2QuickS

I have 1988 944S and acquired the Turbo front sway bar (1.06" OD). When installing I find the sway bar ends are not directly under the mounting hole provision in the lower suspension arm, lateral misalignment is about 3/4", the bar ends being inboard of the mounting hole.

Are there variations in front sway bars (early vs. late) that might be causing me trouble?

MAGK944

No variation in those bars, the only change is the size of the bushes when going to a thicker bar.

Is your car on the ground or on a 4-post, or are the wheels unsupported up in the air?

ElRicardo

MAGK is right- if the car is up on a lift and the front wheels are left “hanging” the lower arms sag and the distance between them gets narrower, and the sway bars can appear to be “too long”. Likewise if the car is on a lift with wheels supporting the weight, the Lower arms are loaded and are in a flatter position, and this has the effect of spreading the distance between the mounting holes, making the sway bar appear to be “too short”. You need to find the right loading that will allow you to skip the ends into the mounting holes.

2QuickS

Front wheels supported on ramps & rear is leveled with jack stands.

Thanks for confirmation sway bars are interchangeable.
.

T&T Racing

The only way to install the sway bar drop links or the end into the bracket holes is I have the front on jack stands at the lift points, or not under the LCA.

With the common jack stand, this is NOT A SAFE SETUP under the lift point. Purchase 2 Ecco jack stands, the top is 3 inch flat with a rubber pad. Provides sufficient flat surface to support the car safely under the Ecco stand

Then use 2 jacks, one under the left, the other under the right LCA and Jack, raise the LCA's until the sway bar can be attached.

thomasmryan

any chance the chassis brackets have been turned around?

MAGK944

Pretty sure that would cause a longitudinal misalignment rather than a lateral one but it’s worth checking wyit.

Op, any chance you can post a couple of photos so we can see exactly what’s happening?

floatingkiwi

THe rubbers can be tight causing the bar to not centralise itself.

floatingkiwi

Also, this is a good question:

The PET shows the chassis to bar links with the plate part/main body to the front with the top bolted flange facing rearwards (as shown below), but most images I see online are the other way around. Which is correct?

Zirconocene

Here's some pictures I took for a write up that I haven't done yet, which should help with orientation:

Please ignore the struts, they're on the list for...sometime



Getting all the bushings off was a huge pain, but I found that some dish detergent was the key to getting things back on with ZERO issues. I can't describe how much easier it was compared to the sweat equity I put into getting the old bits off.

Good luck

floatingkiwi

So in other words opposite to what the PET shows - yours is like every other picture I can find on the internet.

MAGK944

+1 PET is wrong, it’s just a parts catalog and although you’d expect they picture the parts in the right configuration, sometimes they don’t. There are a bunch of mistakes like this in PET.

floatingkiwi

Is the bar bushing clamp supposed to straddle/clamp the chassis brace then or bolt to one side of it?

MAGK944

Its a clamp so it straddles or “clamps” around the support bracket.

Dan Martinic

Over the years, I've taken sway bars off and on quite a few times and don't recall having much trouble (?). Pretty sure I leave all bolts started but not fully tight while installing... and iirc I use a jack under the sway bar ends to lift them up into the receiving holes enough to get the nut on..