Hummm..hollow sway-away t-bars..snapped

full quack · 10:53 AM

Well guys,
Seems my last post "Poly graphite bushings", was slightly off the mark.
Look at the picture and tell me if any of you have had similar problems with hollow t-bars.
I will not be buying hollow ones again to replace these, I'll simply go with the solid ones, maybe I'll have better luck.

P.S The condition of the bars does seem to explain the loud POPS I heard today, I did manage to limp the car home.

Mark

waynesco1 · 12-18-2009, 08:53 PM

Wow the bar must have a warranty . The ERP poly Bronze are not had to install . They ease the resistance of the old rubber or plastic type . Lots more $ well made I like them on my car .

full quack · 12-18-2009, 09:02 PM

Well they have been in the car for 2 years, so I doubt it on the warranty. Did find solid 31mm bars from Elephant Racing for not too bad a price.
Mark

TroyN · 12-19-2009, 06:19 AM

Wow, how did you get them out (assume they are rears)??

full quack · 12-19-2009, 10:26 AM

Yeh getting them out was a real pain in the ass. Had to drill and tap a hole in the end a a long 1/2" rod then screw a washer slightly bigger in diameter onto the end. Then slide it down the inside of the broken t-bars, catch the end of the broken t-bar with the lip of the washer, and pull the broken bar out. It took many tries, gaining about a 1/16 of an inch each time before the washer edge slipped off the end of the t-bar.
Guess I'll be getting new t-bars for Christmas!
Mark

DonE · 12-19-2009, 06:27 PM

If you need a set of stock bars to use/have, let me know and I'll send mine.

A930Rocket · 12-19-2009, 07:26 PM

Two broken torsion bars at one time? From the rust on them, it looks like they had been fractured at some point and finally gave way.

Sway-a-way is just above Weltmeister when it comes to parts (with Weltmeister the bottom of the barrel). Having said that, I have solid sway-a-way torsion bars with about 10k track miles on them.

Sander makes a good set.

turbobrat930 · 12-19-2009, 07:58 PM

To bring another equation into the mix... Why not just opt for a good set of coilovers, and not run any torsion bars?

esotoracing · 12-19-2009, 09:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by turbobrat930

To bring another equation into the mix... Why not just opt for a good set of coilovers, and not run any torsion bars?

I second this thoght

SCHNELE · SCHNELE's Garage

third on the coilovers.

spence88mph · 12-19-2009, 10:33 PM

Either way I would send them back and document their response on here, even if they're out of warranty that is a huge FAIL. Any half decent company would replace them.

Reaper930 · 12-19-2009, 11:36 PM

Go coils...RSR kit front and rear 300 lbs front springs, 800 lbs rear (my ass is really heavy with the rubber and twin turbos)..you'll never look back. As Rarlyl8, he rode with me on the dragon.

JBL930 · 12-19-2009, 11:55 PM

Gabe, your wheels are unsprung weight, everything below your suspension is unsprung, you've still got to drag it around though. What does your car weigh with all it's carbon bits?

full quack · 10:50 AM

Hello all,

DonE, thank you very much for the offer, however, I still have my stock bars laying around.

A930rocket, They both did not break at the same time. I heard the first one snap after driving down 2 miles of a real harsh concrete road, with expansion joints every 10 feet. Then the second one gave up the ghost about a mile from my house. Like I said, I managed to limp it home, but just barely. That last mile riding on only the shocks was nerve racking...hope I didn't damage the shocks!

On real close inspection of both T-bars, they both had long term cracks, with rust visible in both cracks on both bars. The bar that completely fragged, was cracked end to end, with rust the entire length. The other had a rusted crack, about 8" long from 1 splined end.
I'm guessing that both bars were manufactured out of the same raw bar of material, and that bar had a flaw in it. I owned a machine shop for 16 years, and have seen my share of bad raw material. It happens, there is no 100% quality control from the mills, and I'm sure Sway-Away does not torque test or X-ray 100% of their product either.

I originally bought the rear bars from "Strasse Porsche parts and accessories". I tried to contact them via their web site, but it was no longer a working site.
I do not really think it matters much though, I mean the T-bars have been in the car for 2 years, I can not imagine anybody giving more than a years warranty anyway.

To the rest of you all, about coil overs. There is nothing that I would like better than to go with all 4 corner coil overs with E.R.P front control arms, E.R.P. rear spring plates, Fox front struts w/adj. height spindles, poly bronze bushings & mono balls through out.
However........THATS $7K BY THE TIME YOUR DONE...and I don't have it to spend at this juncture....sighhhhh.
Mark

David · David's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by full quack

On real close inspection of both T-bars, they both had long term cracks, with rust visible in both cracks on both bars. The bar that completely fragged, was cracked end to end, with rust the entire length. The other had a rusted crack, about 8" long from 1 splined end.
I'm guessing that both bars were manufactured out of the same raw bar of material, and that bar had a flaw in it. I owned a machine shop for 16 years, and have seen my share of bad raw material. It happens, there is no 100% quality control from the mills, and I'm sure Sway-Away does not torque test or X-ray 100% of their product either.

Sounds like the most likely scenario, especially since they both failed.

Even if the bars are painted, I still coat them with grease to prevent corrosion.

full quack · 12-20-2009, 03:22 PM

Seems that I can not find any 31mm bars for sale today, other than the Sway-Away brand. Neither our host or Sanders or anyboby on E-bay.
So I simply ordered a new pair of SOLID T-Bars from E.R.P. Not comfortable doing the hollow ones again. Hopefully they will arrive before Christmas!
Mark

DDDD · 12-21-2009, 10:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A930Rocket

Two broken torsion bars at one time? From the rust on them, it looks like they had been fractured at some point and finally gave way.

Sway-a-way is just above Weltmeister when it comes to parts (with Weltmeister the bottom of the barrel). Having said that, I have solid sway-a-way torsion bars with about 10k track miles on them.

Sander makes a good set.

sway away is a weltmeister product, in fact they are both branded names from tarret, the actual company.

A930Rocket · 12-21-2009, 11:28 AM

That's interesting about Tarett. Thanks.

Quote:

sway away is a weltmeister product, in fact they are both branded names from tarret, the actual company.

bkreigsr · 11:54 AM

it's not clear from your post, but are you the first owner of these bars?
If this is not their first install, is it possible that you swapped the L & R?
Elephant hollow bars are not marked (as the factory bars are), but they take a 'set' after being installed.
Once on the road, the L should only be used on the L & vise-versa.
If they are not re-installed on the correct side, I'm told the results are the same as you experienced.
....just a thought
Bill K

full quack · 12-21-2009, 02:23 PM

Hey Bill K,
Thanks for the warning, but I am the original installer for the bars & they have been in the car for 2 years, and yes they were marked L & R, and installed correctly. They cause of the failure was from bad raw material with a hair line crack that propogated into full failure.
Mark