Rear Sway Bar

Replacing the sway bar doesn't require any of that. It can be done sitting the garage without jackstands. Well, if you are thin. lol

 

yeah it may not require it, but it will make it about a 3 minute job. and i ain't thin. 15 years ago...

 

LOL then put 'ER in the air! I admit it always feels more official when it's on a rack.

 

I finely installed mine, it took about 20 minutes because I couldn't fit my body underneath the car, I had to put the rear-end on jack stands. It was a simple install, remove two bolts, switch out the bar and install two bolts. Torque to spec and you're done! Anyone thinking about this mod, stop thinking! Order the bar from progress and install it!

Installation hint: use a cheater pipe/cheater bar to help get leverage to remove and install the bolts. [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheater_bar"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheater_bar[/ame]

 

so the bar came in from thmotorsports on tuesday. i took it to work wed. and put my car on the rack. it would have been a 3 minute job, BUT... i can't just slap stuff together, i got to tinker. so i got some left over Torx head control arm bolts from our alignment man, and cut them down to fit. i used heavy washers that go with the control arm bolts and nailed 'em with my impact gun, probably beyond the 150 ft/lbs which i believe the trd bolts are suposed to get. i trust german steel to be much better than the cheezy possibly chinese bolts toyota used. the Benz bolts have much bigger heads and are strong enough for S63 AMG control arms; i'm sure they will not loosen up on my little car.
the rubber wedge that came with the pathetic stock bar wouldn't fit with the progressive bar, i don't think it'll matter.

if you do this to your car, definitely squirt some WD40 on the bolts a couple times, cause the bolts and speed sensor wire bracket screws were kinda rusty. i had to remove the left bracket cause i put the bolts in from the top. if the nuts did back off, the bolts should keep the bar from falling out.

it did seem to tighten the car up a bit. i don't drive it real hard, but i don't like the body flopping around when i'm maneuvering through the lousy DC traffic. i think it was a good mod.

now here's a question: do you need to drop the subframe to install the corolla front bar? if not, i am definitely gonna snag 1 from the junk yard.

 

after driving it for a week w/ the progressive bar, i am certain i want the front corolla bar too. however, the junkyard wanted to know if i need a bar from a japan made corolla or a USA car. does anyone know if there is a difference and if so which bar fits?

 

Even better: Liquid Wrench, PB Blaster or AeroKroil.

 

i guess i should have said penetrating oil; in the shop "WD" is short for whatever brand you got. it all seems to work pretty good. the key is to work the bolt back and forth until it loosens up, rather than just cranking on it and possibly ripping the head off it.

 

I see. As I understand it, "WD" is short for "Water Displacement", the primary purpose of said spray.

 

huh. didn't know that. actually the can says "loosens rusted parts" and "protects metal". works pretty good and kinda smells good too. right now i got 5-56. bout the same quality but doesn't smell as nice.

 

Toyotech is right.

After 6 months of commute, my car turned more sluggish and felt like it understeered more.
I went underneath the car, set my torque wrench to 150 lbs, and found that the bolts did indeed loosen itself over time. Now that the bolts are back up to 150 lbs of torque, the car drives like how it should.

I think it's time to go to Toyota to get the larger Corolla bolts and nuts.

 

Toyota is the only place that sells bolts and nuts? (just kidding!)

Perhaps a dab of threadlocker will do the trick in the meantime...

 

Bolts are definitely worth it. Ive been driving mine hard and its still holding strong.

 

tonight i installed a corolla front sway bar in my '04. it was a minor pita, and it would be a huge pita if i wasn't a mechanic. (cause i have a lift)
1 put it on the lift
2 remove front wheels
3 remove exhaust system (thanks toyotech) the spot welded nuts on the exhaust had to be heated until they glowed dull red before i could crack the bolts loose; if you don't have an acetylene torch fugeddaboudit.
4 remove heat shield
5 unscrew LH outer tie rod end from inner tie rod.
6 (this part really sucks) unbolt 4 rearmost subframe bolts and dangle the subframe about 1"-2"-- use a post jack to support it or it could fall out and kill you!!!
7 unbolt the old bar and weasel it out the drivers wheel well
8 weasel the new bar in through the drivers wheel well. the corolla bar is shaped slightly different and so it fought me when i tried to shove it in. patience is a virtue.
9 bolt it all back together and ready for the skid pad!!! (or at least DC's hideous traffic)
i will drive it for a couple days and then report on how it feels.

side note: i took the thm rear bar off my '05 and put it on the '04. when i drove the '05 home it did seem floppier with the stock rear bar. or maybe my butt dyno is not properly calibrated...

 

corolla front sway bar was the best $55 i ever spent. coupled w/ the thm rear bar, it corners flat at any reasonable speed. its not a road racer, but it is way, way better than stock. body roll is almost gone. i would never have even thought to put a corolla front sway bar on it without some of the good folks on here posting about it. if you like cornering, do it asap. you'll love the difference

 

Where again did you get this? Part #?

 

I still have a bar that may fit. It is supposed to be the right one but the mechanic said it might not fit and I didn't want to pay him to find out!

 

Think I found the part numbers...

Cheap suspension upgrade: Front and rear sway bar? | PriusChat

Do you know if this is what you have?

 

I think I should be able to find time in an upcoming Saturday...

Testing out some suspension parts | Page 2 | PriusChat

 

My bar has no markings on it so I am not sure how to properly identify it.