Adjusting clunk out of Weltmeister rear sway bar?
 

This is on an 82 SC with a Weltmeister rear sway bar. I've had a bad clunk from my car for weeks now, and traced it to the right rear sway bar drop link. I actually saw the link shift on the spherical bearing where it mounts to the trailing arm and make the noise on the lift as I was jacking up the front left wheel to replace the tie rod ends (thinking they were the source based on when the sound would happen while driving, etc. and they needed it anyway). I confirmed this by removing the bar for a few days of driving and the car never made anything close to the sound. The mounts for the bar are both upgraded reinforced ones that I had mounted after the stock ones ripped off, and all the bushings on the bar and drop links are relatively new and in decent shape.

Anyway, I mounted the bar back on today and tried a few different "preload" settings with the adjustable drop links thinking I could get rid of the clunk by removing any slop in the system, but the noise seems even worse. Does anyone know how to properly adjust the drop links? Instructions say to "remove any preload", which I read to mean the bolts should line up fairly easily with the suspension loaded, and then I've been extending the links from there thinking there was not enough preload to avoid clunking.

I'm at a loss for which way to adjust things or what else to look for and hoping there are some other ideas or similar experiences out there. The only other odd thing about the bar is that it doesn't seem to be wide enough to have the drop links both vertical...I've got it centered as much as possible and the bottom mounts for the links rotated slightly to avoid binding or extreme angles, but it's pretty much been that way for 10+ years on the car without clunking. Almost a year ago, the eccentric bolt in the trailing arm sheared off on the same side and I replaced it, which is the only other issue I've had with the bar other than ripping out the stock mounts.

Thanks in advance,

Olivier

Get rid of them and pick up a nice set of Taretts if you have the cash.

Nobody is using Weltmeister these days.

I am still using front and rear Weltmeister 22mm anti-sway bars. I told my mechanic to make some adjustments and ensure no pre-load when I had an alignment and suspension refresh done. He said that the Weltmeisters have poor geometry due to the hose-clamp attachment. It can be damaged if tightened too much and also puts the bar in a bind if set too stiff. I can see how the blade types have their advantage. My front bar makes a knocking and sometimes a squeak. I can replicate the noise if I rock the car while it is sitting in the garage in gear. I can push directly on the suspension and hear the noise but not see where it is coming from. I think it is hitting the fuel tank, and sometimes rubbing on it causing a knocking or squeaking. I think the knocking is partly caused by slightly loose rubber bushings. Right now my bars are both pretty much full soft. There is no preload. The drop links seem alright.

"He said that the Weltmeisters have poor geometry due to the hose-clamp attachment."

This doesn't compute. Care to elaborate what area of the front (?) bar he was referring to?

A "clunking" sound is usually caused by metal-to-metal contact. There's only a few places this could happen: at bushing areas and at metal-to-metal contact areas such as the rod ends or where the SB arm attaches to the SB at each end.

Sherwood

I still have the WM which no one is using these days, and have had them for about 15 years with zero issues. I removed the the front and rear drop links and installed after market ones that with some tweeking I made work. Are they the best bar, hell no, but they work just fine IMHO.
Are you sure it's the bar, disconnect it and go for a ride.

If the rod end is loose, it is shot. You should be able to find a suitable replacement at McMaster-Carr.

I had to replace the mount on the trailing arm due to wear on the shaft. I bought replacements direct from Weltmeister.
Yes, there are better bars, but the Weltmeisters do work.

The WM bars are not the "best" product available. However, they're better than the factory bars because they're available in different diameters, they're adjustable and the drop links can be individually adjusted for corner balancing/weight jacking purposes.

They also fit a price point and do a yeoman's job at controlling body lean. However, they're not perfect. The higher-priced SBs provide better quality hardware, better geometry and a wider range of adjustability and slot into a different price point. But are they perfect or just better?

IOW, there is a product for all who wish to upgrade their suspension. If everyone wanted the best available, we wouldn't be driving early 911s. It may have been then, but there are better choices now.

Sherwood

Get new rubber bushings, plastic bushings are very noisy and if they have wear you'll get the clunk.

Where can I find the rubber bushings?