Sway Bar Bushings - Questions

[vesnyder]

Inspected the front sway bar bushings on my '83 SC, and either they were two pieces when they were installed, or they are cracked - both inner and outer? All photos seem to show one piece?

They appear to be a little brittle - should they be replaced regardless? WIll this have any affect on ride?

Any instructions on installing the bushings? The outer ones may pose a problem being the bracket does not bolt off?

[pbs911]

These bushings come slit along one side.

I replaced the sway bar bushings mounted on the a-arm yesterday. I gave up trying to replace the bushings with the a-arm mounted to the car after trying for about an hour. Then I just removed the torsion bar and unbolted the a-arm from the front and rear mounting points, slide the sway bar in and bolted it all back up. I would suggest these bushigns be replaced with the rest of the a-arm bushings since you would have access to all of the front end bushings at this time. Others have said they are able to R&R the sway bar bushings without removing the a-arm, but I don't know how they did it.

Replacing worn bushings with new ones will always improve handling. But I don't think it is worth it to just replace the ones you mention and no others unless they are really shot.