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stupid front sway bar hardware!

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Anybody else pissed at the dumb design of the bolts that hold the front sway bar to the chassis? There's a sheet metal collar that's supposed to hold them in place...supposed to. They keep spinning in the chassis when I try to tighten them down, and one of the collars broke off. Is there a trick to these? Anything better, or should I just buy some new bolts from Tasca?
 
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the easy version, is just buy new ones, and keep them lubricated so you can actually unbolt them when needed. the better, but clearly more involved remedy is to fabricate, or have them fabricated out of a better material. You might check around and see if anyone supplies them from the aftermarket, but I've never seen any. Those style captured nuts are great on the assembly line, but not so much after you get some miles on them. I've seen guys use a riv-nut type of fastener, but I wouldn't do that, they really aren't designed or that type of application.
 

xr7

TMO Addict?
706
821
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Autocross
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10-20 Years
Minnesota
I hate those clip nuts too. If I have access to them I replace them with a regular nut. I prefer tightening the nut to torque spec vs the bolt. All these nuts with the flimsy "wing" welded on is just for simple stupid installation on an assembly line by a robot or the next person standing in line that can hold a tool without dropping it.
 
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I made a set for a foxbody, I'm not sure it would apply to your car, but maybe. I took a 1/4 plate, jigged up the bolt holes, threaded the plate and screwed some bolts (and nuts) down on top of the plate. (so the threads in the plate would match up to the threads in the grade 8 nuts.) I then tig'd the bolts to the plate (tig'ing uses less heat) once it all cooled I removed the bolt that held it all together. I then ran a tap through the hole mess to make absolutely sure all the threads were lined up. So I ended up with a 1/4 inch plate, with 2 nuts welded onto it. I was able to sneak that up into the frame rail and that was my solution.
 

Dave_W

Cones - not just for ice cream
984
1,277
Exp. Type
Autocross
Exp. Level
20+ Years
Connecticut
6,360
8,181
Update- I got the parts from Tasca, and it looks like Ford did make an improvement. The later model sway bar bolts have a hex formed in the end, so you can prevent the bolt from spinning if (when) the sheet metal clip breaks.

If this happens to you, order the hardware for MY2012+, even if your car is older. The Ford Racing "blue" bar is on now!
IMG_4187.JPG
 

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