Had Tanabe front swaybar DIY-installed for about 1500 miles now. The front-end of the car is now constantly emitting noises that can only be attributed to the swaybar or the install-job. The noises occur at slow speed in both straight-line and side-to-side transitions. The sound can be characterized as metal rubbing non-metal tone. Not shrieking or clunking-type sound.

The swaybar came with rubber bushings that I coated with ample Mobil 1 Synthetic grease between the swaybar and inner bushing. Everything was torqued down to specs as detailed in RB's swaybar install instruction with the front-end on jacks. The OEM bar never exhibited similar noises. Furthermore, the passenger-side endlink seems to have a bit of freeplay as far as top & bottom cv-joints being "twistable/rotatable" from side-to-side. In contrast, the driver-side is very rigid.

Any ideas on what may be the cause of the sounds? Should I be worried about the freeplay on the endlink? Thanks much for any insights!

 

I know it's only been 1,500 miles but your bushings could be dry, check them.

https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-trouble-shooting-95/something-owners-aftermarket-swaybars-might-want-lookout-65304/

 

I actually thought about it and took out all the bushings and re-greased them. The end result is still the same, noise-ridden. The front-suspension makes just as much noises when greased-new as greased-old. I'm inclined to see if no grease will work better, since OEM bushings were dry from what I remembered on the stock bar.

 

It may be not tight enough - go for the upper torque limit with a torque wrench.

I think the sway maybe moving left and right due to improper bushing - check the position.

 

What he said. My brother had a similar problem with his old Golf, it was too loose and made very annoying sounds. It was a quick fix though, he took it to get looked it, the guy tightened it, voila! T'was all better.

 

Torque was another thing that I checked as well. The swaybar clamp was torqued to 35ft/lbs, causing the rubber bushings to be deformed and spread out from the clamp on the sides. The swaybar-endlink connections were torqued to 43ft/lbs. I'm apprehensive about bringing the car to dealer since it's an aftermarket swaybar.

I'll try to have friends driving the car to better describe what's going on. Keep suggestions coming!

 

it's the swaybar pivot bushings, you have to keep greasing them, might consider buying some replacements with zerk grease fittings

 

Just a thought... since you added the swaybar do you drive harder through the corners now? Using the "new" performance capabilities the sway bar has given you? If you have, perhaps something else has gotten loose or needs attention due to the higher-than-normal stresses it has received. Try checking ball joints, steering links, control arm bushings, etc. Any odd or unusual wear markings on your tires?

Just a few ideas...

 

Check your end-links. I wore the stock ones out with the RB front sway and r-compounds.

 

Not trying to steal this thread but::

What symptoms did you see regarding 'wore the stock (endlinks)'? What happens when they wear out? Break, get loose what?

Thanks

 

Well, here is an update on the real cause of the problem now that the car has been noise-free for a while: bad alignment. To summarize, all nuts were loose as found out by a high-end alignment shop, as none of them were torqued down or tight. To my horror, camber cam nut on RF is completely missing, thereby rendering the lower control arm free movement under load. The lock-nut on tie-rod was also loose, which brought my front to 1/2'' toe-in total!

Once the cam nut substitute is put back on and everything torqued, the car is finally back to its original state of quiet and peace (save for interior trim rattling). The aftermarket sway-bar probably induced additional stress on the front suspension, which caused the cam nut to come loose since the first alignment shop never did the job right. Thanks to all for your suggestions.

 

You have older posts about alignment & body shops. Was your car in an accident and was there any damage to the front suspension?

 

No prior accident to speak of (knock on wood). The alignment was for getting extra performance out of the stock car for autox purpose. The body shop was a minor mishap involving a family member who scrapped the passenger rear fender panel while parked in the driveway. So the suspension (front/rear) was never damaged in any way.

 

whoever did the previous alignment f'd up

 

f'd up is an understatement. I'm so fed-up with finding a good alignment shop that does not cost an arm and a leg. I've been researching into building self-alignment kits based on various articles posted on sccaforums and the web. Any national-level autoxer who does his/her alignment on RX-8 can comment on that?