Rear sway bar no more!!!

[68RallySport]

Well i was doing my daily burnout in front of my house last night when a loud crack and the sound of metal hitting the ground caught my ear.

It turns out i broke my rear sway bar. Well not the bar exactly but rather the bolt going through the framerail! Its a very clean snap but i was wondering how the hell i did that. I know i know first gens dont need a rear sway bar but my car came with it and i never took it off because it didnt seem to be negativly efffecting the car in the twisties...

What did i do or what didnt i do to make this happen???



David

[baz67]

That sucks David. Where on the bolt did it break?. Is it an original bolt? I sounds like metal fatigue to me. It could be from a stress raiser or corrosion. A picture would help in helping you figure out the cause.
Brian

[68RallySport]

So the bolt broke off right where the thread started. Sorry i dont have a digital camera. But it was new hardware and there was no corrosion so im guessing im just unlucky. im fairly sure its an aftermarket bar the label has long since decayed but the bar is in excellent condition. I tried to measure it but my cheap caliper is crap but i think its a 7/8th and it very light and feels hollow.

If you where to look at the bolt it has about an inch or so of no threads and then a half inch or so of a threaded portion. The bolt broke right at the transistion and u can see one little thread on the longer half and the rest of the bolt is somwhere on the street. Straight break, not jagged at all but look almost as if someone had cut it...

David

[baz67]

David the reasons could be many, but since you said it broke at the threads that lends to a stress raiser. The bolt may have been bad. Who knows.

I do not think you DID anything to cause this except having fun. The fix is either replace the end or take off the bar. I would say remove the bar since you do not need it anyway. The is just my .02.
Brian

[Norm Peterson]

Broken endlink bolts are not all that uncommon if they use poly or other hard bushing materials. Particularly if they're overtorqued. Or subjected to extreme motions.

Incidentally, this is not just an aftermarket issue. Ford Explorers & Expeditions with the OE hard-bushed front bar endlinks frequently break theirs too.

The best solution is to properly tighten the endlink bolts/nuts. There's a torque spec for OE rubber, and AFAIK for poly it's snug plus a little (and I'll recommend a drop of Locktite blue, per).

Norm

[68RallySport]

Thanks norm and baz!!!