Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Suspension Aussie sway bar question

I just recently bought a 98.5 CSVT. The previous owner had an Aussie sway bar installed about a year ago. Don't know if it was installed wrong or what, but the bushings are in pretty bad shape and the rear end is quite noisy. Can anyone recommend what type of bushings to buy for the Aussie and where to purchase them?

Thanks
-Dan

Odds are good you have one of two things going on. What's the noise like, a clunk or a squeak? A squeak implies it's time to grease your bushings. A clunk implies the mounting is broken, as if the rear subframe was NOT reinforced when he had the sway bar put in. If so, you have a homework assignment to search about having that done. Meanwhile, I got my bushings from Summit Racing, the greasable poly jobs, and got them greased by stopping in at an oil change place. By asking nicely, I got it done FREE.

As a local Portland retail icon likes to say:
"Free is a very good price."

Anyone up for civility sometime?

I have a pretty constant clunking and some occasional squeaking. I keep the sqeaking pretty much under control by spraying some silicon every month or so. I know my bushings are bad, the mechanic I took it to the other day showed them to me. He didn't see anything wrong except for the bushings. Hope he's right. You mentioned that you bought your bushings at Summit Racing, are those for the Aussie? If so, what did they cost?

Thanks
-ds5192

It's probably already broken, the bar is just holding it in place. Makes a noise like a rat eating a piece of cheese. One day you will hit a big pothole and bang! It will pop out and then it will bang all the time. I bolted mine up once and it held for a few weeks and snapped off again. I took a strip of galvanized steel and made a plate to bolt the strap on to. Been silent for some time now. Used some wiz nuts/bolts to fasten it to the sub frame then drilled a hole for the rear strap bolt. I'm not in the mood to weld a bracket on, or remove the sub frame.

I don't remember what the new bushings and mounts had cost, but you might be able to price them on line.

Do you happen to know what size bushing I will need to order? I found several types and sized, but have no idea which one to purchase.

Thanks

IIRC they are 22mm. SE is 19mm and the SVT I believe is 20. Do a search in the archives.

aussie=24mm SE=19 SVT=18 or 19 depending on who you ask regular 'tour=16