Front sway bar bushings W114 replacement, how tight ?

[skalie]

( .... for a change asking questions after the repair )

There seem to be differring schools of thought on this one, although I haven't found more than pics so far of the procedure for a W114.

They were tightened up to the end of the thread, this is how I replaced the rods. The rubbers are looking pretty much "donutty", but everything seemed nice and firm on the test ride, as would be expected.

However, while researching this on the web, other car makes talk about torquing them up ( I don't have a torque wrench ) and using white grease, I didn't.

So bottom line is, have I over tightened the sway bar rods by tightening them as far as they would go ? Should I loosen them off at all ( job was done less than 12 hours ago )

Thanks in advance.

[Mike D]

I'm guessing you are talking of the sway bar/stabilizer links. The long rods connecting the control arms to the actual sway bar? The sway bar bushings mount the sway bar to the front of the suspension and are tightened to apx. 40 ft-lbs.

The "links" are the threaded rod-rubber bushing-flat washer assemblies connected to the lower control arm.

The accepted torque load on those links is to tighten the nuts until the diameter of the rubber bushings slightly expand beyond the metal washers.

Tightening them to the end of the threads serves no purpose other than crushing the rubbers and decreasing their life span.

You can apply white lithium grease if you want but an occasional spray of a silicone lube will do a better job. The lithium tends to dry up and attract dirt particles.

[skalie]

Originally Posted by Mike D

I'm guessing you are talking of the sway bar/stabilizer links. The long rods connecting the control arms to the actual sway bar?

Yes, and thanks.