Sway Bar Bushing Fitment - Is This Normal?

[pjmoreland]

I purchased a new set of Counterpart bushings for my 1-1/16" sway bar. They stick out of the clamps pretty far (3/8"). Is this normal? Will they just mash down when I tighten the clamps and not have excessive binding? Seems a little odd to me.

[Tx Firefighter]

A lot of them are that way (Moog comes to mind). I've always just nursed the bolts down evenly to compress them. Once tightened down they never give any problems.

[SCOTI]

They have 'tall' (truck) & 'short' (car) clamping brackets. The aftermarket units usually don't indicate which bracket the bushing is for unless it's like a kit.

I would not squash them down 3/8"....
I would either make some shims to minimize the amount protruding or get mounting brackets that better match the bushings.

[pjmoreland]

I'm trying to stay as stock as I can, so spacers are not going to work for me. I guess I have to find a set of "tall" truck brackets.

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by pjmoreland

I'm trying to stay as stock as I can, so spacers are not going to work for me. I guess I have to find a set of "tall" truck brackets.

Not to bust balls or anything but it's a sway bar. On anything other than a full-on 100-point concours restoration, 2 small pads under the bracket/s won't be noticeable unless you point it out.

[pjmoreland]

It will be noticeable to me.

[pjmoreland]

Does anyone have a set of stock truck clamps for a 1-1/16" sway bar that they'd be able to measure for me for comparison with my clamps, please?

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by pjmoreland

It will be noticeable to me.

While I fully understand the logic in some situations, mounting a sway bar w/spacers under the existing/on-hand brackets would not be a concern to me. The mounting would not be compromised & would not over-compress the bushing by simply cinching down the existing shorter brackets. Just sharing a different perspective.

Are the 'CounterParts' bushings rubber or Poly?

[pjmoreland]

Originally Posted by SCOTI

While I fully understand the logic in some situations, mounting a sway bar w/spacers under the existing/on-hand brackets would not be a concern to me. The mounting would not be compromised & would not over-compress the bushing by simply cinching down the existing shorter brackets. Just sharing a different perspective.

Are the 'CounterParts' bushings rubber or Poly?

I agree 100% that adding spacers would be fully functional. It's purely an aesthetic/obsessive issue.

They are rubber. I can tell by looking at the original bushings that the clamps compressed them a lot.

[ThreeQuarter]

I found the same thing with my poly bushings. I just drew them down to where the bracket touched the frame/A-arm. Based on what lots of people in this forum have said, these sway bars need as little wiggle room as possible to really work.

[Rick Bollinger]

What about taking a quarter inch off the bottom of the bushing with a band saw?

[pjmoreland]

Originally Posted by Rick Bollinger

What about taking a quarter inch off the bottom of the bushing with a band saw?

Yeah, that sounds like a good plan

[ThreeQuarter]

Here’s what poly bushings look like when they’re compressed with the same size bracket as you have. You sure they need to be cut down? The need to compress them might be a feature rather than a bug. You are dealing with torsion stress on a 1-1/16” steel bar, after all—I would expect some tight clamping to deal with that.

[pjmoreland]

Originally Posted by ThreeQuarter

Here’s what poly bushings look like when they’re compressed with the same size bracket as you have. You sure they need to be cut down? The need to compress them might be a feature rather than a bug. You are dealing with torsion stress on a 1-1/16” steel bar, after all—I would expect some tight clamping to deal with that.

I would expect rubber to be more squishy than urethane, so maybe my bushings are just fine how they are. I'll give it a try later.

[ChevyRacefan]

I don't know if this help ease your mind, But , I installed a sway bar off a 1986 3/4 ton. and bought new bushings from g.m. and they looked just like your new ones, taller than the metal clamp.

[pjmoreland]

Ok, well they went on, but they don't look too happy about it.

[sick472]

I like that the bracket tabs ended up being flush with the frame mounts and A-arms and not bending a just touching on the outer edges. Your right, they don't look too happy, but they should be fully functional. There is no harm in using them like that. Give them a few hundred/thousand mile test period and see how they respond. If they are truly NOT happy, the rubber will split (possibly push out of the bracket) and lose its purpose. This would cause a bumping sound when driving over mildly rough roadway and, of course, lose some of it's sway resistance. I had a bushing fail on a Rustang and the first indication was the noise, not the lack of stability. I don't road course race though.

So long as you are OK with the appearance...I'd give them a try like that.

[Davidf]

Trim off the bottom of the bushing as necessary and reinstall so they are snug/tight but not so deformed as in your photo.

[ThreeQuarter]

Hmm...yeah, that does look a little disappointing. I could see going either way, but since these are not aesthetic bushings I would probably keep them compressed tight. You pickup, your call.

[Steeveedee]

On every vehicle I've done an upgrade to a larger stabilizer on, I've never had the bushing spoil out like that. This includes a '64 Malibu with a '70 Monte Carlo SS454 front bar. That's just an example, not an isolated case. The correct parts don't bulge like that. I don't think that this is normal.

[pjmoreland]

I trimmed off 3/16, and they're a little less distorted now.

[GMC72BB]

Originally Posted by pjmoreland

I trimmed off 3/16, and they're a little less distorted now.

Would you share that part number, I have going thru the same issue, same size bar and bracket, all I have here is Napa, and Oriley’s, have purchased numerous bushing them returned them, guess I’ll try trimming like you did, the ones I found so far didn’t have the ridge in them to match the bracket correctly, thanks

[pjmoreland]

Originally Posted by GMC72BB

Would you share that part number, I have going thru the same issue, same size bar and bracket, all I have here is Napa, and Oriley’s, have purchased numerous bushing them returned them, guess I’ll try trimming like you did, the ones I found so far didn’t have the ridge in them to match the bracket correctly, thanks

I threw the packaging away already, but I believe the part number is Counterpart 65-3445. They're the first item on this page (photo doesn't match):

https://gmcpauls.com/Suspension.htm