mx5cartalk.com

Howdy cartalk boffins,

A quick question.

Is anyone that's running lowered ever had problems with sway bar mounting brackets snapping?

A couple of hours ago it sounded like another of my mounting points had snapped. I'm yet to have a good look as I'm at work, however it has happened before with identical sounds.

I'm running stock shocks with Eibach Pros, stock swaybars. From reading over on the big forum, it looks like I may need adjustable end links to account for the different angle created by this set-up.

Thoughts?

Something to bear in mind, mine is a 90 with 390,000kms on the clock, so the brackets are going to be getting on in age. I'd be interested to hear espcially from those with earlier models especially.

Don't the NAs have a U shapped mounting bracket? - I know racing beat recommend reinforcing the 'weaker' L shaped bracket found on NBs. Seems unusual for it to snap especially with a stock sway bar.

breaking brackets have nothing to do with lowering the car.

Okay, so your mounting bracket snapped once before. I can't recall the arrangement in the rear end, but I can offer some comment if its the front end that's giving you troubel.

Are you talking about the bracket on the lower wishbone, where the end link attaches to the wishbone? Or are you talking about the U-shaped bracket that bolts to the body of the car and supports the mid-section of the sway bar?

If you are having trouble with the bracket on the wishbone, this may lead to another question? When you tighten the end link bolts, do you do it with the spring loaded (wheel at normal/lowered ride height) or with the spring fully extended (wheel off the ground). If you replied "fully extended", then I believe you are doing it wrong (confirmation anyone?). The sway bar end link bolts need to be tightened with the wheel at normal/lowered ride height, otherwise you are putting a lot of "pre-load" into the rubber bushes. This could be a source of excessive stress at the bracket, potentially contributing to bracket failure.

If your car is lowered and then the "pre-load" will be greater than if you were at normal ride height.

It's just a theory, but it could be part of the problem. Good luck.

that pre-load theory make no sense since a sway bar is round, and is designed for upwards and downwards rotation. so wouldn't matter if the suspension was at full articulation or not.

end links have metal balls (not rubber bushes) and both ends should be able to flex 15-20 degrees. so lowering a car shouldn't be a problem for them breaking end brackets. but if the are old, the seal has torn, and they have rusted with no flex, then you might break a end bracket. but that would be on a car that has had no driving for some time.

as for the 2 middle D brackets, i've never heard of them breaking before. heard of the bushes cracking and falling out and bending the D brackets. but you'd have to drive around for ages ignoring the thudding and banging from the sway bar hitting the inside of the D bracket.