]

Hi - I have had the ususal Boxster clunk from the front suspension of my 2001 S for a while and have decided to do something about it - I have taken a look at replacing the sway bar bushes and have the new parts but cannot work out how to remove the old bushes without removing the sway bar itself even though the new bushes are split in such a way so that I could get them on without having to remove the sway bar - I would be gratefull to have some help in the form of instructions and torque wrench settings for the bolts I will need to undo.

Thanks

Boxey

[RFM]

You have to remove the bolts that hold the front sub frame to the chassis and lower the sub frame a little to have clearance. I have no torque specifications, perhaps Loren can help.

[Boxey]

Thanks - having looked at the bushes and how they are fitted, there is clearly no way to replace them easily - looks like a more involved job than I first thought :unsure:

[mee]

You don't have to drop the sub frame. There are "boomerang" shaped pieces. Remove the bolts in the ends and loosen the one in the middle. Then, it will pivot to where you can access the bushing mounts and drop the swaybar out. You will have to drop the swaybar to change the bushings. The bushings are very beefy, and I have not had any problems with my swaybar bushings (using GT3 or TRG bars), but I have had the bolts work loose. You could just check those, and if they are loose, I would recommend Loctite which is what I did to mine.

[John V]

You don't have to drop the sub frame. There are "boomerang" shaped pieces. Remove the bolts in the ends and loosen the one in the middle. Then, it will pivot to where you can access the bushing mounts and drop the swaybar out. You will have to drop the swaybar to change the bushings. The bushings are very beefy, and I have not had any problems with my swaybar bushings (using GT3 or TRG bars), but I have had the bolts work loose. You could just check those, and if they are loose, I would recommend Loctite which is what I did to mine.

The endlinks aren't the strongest and I suspect they are the source of the clunk up front. Everything else in the front end is pretty sturdy.

The endlinks are pretty cheap and relatively easy to replace. I would check them first.

[Boxey]

Thanks guys - I have already changed the drop links with no improvement and am just trying all possible "low cost" options to see if I can get this fixed before spending money on major suspension work.

Boxey