I recently purchased a 2006 z06, the car has pfadt coilovers and sway bars on it, when I took it in for inspection it the front passenger side sway bar arm was broken, very broken and looked to have been broken for a while. So I contacted pfadt about getting a new bar, of course they don't make that bar any more so I have to buy two at over $400, not really wanting to spend $400 on that part I tig welded it back together instead, the welded piece got the car through inspection, but only lasted a few weeks and it broke again.

From what I saw the arm itself is just cast aluminum, doesn't appear to be much quality to it, that's why I thought the weld would do just fine, I am afraid to buy the new say bar arms in fear that it will break as well. No problems with the drivers side, had it off, installed both in the same manner. I am really not familiar with these or how to install/ adjust them properly.

One thing that I thought about is that my driveway it really off camber at the bottom when pulling in, if that could have put too much stress on that arm, I wouldn't think so but I don't know. I would really appreciate any advice! I will try to post a picture of the arm

Thanks

 

Well crap, apparently I deleted the pics of that arm

 

car could have been in an accident and the previous owner didnt inform you.

sway bars are heavily stressed parts - welding a broken one back together is not a great idea. Btw if its just an aluminum arm thats messed up, you can just replace that.

pfadt does sell individual bars for front and rear here:
http://store.pfadtracing.com/search....rand=&category

 

Sway bar "arm"?

I didn't think sway bar was cast aluminum. Could you mean the sway bar links? I didn't think the the sway bar links were aluminum either.

 

The orange parts are the "arms"

 

If we go on the basis that Pfadt has designed the arms properly and they are strong enough to take any load that the sway bar can put on them, then there must be something else happening. One of the things that could casue the arm to break is that the "sway bar system" is binding somewhere. I highly doubt that the arm is hitting any other part of the suspension in its travel as........that would be too obvious.

So that leaves the sway bar bushings. I wounder if they are too small (on interior diameter) or the outer part of the bushing is too big for the bracket and the prevousr owner installed them anyway, and they have essentially clamped the bar to the point that it can no longer "twist".

I have been looking for poly bushings for Z51 bars lately and have found that avaiable sizes do not really line up with bar diameters. I have also seen a dicussion or two about needing to use washers as spacers for some Pfadt bushings.

Good luck tracking this one down.

 

I've ran their bars for years without issue and I have over 800 to the wheels. I'm guessing whoever owned the car before had an accident, or more likely, didn't install them correctly. Either way, a racing part, used hard, lasting 4-5 years is more than par for the course. I say buy the new bar, enjoy the hell out of it, and never look back

 

The most common issue contributing to pre-mature failure with any automotive part: Improper installation. The previous owner might have over-stressed the component in any number of ways. However par for the course being only 4-5 years isn't a motto that we go by over here....we build parts that are OEM quality and should last for as long as your enjoying your car

If it is a 1st generation bar, then it is at a minimum 3-4 years old. It sounds like whoever you spoke on the phone to is offering to get you a bar at cost. Those bars retail for 1100 per set. Give me a call in the office, 888-972-2464 and I can try to determine what caused the failure. Once we make sure that any other potential existing problems with your OEM equipment are resolved that could have overstressed the parts, I'll see what I can do about eating some of the cost on the bars to get you back on the road. I know these parts came used on the car when you purchased it, but I want you to have a great first experience with our suspension line regardless

 

Wow, that's some customer service. good job guys


To the OP, contact the original owner of the car and get some background info: Accidents, incidents, who installed the parts, and ask some other questions could go a long way in helping you figure this out.

 

Yes, it is the sway bar arm (the orange arm on the passenger side) I don't think the car was in an accident, there are no signs of it and the car is carfax clean (not that that means anything) no alignment issues with the car and no suspension issues that I'm aware of, I have the pfadt coilovers aswell, lowered just a hair in the front.

The sway bar itself should rotate slightly when the suspension is compressed? Am I right on that? That is something that I did not check when I was under it before.

I am due for a set of tires all the way around so I think what I will do is get the tires and have a four wheel alignment done and have the shop check for any abnormalities, if none which I'm sure there won't be, I will get the new bars and make sure they are installed correctly.

My biggest concern before was getting it through inspection, so the temporary welded fix at least got that done for me

 

That is very cool of you, I believe I talked to eric before, just about a month ago. I was kind of sticker shocked at the time being that I only needed the one arm, but he explained that he would have to get both arms and hardware because of the difference in the new parts. I will give you a call next week and maybe we can figure out what the issue is, I need new tires so when I get them in the next month or two I will have an alignment done and see if there are any abnormalities in the suspension system. Who do I ask for when I call?

Thanks again
Sean

 

The part that amazes me is that you did not notice that it was broke when you test drove the car. I broke a link before my Pfadt bars were installed and the car was all the road until I got it replaced.

If you think that a $400 repair is a bunch of money, you better sell the car now before anything else breaks, because it sounds like the car is modified and stuff breaks.

 

You really can't tell now that its broken until you get up to around 100 in a turn, just a bit of under steer, only one side is broken, maybe that is why.

Trust me, I know that stuff breaks, I went 10 grand on a new modified engine in my last z because of the junky stock valve springs

 

If the arm is broken, I cannot imagine a driver not feeling it at almost any speed when turning. A broken arm means that the bar is essentially not there ...it is not as if it is working halfway...it is not working at all.

Also, the area on the arm where the break happened will give some idea as to how the stress is impacting the arm and might help in figuring out what is wrong. A bound up end link could certainly put extra stress on the arm, for example.