Unsuccessful RSX sway bar installation, need advice..

[tom3]

Hi all,

I tried to swap my rear sway bar for the RSX one last night. Due to rust and other junk on the bolts, it was almost impossible to turn the 14mm upper bolts on the endlinks. In the process of trying to unscrew it, I think I tore the 5mm part in the middle. The 5mm allen wrench can't get a grip on it any more. The hole now resembles a circle more than a hexagon. So in the end I was not able to take the stock sway bar off at all, nor was I able to tighten the bolt on the endlinks to spec. There's now a significant gap between the nut and the endlinks.

Needless to say, I'm pretty frustrated. Not only was I unable to do the swap, I messed up my car in the process too. Now my question is, is my only option to get a new endlink (only the left side is screwed up), and replace it? or is there some way of fixing the 5mm hexagonal hole? And if I do need to replace it, how do I go about taking the nut off now that I cannot get a grip in the 5mm hole at all?

As a side question, will I be able to use the stock sway bar bushings with the thicker RSX sway bar? I only got one bushing with the RSX bar.

thanks!!

[02SilverSiHB]

well, you can always get some needle nose pliers to hold it while you unscrew that nut on the endlink. I did that my first time, because I didn't have a allen wrench at the time. That should work.

And yes you can use the stock bushing with the rsx type s sway...it's a slight challenge to get the bushing bolted on there with the bigger sway, but it will work, I've done it.

[NamingException]

I accidentally stripped one of my endlinks too. Like 02SilverHB said, use pliers to hold it still. It's not a great solution, but it works. Spray the thing down good with PB's Fabulous Blaster or WD40 first too, it will help a lot.

[tom3]

I see, I might try that tonight. Probably because of the rust, it was really really difficult to turn. I even let WD-40 sit on it for a while and still I couldn't turn it much. Would it help to take the wheels off? I tried both jacking up the car til the wheels were not touching the floor, and leaving the car on the floor.

There's no way to replace that bolt (the 14mm-5mm one) without replacing the endlink, right? :(

[02SilverSiHB]

Originally posted by tom3
I see, I might try that tonight. Probably because of the rust, it was really really difficult to turn. I even let WD-40 sit on it for a while and still I couldn't turn it much. Would it help to take the wheels off? I tried both jacking up the car til the wheels were not touching the floor, and leaving the car on the floor.

There's no way to replace that bolt (the 14mm-5mm one) without replacing the endlink, right? :(
yeah, you'll have to replace the endlink if you want to fix that bolt....as for the car, I had it jacked all the way up with the tires off the ground, just the rear that is.
the end link is about 35 bucks, it's number 7/8 on www.hondaautomotiveparts.com
here's the direct link, but it doesn't work sometimes:
http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/auto/jsp/mws/prddisplay.jsp?inputstate=5&catcgry1=Civic&catcgry2=2003&catcgry3=3DR+SI&catcgry4=KA5MT&catcgry5=REAR+LOWER+ARM
http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/catimgs/13S5S01_B29.gif

[tom3]

Thanks 02SilverSiHB! yeah I went to Majestic Honda right away last night to see how much damages I had done would cost me :D

I think the bigger problem now is to take the old one off since I cant get any grip on the 5mm hex hole. I tried the pliers (w/o jacking the car up) and it didn't help too much. I sprayed some moie WD-40 and let it sit. We'll see about it I guess. I hate snow and salt!! :mad:

Oh yeah did I mention I think I might have messed up one of the 12mm bolts that goes in the mount too? It doesn't go all the way in any more. Hopefully that can be rectified..

I did make an appointment with the dealer, but I'd really like to fix this myself and not have to be charged for labor and all. Man, this is probably one of the easiest mods one can do on the EP, and I've already spent 4 futile hours...

[NamingException]

Don't feel too bad. When I installed my Progress rear sway I couldn't line the control arm bolt holes up. It took me hours to get the bolts in.

[Peking]

Originally posted by tom3
Oh yeah did I mention I think I might have messed up one of the 12mm bolts that goes in the mount too? It doesn't go all the way in any more. Hopefully that can be rectified..


Dude I did that too. Lower right one, makes me mad. Sorry that you couldn't get that damn endlink bolt off. I would just get new endlinks. Take um off from the bottom, and take the bar completly off from there. See if you can get the top ones off from there. If not oh well. You would have new endlinks and a new sway (RSX).

[tom3]

no kidding Peking! the one that's screwed up for me is also the lower right one.. :rolleyes:

[JBS02]

Same exact thing happened to me. Stripped the 5mm allen hole on the sway bar side of the endlink. Anyone whose EP resides in the snowbelt for a year or so will most likely have these problems. To make things easier, jack the rear of the car up, support on jackstands, and remove both rear tires. Soaking the threaded rods of the endlinks with the aforementioned penetrating oils will help some; however, the nuts that hold the sway bar to the endlink are self-locking and will still be a bitch to remove with hand tools. I suggest taking out the bar with endlinks attached by removing the nuts (not self-locking) that hold the endlinks to the control arms. Still, you may encounter the same stripping problem. To keep the endlink from spinning, you will have to back it up by holding it with a vise-grip wrench. In my case I thoroughly mauled the endlinks, so new endlinks were needed ($44 each). I had to wait a month to get them as there were none in the states at that time. I have heard that you can substitute RSX rear endlinks, if you can't get EPs. I would also suggest that you get new self-locking nuts (the Helms manual says to do so) and two 19mm bushings (Acura part). When reassembling the new endlinks, I coated them with anti-seize compound to minimize future corrosion. To prevent any sway bar noises when cornering, you should also torque all nuts to factory specs before and after the car is on the ground.

This simple mod will really transform your EP. The dreaded rear body roll at high speeds will be mostly eliminated. My EP with the 19mm rear bar actually became more comfortable to drive long distances as the flatter handling seemed to minimize neck strains I was experiencing with the 15mm rear bar inplace. A slight downside is that the rear of the car will become stiffer and pound over rough pavement. Maybe the 17mm bar from the 04 Si would be a good compromise.

[Peking]

Originally posted by tom3
no kidding Peking! the one that's screwed up for me is also the lower right one.. :rolleyes:

Yeah, I guess after taken off and on a few times I messed the threads up. It seem to be tight so I left it alone. As long as it is in and not moving then hopefully no worries.

[K20A3Si]

i just thought i would post this because i dont want anyone else to run uinto this problem, today i was going to install my type-s rear sway bar(19mm)...i went into the garage and started going away at it...i got off the too bushing and clamps off easy. i ran into trouble when i tries taking of my endlinks...i was told by a few of my mechanics that i would not have a probloem getting them off becasue they ar enew...well guess again...i stripped one of them and didnt even bother trying to take of the other one. i was very upset and tried everything i could to get the stupid link off...i am going to have to cut it off..i didnt bother taking my car home...i tried driving it an the sway bar was very loose and i could hear it banging around..i am going to examine the link and look at how honda designs it so they strip when you try to remove them...i am lucky my dad runs a honda dealership becasue if not i wouldnt have place to leave my car or order parts for cost...i am going to get the links tommorow and finish the job after i am done working..it would have taken me 15 minutes if i ordered the links....but all i am saying is save yourself the problems and just order the end links....i wish i had.

[tom3]

Well guys, guess what. My EP now sports 19mm rear sways! woohoo!! :D

It was of course not without pain. K20A3Si I think you have a point about Honda not designing the endlink bolts and the self-locking nut for easy removal.

Like I said in my earlier posts, the 5mm hexagonal hole was thoroughly shredded (I later found this to be the case on the right side as well). I had just about given up hope, and thought that getting new endlinks were inevitable. Even then, I was still faced with the problem of taking the old ones off.

Then my dad and my brother came up with a solution. What we did was we used dremel to sand down two opposing sides of the end of the bolt where the nut would come off of, maybe 3~4mm in from the end. So now the sectional view of the bolts would look something like
.__
(__) where the round parts retained the thread.

I can provide pictures if anyone wants to see them...

Then we used a vise grip locking plier (very crucial!!) to hold the two flat sides of the bolt and turned the nut (with some difficulty still!) . Once the nuts came out far enough to come in contact of the plier, we'd grip the other end of the bolt, where it's protrudes from the endlinks. After we took them off, we cleaned the bolts to the best of our abilities with a metal brush and WD-40, as well as the inside of the nuts.

Putting the new bar on was so easy that it was like night and day. The self-locking nuts went on really easily, almost 3/4 of the way by hand. I did have to modify one of the stock 15mm bushings to fit the new bar since I somehow had misplaced one of the 19mm bushings.

Peking, the lower right bolt on the mounts finally went in all the way after many attempts. It's strange though because it's not exactly perpendicular to the mount. Somehow the thread-backing thing must have been screwed up so now it's a bit slanted.

[tom3]

Oh yeah, thanks you guys, for your input and suggestions. It was a tremendous relief to find that my struggles were not an isolated case. :)

[styllinep3]

dont feel bad guys. i not only stripped them out, but broke the passenger side right off. i seprated the part with the four little grey pins. i stuck it back on, and seems to be holding for now but, i dont think it will hold long. thats another 40 bucks. i found a solution for the vice grips though. dont grab the bolt . grab the ring washer on the back side of the sway . that worked perfect after i broke the fucker, and had it out from under the car in front of me . anyway after all the frustration im very pleased with my new dcr 5 type r rear sway. much stiffer , no understeer, and no body roll.

[Peking]

Originally posted by tom3
Peking, the lower right bolt on the mounts finally went in all the way after many attempts. It's strange though because it's not exactly perpendicular to the mount. Somehow the thread-backing thing must have been screwed up so now it's a bit slanted.

Glad you found a way to get it on :) Thanks for the info, when it gets warmer. I was going to attempt to screw it on again, seeing that you did it. Makes me believe I can do it too.

[pLopSI]

hrm... i'm gettin a lil intimidated by the diy install for my planned ctr sway. Eh... I guess i'll jus hafta make sure i get some mechinically knowledgeable friends to help me out. thanks for the heads up on the install tho.

[styllinep3]

to be honest man its a no brainer. its really easy, and staright forward. it just the stupid cheap piece of shit factory end links. stupid self locking bolt. what ever happened to good old fashion lock washers?

[Peking]

Originally posted by styllinep3
to be honest man its a no brainer. its really easy, and staright forward. it just the stupid cheap piece of shit factory end links. stupid self locking bolt. what ever happened to good old fashion lock washers?

Your right. After looking at some things, they really could have made it easier for us.