Finally got my rear bar on.... had to DIY - PICS!!!

CA180 · Post by **CA180** » Fri Aug 25, 2006 7:52 pm

Well, i got the rear bar strut tabs in from chrysler... but everything didnt go as planned.

The 2004 r/t rear bar and struts have the holes lined up for a vertical endlink. The tabs are built for a horizontal endlink... so i had to make my own endlinks that would finally join the two up. So heres what i did!

I built my own Heim Joint sway bar endlinks... alot easier than i would have thought. I'll post the pics i took later when i figure out how in the crap you use photobucket...

the endlinks basically consisted of: two really long bolts, four of the stock endlink bushings, two heim joints, and some various nuts, bolts, and washers.

Turned out pretty sweet if you ask me... like i said, i load up some pics of the links and the install later.

(edit...) PIX!!!

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bigbird · Post by **bigbird** » Sat Aug 26, 2006 12:11 am

This is what I will need to do. Where did you get the heim joints?

CA180 · Post by **CA180** » Sat Aug 26, 2006 12:18 am

my local bearing shop supplied them for $6.50 a peice... i believe they were a 7/16 hole through the ball and a 7/16 fine thread bolt into the female end.

(edit) And just for the record, i did have to shorten the sleeves that space the bushings from the heim joint... but the flat caps on each end just pop off of the sleeve, then you cut to length, and then pop the cap back on.

OB · Post by OB » Sat Aug 26, 2006 12:34 am

nicely done, hows it handle now?

CA180 · Post by **CA180** » Sat Aug 26, 2006 12:39 am

ummm. honestly i cant tell a whole lot of difference... but i did swap the front bar to a 24mm only last week. I do notice a little more rotation from the rear end under hard braking, but the front still likes to plow. At this moment i am a little unbiased as to wether or not i like it. But a little time on the asphalt will tell.

One thing i am happy with is that i can easily upgrade to a larger rear bar now. The long bolts i used are grade 8 and the heim joints are aircraft grade... so they should handle just about any bar

EDIT
Oh, and just so everyone knows.. in the pics above, the long bolts that go down into the heim joint arent all the way tight. These pics were an in-between install pic. The nut just above the joint is actually used as a lock nut against the joint

OB · Post by OB » Sat Aug 26, 2006 12:45 am

id suggest some good springs and struts (which eliminate the need for any custom work to mount the rear sway, btw). my suspension mods are starting to pile up, and id say that the drop made the biggest diff, and the rear sway addition was was very effective. my car's pretty stiff now, and the only thing its lacking is tires (which directly relates to what my wallet is lacking

). after that, its gonna be a beast!

CA180 · Post by **CA180** » Sat Aug 26, 2006 12:48 am

i've got 1st gen acr springs on the way...

OB · Post by OB » Sat Aug 26, 2006 12:52 am

what kinda drop are those good for? not much huh? pick up some good struts and you'll be set bro.

CA180 · Post by **CA180** » Sat Aug 26, 2006 1:08 am

i think everyone says around a 1.5 drop all around... i'm not sure. I'll get pics of those when they get in.

Not sure what struts i want, but i'll get to that later.

daaboots · Post by **daaboots** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 9:05 pm

Nice! Where did you get those brackets and how much!!!

bigbird · Post by **bigbird** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 7:11 am

daaboots wrote:Nice! Where did you get those brackets and how much!!!

http://forum.2gn.org/viewtopic.php?t=11669

CA180 · Post by **CA180** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 8:54 am

yeah, the brackets are chrysler. the vitor units are the same shape, but seem to be thicker and don't have a nut already welded to them. This install was actually pretty straight forward after i werked out what parts i would be using.

I guess this would be my close to one week update, everything in the rear is still tight. I did use locktite blue on the bolts that go from the heim joint into the bracket. Just wanted that extra security that they wouldnt be wiggliing out. There is no noticeable noise in the rear, i had expected some because of solidness of the heim joint, but still there is none.

This upgrade made a nice difference in the feel of the car. And it also seems that my braking distance has reduced sine the add of the rear and the front upgrade. I would deffinatley recommend a rear bar for those who dont have one, and an upgrade for those who do.

ewetho · Post by **ewetho** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 11:30 pm

Might think of a larger rear bar to balance out that huge front one. It will make it understeer less.

kc2005ptgt · Post by **kc2005ptgt** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 10:34 pm

OB wrote:what kinda drop are those good for? (ACR/RT 1gn springs) not much huh?

Actually, take a look at my WWW in my sig, and you will see the difference - was good for about 1-2in

CA180 · Post by **CA180** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 12:30 am

i got mine put on back on the fall... and i honestly dont think i got 2 inches. Maybe 1.5" up front and 2" in the back.

neon2ner · Post by **neon2ner** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 9:36 am

nice work.

lol dude, what movie is that from in your avatar? thats freaking hilarious.

Hudson_Neon · Post by **Hudson_Neon** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 4:33 pm

doesn't the heim joint kinda defeat the purpose? i mean isn't a sway bar suposed to stiffen it rear ind up?

CA180 · Post by **CA180** » Wed Apr 11, 2007 7:34 pm

Heim joints dont have much if any vertical play. They are stiffer than using stock rubber bushings. A sway bar keeps the car from leaning, not supposed to stiffen it up.

Neon2ner, i found that on another guys avatar on another site. I cant claim responsibility... I just think its funny

ewetho · Post by **ewetho** » Wed Apr 11, 2007 11:49 pm

Race cars use Heim joints for free motion in the moving parts with NO PLAY. But subject to wear. Polly is another good choice but not as free.

BlackRoseRacing · Post by **BlackRoseRacing** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 1:20 pm

Bump to the top:
4626764 - $13.60msrp NS1 as of Jan 2008 - 12 left in the country
4626725 - $13.60msrp
Those are the numbers for the brackets used in this topic....

neongirl87 · Post by **neongirl87** » Sun Jun 29, 2014 9:05 pm

nice write up and pics! =)

i def want this upgrade on my car

valleyracer · Post by **valleyracer** » Sun Sep 21, 2014 6:40 am

ewetho wrote:Race cars use Heim joints for free motion in the moving parts with NO PLAY. But subject to wear. Polly is another good choice but not as free.

I know the thread is old, and I won't make anymore rear sway bar upgrades to my ACR, but I would have opted out of using the OEM bushings.

WarnerTok · Post by **WarnerTok** » Wed Jan 16, 2019 8:50 am

Am I right in thinking youve got the 22mm front bar?

Ive boxed in one side of the strut mount on my m.

I was not aware that the m5 had any reinforcement to the struts with its 25mm bar.

2GN.ORG

Finally got my rear bar on.... had to DIY - PICS!!!

Finally got my rear bar on.... had to DIY - PICS!!!

Drooling over heim joint photos

Finally got my rear bar on had to DIY PICS