Eibach Front Sway Bar and Bushings installation

[MauiRoads]

I recently installed the 25mm Eibach front sway bar and included bushings on my 17. I did not have to remove the subframe, but I did have to remove the 4 main bolts: two at the rear, and two that you reach through the hole in the lower control arm. The subframe then hung from the LCAs, and I accessed the sway bar mounts from the rear of the subframe. With some downward pressure on the rear of the subframe and upward pressure on the exhaust flex pipe, I was able to get the OEM bar out. And with a a little more pressure and fiddling, I got the new bar in.

Before installing the bar, I checked the fit of the OEM mounts over the larger Eibach bushings and larger Eibach bar. As expected, "re-use the stock mounts" didn't even come close to working. The new bushings have a ridge along both outer edged, which prevents them from sliding into the stock mounts, so, I trimmed off the ridge. See photo. Then the trimmed bushings fit into the mounts, but the flat bottom of the bushings extended below the bottom of the mounts. See photo. That means that tightening down the mounts would really be just squashing the bushings against the subframe, badly binding the bar. So I made spacers from aluminum bar stock. See photo. I believe it was 1/8", but yours may be different. With the spacers in place, the mounts tighened down nicely, and the bar still rotated within the mounts. Kinda ugly, but no one's going to see it...and it's solid.

The bigger bar noticably reduced the roll angle, but I haven't had a chance to push it too hard, to see if it increased understeer. I also installed a Pierce Motorsports Race brace kit, which includes a rear beam axle stiffener, which may help to balance any additional understeer the front sway bar causes. I'll post separately on that.

 

[Dialcaliper]

I noticed the same problem with the 21/22mm powerflex sway bar bushings when I was installing my UR 22mm sway bar - had to use the rubber bushings that came with it instead of the powerflex poly ones.

I discovered that the base model Fiesta that they were designed for has taller sway bar brackets. The Eibach must be the same.

You’ll need to find some brackets off a base model - they are silver zinc plated instead of black painted, so easy to recognize. Plenty to be had in the junkyard.

 

[MauiRoads]

I noticed the same problem with the 21/22mm powerflex sway bar bushings when I was installing my UR 22mm sway bar - had to use the rubber bushings that came with it instead of the powerflex poly ones.

I discovered that the base model Fiesta that they were designed for has taller sway bar brackets. The Eibach must be the same.

You’ll need to find some brackets off a base model - they are silver zinc plated instead of black painted, so easy to recognize. Plenty to be had in the junkyard.

Thanks Dialcaliper. Are you saying that if I get the silver brackets from a base model, I won’t need the spacers I made for my Eibach 25mm bar and poly bushings?

 

[Dialcaliper]

Thanks Dialcaliper. Are you saying that if I get the silver brackets from a base model, I won’t need the spacers I made for my Eibach 25mm bar and poly bushings?

You won’t need the spacers, but you’ll still need the baseplate. Here’s what they look like - thicker and a bit heavier stamped steel without the flared ends and slightly taller.

The ridges you cut off stick outside the bracket and it sits between them. There will still be some compression on the bushing, which is basically there because the polyurethane will compress and round out a bit.

 

[MauiRoads]

Thanks again, Dialcaliper. I wish I had known about this before I began installation. Of course, once you're in the middle of it, you find a way.
Since it's no fun getting at the mounts, especially with the Pierce 6-point brace in place, I'll probably wait to replace my mounts and homemade spacers until the next time I have to loosen the subframe. Unfortunately, we don't have any junkyards of any kind here on Maui, so, I'll look for a new set of mounts for a base model.

Now that I've trimmed the outer ridges off my poly bushings, do you think the raised center of the bushings fitting into the raised center of the mounts will be enough to keep the bushings secure?