Maximum motors + Eibach = no good?

[vxr500]

So I put in MM lower control arms-the sport ones, not the adjustable, and an Eibach rear sway bar. I heard clunking soon after and I realized the poly bushing in the right arm was misaligned. It somehow moved a 1/4 inch over. I called MM and they were nice enough to send me extra bushings figuring they were faulty.

What I've come to realize is that because the mounting area of the Eibach bar and the mounting flange on the control arm are not parallel, when tightening them together, its twisting the arm in and ruining the bushings.

I might have to put the stock bar back in. Has anyone come across an issue like this?

[wraithracing]

That sounds a bit strange to me.

Maybe a dumb question . . . But First the sway bar is mounted to the inside of both control arms right?

I generally get the bolts installed on all 4 points to begin with that way the sway bar is aligned as best as it can be to both control arms. Then I tighten up one bolt on each side and then the second bolt on each side usually starting with the front bolt.

If the swaybar and the mounts on the arms are not close to being parallel side to side that might mean the bar has been tweaked, damaged, or just plan bad. They probably aren't perfectly parallel, but should be pretty close in my experience. If the bar is way off, I would contact Eibach or the vendor you purchased the bar from. Good Luck!

[erratic50]

If it's a street car I can't say that I recommend ANY rear sway bar unless you drop to 93 cobra sway rates front and rear.

Even then, I think I'd stay GT front sway and no rear sway. The rear suspension works so much better at resisting bind without one. Especially with 4 cyl rear springs. I can scare the living crap out of anyone that knows how a stock 86GT handles with my car, and I don't have that much money wrapped up under the car. I did my homework though.

If you have a panhard or watts then swaybar is the next step in the suspension progression sure, but consider your goals. Less is sometimes more. The back tires stay planted WAY better without one. Spinning is never winning.

Unless you are on race tires on a road course the rear sway is way too stiff. So are the rear springs unless the front spring rates have been upgraded.

For the street i would tend to mimic the 93 Cobra then improve with sn95 spindles and caster/camber plates and a panhard.

A good initial guess for roadcourse is a 93 CobraR.

[vxr500]

Thanks for the replies. Its definitely mounted on the inside. I've searched all over the interweb, and I can't find anyone else with this problem. I think either the mounting flange on the control arms is off, or the bar ends are at a bad angle. I have to locate a stock bar to double check. Pic below is kind of whats going on..

[danco86]

I also have the MM heavy duty non adjustable lca's on my car as well as eibach pro kit.
I had no issues installing the bar at all. I too, am assuming your sway bar may be bent or defective. Do you have a pic to post?



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[vxr500]

When it was installed and what was happening to the bushings...

[danco86]

I would definitely try the stock bar first. I'm not sure now, looking at the pics, that the sway bar is capable of that. When I installed mine, I was actually able to squeeze it in between the control arms. It was a nice tight fit. I took a pic of my control arm today at the axle and realized that because I have the heavy dutys, I only have the 3 piece poly bushing at the chassis end. The axle end is a spherical bearing. The sleeve is a perfect fit in the axle bracket. I would have thought that the 3 piece bushing would fill the bracket opening on the axle as it does on the chassis end. There is nothing to keep the 3 pieces together in the control arm, so I would assume it would work itself apart with normal movement. Does the crush sleeve fit fully an the bracket as it should, or is there side to side play?
Maybe try driving the car without the sway bar at all and see if the bushing works itself out.
I would pm Jack Hidley regarding this as well, if you already haven't. Sorry I can't help more, and I've left you with nothing more than questions..

Axle end:


Chassis end:


Is your chassis end bushing seated this snuggly in your car?

[vxr500]

Currently the sway bar is off, but I haven't driven it much since. As far as I can tell the control arms are positioned right and snug. Someone I know is going to let my try another Eibach bar. If the doesn't work, then it might be the arm flange. If so then I guess I'll go stock bar again...or new arms.

[Jack Hidley]

The flanges for mounting the swaybar on the RLCAs are designed to be parallel with the centerline of the RLCAs. This is exactly the same as an OEM Ford RLCA. This is easy to see visually and check.

I would bolt the swaybar to just one of the RLCAs. Hold the other arm of the swaybar up with a floorjack. Take a photo from below the swaybar arm and RLCA swaybar bracket. The swaybar bend angle may not be correct, or it may be too narrow or too wide. If the bend angle is incorrect, it needs to be bent. If the swaybar is too narrow, washers can be added. If the swaybar is too wide, things are going to be tough to fix.