Broken sway bar...

[Suprathai]

Short story...Whiteline sway bar broke off at the welds connecting the right hand side of the car...probably only held up for 1 year at most I think...but that was 1 year ago....

Long story...

Had squeaky rear suspension for a while now, about 1 year.

The first thing I did was tighten up the sway bar bolts, nothing changed.

I changed to solid rear axle bushings...nothing changed.

Thinking that it was the springs that I put in last year. Changed to Eibach a week ago, less squeaking but still there.

Finally bought a torque wrench to torque everything up correctly, so I may as well remove the sway bar/struts see if there is any rubbing etc....took the sway bar bolts off and trying to pull it off....hmm....missing one end....lol

So the question now is...

Weld or new one? Any bars that are thicker then the whitelines?

Thai

[Kenshin X]

oh man that sucks balls...

did you buy it brand new? maybe u can replace it where u bought it. as for the welding, maybe u can but i heard from whiteline themselves that the metal is made from "spring grade steel" not sure if the welds themselves are spring grade material or something.

i think the TRD one and the ultra racing ones are slightly thicker. but if you really are stuck, then bite the bullet and buy a new one :(

good luck

p.s. i hope same thing doesn't happen to mine! :S

[CHA54]

Just contact whiteline, if it snapped at the weld then it's defective.

[SuperDave]

I wouldn't just simply weld it. The bar is made from spring steel and has surface treatments done to it, the welding will soften the steel around the weld unless treated correctly afterwards.

[CME-LFT]

The same thing happened to me a month after putting it in, took it back, got it replaced and havn't had a problem with the replacement one since.

[Damnfuzz]

Thai,

The exact same thing happened to my rear sway bar just last week. Just over one year since purchase, it snapped on the right (drivers) side, right on the weld. Have sent it back through Pedders to Whiteline to see if they will replace it.

Can you tell me exactly when you purchased/installed your bar? This may be worth a call to Doug at Whiteline direct...:(

Not good when I have a track day at Wakefield coming up in just under 3 weeks...

Adrian

[Damnfuzz]

Just heard back from Whiteline. My bar will be replaced under warranty, however new bars are not expected until January.

:o

Apparently the ZZE bar is under redevelopment, as a number of owners (as we have already discovered) have had minor issues (read their bars are breaking!!!!!) with the current bar.

SD I know you are against re-welding, and I believe with good reason... However Whiteline have said as long as the re-weld is done properly, that will be more than okay until the new bars arrive. In the mean time, I have a track day in less than 3 weeks, and I need a solution...

Suggestions?

Adrian

[davo231481]

Theres no reason why a competent welder or boilermaker (and not some dodgy mate of a mate) couldnt reweld it if you were in a big hurry for it, but seeing its under warranty id wait and save the trouble.

[Damnfuzz]

Had the original bar re-welded (track day in one week) plus the replacement bar is still on order, so at least I'll still be getting the new bar when it arrives. Best of both worlds? We'll see after a vigorous bout of stress testing at Wakefield...

Adrian