Steering Stabilizer Link
 

96 Accord, 2.2 non-vtech. The bushing are shot on the steering stabilizer link. The parts are cheap, but how hard are they to replace?

Also, is it a major safety hazard? lastly, is stabilizer also referred to as a sway bar?

Stabilizer bar = sway bar, so yes. Not dangerous to drive around, but it will make a lot of noise.

It is very easy to replace. I did this without removing a tire. Remove the nut and take out the bolt/bushings on one side. I would do one side at a time, so you can refer to the other side to see how the bushings are stacked with the washers.

Then install the new bushings and washers in the same order and insert the bolt. You may need to place a jack under the lower control arm lift it up a bit so the bolt goes all the way through the stack of bushings. Ignore the torque spec. Just tighten down the nut until the bushings just start to compress. You can overtighten that bolt and really squeeze those bushings.

Repeat on the other side.

Thanks. I was confused when I could t find stabilizer link bushing on napa. But I could find sway bat links, which looked the same.

Sounds like a project for Sunday. It makes a lot of noise going down the road and shakes pretty bad when you first hit the brakes.

It should stop the noise (or one of the possible noises).

The shaking while braking may continue, but do the obvious repair on the end-links first.

Let us know if this fixes both the noise and the shaking.

Fyi, I made the mistake of tossing the original stock sway bar links in favor of a set of Duralast from the local Autozone. The aftermarket style has a slightly different style of rubber bushing which has no internal collar that the rubber fit onto ... and therefore no definitive stopping point for when you tighten the bolt. You can really squish the rubber on these guys.

So my question is -- how much should you tighten that bolt?

I just installed my second Duralast replacement in two years under lifetime warranty (ugh), the last time I squished the rubber a fair amount and in one year it had hardened and cracked. This time around I stopped when the rubber just started bulging, but a quick test drive sounds like it's still knocking a bit.

I didn't find any DIYs on this. Can anyone point me to a good DIY or some instructions on how much these should be tightened?

Thanks. John

Usually the aftermarket bolts are threaded to the stop point meaning that the nut will only turn as long as there are threads. They are typically designed to be tightened until they won't turn anymore. Honda specs 14ft lbs of torque but they use the internal metal spacers. In general the new bushing should be bulging out some when the job is complete.

ok, will do. That's the same as I did last time ... I guess the only thing that "lasts" about Duralast is their warranty -- if you don't mind doing an annual bushing replacement!

Thanks.