Get The Rattle Out - Sway Bar Bushing Replacement

[blk_on_blk]

So, in searching through the archives I've found people complaing about 'golf ball loose in their trunk' sounds coming from the rear of their ES300. We had a similar thing on ours; just a low rattle/clunk sound coming out of the back when going over level but bumpy surfaces. I checked everything in the trunk, on the body, all over... everything was solid. I finally came across the posts saying it was worn bushings on the rear sway bar, so I crawled under the car and grabbed the sway bar. Sure enough, it was loose and I could move it a little and feel some slop in it.

So, I ordered some new grommets/bushings off of www.autopartswarehouse.com and replaced them the other night. It's a simple and easy replacement. There is a metal retaining strap held on by two bolts that you remove, and then the grommet/bushing is split, so you just slip it off the sway bar. Put a little lithium grease in the recess of the new bushing to keep dirt and moisture out, then slip it over the sway bar, replace your straps, and viola!!! You're done! "Golf balls' gone from the trunk as are any other clunky noises.

Here are some pics.

[Toysrme]

Awesome! I would like to add (i wish i did it but always do it now)

You can take any cylendrical type bushing (in our case front & rear swaybar bushings). Take the mount & the new bushing BEFORE installation. Drill a hole through one sound of the mount and bushing to the core. Now attach a 50 cent grease fitting in the hole.

Congratualations! Now you can re-grease your mounts instantly without hassle! because face it... At some point ALL of them need re-greasing. Typically they could use more within afew weeks of installation, but if it's a bad initial graese job they'll squeak from day 1!

[steviej]

amazing how two $10 bushing can guiet so much noise.

A couple of months ago I replaced the rear bushing and the noise was gone.

Recently I have noticed the same noise in the front. I will be replacing the front bushings some time this week.

An easy to do cheap repair for such a return.

steviej

[ajay95]

I have a question - I called a parts place for the Sway bar bushings and they asked me if it was 18" or 19" diameter. I have 1995 Lexus ES300, do you know what size I need. Thanks in advance,

[Lexucan]

Yep, that was one of the first repairs I did to my ES.....after discovering while reading here how simple, inexpensive, and effective the solution is. Wish all repairs could be that way! :)

[saltyreefguy]

Toysrme,

hello,

is the hole for the fitting drilling over the hump of the clamp or the sides? more the info would be great, i would to love tryout what you did. thanks.

[Ratatat]

I also had been fighting this, up until this early evening. This had been bugging my wife for weeks, so this last weekend I got underneith the back end and started looking around. Being rubber what rubber is, it has a tendency to dry out. With that in mind i took a can of Invisilube, it sprays on like thin oil, penetrates then gels up like a grease, so it has a chance to get into hard to get into areas, like rubber bushings. After I let it set a few minutes to gel. I went for a little drive, and behold noise gone, and a couple other small noises were gone too. I had hosed down everything in the back end that looked like rubber or a bushing. Worked like a champ. Cheap too, the Invisilube came from my work truck. ;)

[iolmaster]

That is very interesting. I have a 2000 that for the last couple years has had a slight clunk on the right side going over small bumps. It does it only when it is cold outside. Now that it is warm, it goes away. That would lead me to believe that it is a rubber part. How do you tell if your front bar is 18mm or 19mm? I don't think you can measure with any kind of confidence.

[ESpecial]

This is good info. I'm going to measure the sway bars front and rear with a digital caliper and get the bushings for both.

[fpny]

Since I bought my 97 ES300 late last year, I always have the clunking noise on the back of my car. I was going to replace the struts but one of my friends told me to check the sway bar and the sway bar links. I ended up replacing both sway bar links on the back and I never hear the clunking noise ever since. To improve the ride further, I am going to check the sway bar brushing as well. According to the service manual, there should be 2 of them, one on each side, just like the sway bar links. B)

[Ratatat]

Just ordered bushings off of ebay, and the rear bushing for 92-96 es300 are listed at 15-16mm. They are Moog suspension parts. I know most people trust Moog parts.

[json077]

Yep, that was one of the first repairs I did to my ES.....after discovering while reading here how simple, inexpensive, and effective the solution is. Wish all repairs could be that way! :)

Hi, Lexucan. I'm a beginner of this site. My Lexus(96 ES 300, 80K) also has some golf ball loose noise in the trunk, so I'll be trying to fix it myself as you did. However, I don't know what kind of tools I have to prepare. I'm very sorry, but could you let me know how to do? How to lift your car in your home? Is the sway bushing easy to find out? How to remove it? etc....

Thanks in advance!!!!

Jay from VA

[Ratatat]

Since I cant fit under the back end of the es300, i drove the back end up on ramps, and access to bushings was a piece of cake, 12mm socket and you are good to go. Not difficult at all. There is no tension on them when it is resting on the wheels. Whole job was about an hour. (wife made me talk to her at one point)

[Ratatat]

this is one of those, something so simple can have a big effect type things.

[json077]

I replaced the sway bar bushing yesterday, but my car(96 ES 300, 80K) still has the noise problem.

What is the next recommendable step to check it up? Thanks in advance.

[Ratatat]

has the exhaust shield broke lose, and is hitting on the sway bar itself? mine rusted lose, and this was one problem. Also try spraying the other rubber mounted parts with wd40 or silicone, to see if that makes it go away. Also see if the sway bar link is loose, or worn out.