DinoShepherd
Member
Rear (and front) sway install. The agony and ecstasy... UPDATE bottom pg. 1 
Shopped, searched, researched, read. Finally found the Belltech bar for just over a hundo, new on ebay.
I have wrenched tons of cars and done lots of suspensions. Six bolts. What could possibly go wrong? How could this not be a half hour job from start to clean up?
Let's get the links off first shall we? Oh wait, the links aren't conventional. They have their own little joint and no bolt on the backside of the stud, so it just spins helplessly.
Ok, the end of said stud has a feature we can get a TINY 8mm wrench on to hold it. Let's try that... Better, but the bolt and but seem to really like each other and take a full half hour to separate.
The other side gets a full shot and soaking and cleaning and thread chasing. 10 minutes for ten threads. BAM! Screw you bolt.
Ok, let's get the frame bolts out of the way. 15mm. I have no idea what, if anything, on this truck is SAE, but it's not the suspension.
Good access. Turn, turn, turn, smile... Spin... Dammit. The bolts are not captive on top. Round heads again. Out come the vice grips to hold them. grrrrrr...
First one is another half hour while I figure out the technique. The other ones come out in a minute or so. It seems the studs are installed in their own frame with a single small and weak spot weld. Once this breaks. And it will. Have fun.
Installation, as they say, is in reverse order. Much faster, but no less frustrating and inefficient. It seems the truck is designed to be put together easily, but definitely not to be worked on.
Total install time was just under two hours for six bolts. Ugh.
Anyway, the bar says up to 2005. But the 2006 is, of course, a perfect fit. It comes with poly bushings and frame mounts. As well as a little tube of this nice clear grease. But not end links. Nice piece. About five pounds heavier than stock, which by the way seems appropriately sized for a honda civic. The belltech bar is a full inch. Really beefy.
I am running the stock bar up front and will report back with handling results.
All in a relatively straightforward install that is a total pain in the butt.
Shopped, searched, researched, read. Finally found the Belltech bar for just over a hundo, new on ebay.
I have wrenched tons of cars and done lots of suspensions. Six bolts. What could possibly go wrong? How could this not be a half hour job from start to clean up?
Let's get the links off first shall we? Oh wait, the links aren't conventional. They have their own little joint and no bolt on the backside of the stud, so it just spins helplessly.
Ok, the end of said stud has a feature we can get a TINY 8mm wrench on to hold it. Let's try that... Better, but the bolt and but seem to really like each other and take a full half hour to separate.
The other side gets a full shot and soaking and cleaning and thread chasing. 10 minutes for ten threads. BAM! Screw you bolt.
Ok, let's get the frame bolts out of the way. 15mm. I have no idea what, if anything, on this truck is SAE, but it's not the suspension.
Good access. Turn, turn, turn, smile... Spin... Dammit. The bolts are not captive on top. Round heads again. Out come the vice grips to hold them. grrrrrr...
First one is another half hour while I figure out the technique. The other ones come out in a minute or so. It seems the studs are installed in their own frame with a single small and weak spot weld. Once this breaks. And it will. Have fun.
Installation, as they say, is in reverse order. Much faster, but no less frustrating and inefficient. It seems the truck is designed to be put together easily, but definitely not to be worked on.
Total install time was just under two hours for six bolts. Ugh.
Anyway, the bar says up to 2005. But the 2006 is, of course, a perfect fit. It comes with poly bushings and frame mounts. As well as a little tube of this nice clear grease. But not end links. Nice piece. About five pounds heavier than stock, which by the way seems appropriately sized for a honda civic. The belltech bar is a full inch. Really beefy.
I am running the stock bar up front and will report back with handling results.
All in a relatively straightforward install that is a total pain in the butt.
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