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I just wrapped up replacing my front end ball joints and control arm bushings, and I noticed (both on disassembly and reassembly) a significant front-to-back misalignment between the end of the sway bar and the end link, as seen below.
The other side was off as well, but not by quite as much. I actually had to use a C-clamp to align each side so I could get the bolt through. I have never messed with the sway bar, so it has apparently been like that for quite some time. Is this normal?
If pertinent, this is a 1990 base coupe with FX3/FE7/Z51.
Last edited by C4ProjectCar; Jul 27, 2018 at 12:54 PM.
You are going to have to put tension of some sort on your suspension to get the bolt hole to align. Your suspension is totally relaxed at the moment, which is not its "natural state."
Put a floor jack under your A arm assembly and raise until you can align enough get a bolt through it. You may have to loosen up the sway bolt attachments so you can move it up/down easier as well. With a combination of the two you should get it to align.
Last edited by billschroeder5842; Jul 27, 2018 at 02:21 PM.
The height was right, it just wasn't aligned front-to-back. I don't think jacking would have changed the geometry beneficially, though it was necessary for the passenger's side end link.
I got it on; I was just wondering if there was anything here to be concerned about.
I went through something similar with my 84. I replaced the front suspension bushings and sway bar bushings. The end link bushings were out of alignment much as yours were.in the pictures. What I did was loosened the clamps that held the bar to the frame and then installed the end links. I then tightened up the bracket bolts and torqued everything to specs. I drove the car and rechecked the torque on all the bolts. Worked out fine in the end.
Front sway bar misalignment?
