A rear stabilizer bar, also known as an anti-roll bar or a sway bar, is a solid length of metal (occasionally hollow) , shaped like a tube, that is fastened to each side of the rear suspension. The diameter of the bar varies from make to make.
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What are front and rear stabilizer bars?
Stabilizer bars provide a dampening function and structural support. Stabilizer bars are part of a car’s suspension system. They are sometimes also called anti-sway bars or anti-roll bars. Their purpose in life is to try to keep the car’s body from “rolling” in a sharp turn.
Can you drive with a broken rear stabilizer bar?
As long as you keep your speed down and don’t take turns too quickly, you should be safe driving until you can have it replaced. Note that a broken sway bar doesn’t make your car “un-driveable”.
How important is rear stabilizer bar?
Rear sway bars are to help the rear of the vehicle to be stable when driving around turns or maneuvers and when towing another vehicle. The sway bar should not affect the vehicle when hitting bumps unless the links or bushings are worn or broke and even then they will mostly make noise.
Is a rear sway bar necessary?
Rear sway bars are recommended for a variety of vehicles, though it’s not always immediately clear when a rear bar is most called for. The general rule of thumb is that a rear wheel drive vehicle will benefit from a front sway bar, while a front-wheel drive will benefit from a rear sway bar.
How do I know if my rear sway bar is bad?
Warning signs of a broken or bad sway bar link include clunks and squeaks. Over-steering or excessive lean through turns are also symptoms of worn sway bar links, but they can also be signs of larger problems with your vehicle’s suspension system.
What causes a stabilizer bar to break?
When the shocks get worn out in a vehicle, it loses balance, and tends to tilt to one side or the other, resulting in much of the body weight of the vehicle sitting on the stabilizer bar. Therefore as the vehicle moves on a rough road, the unstable body eventually results into the bar breaking.
What happens if stabilizer bar breaks?
What happens when a sway bar breaks? If a sway bar breaks, it will no longer be able to control the body roll of the car. This may cause the car to sway more when turning, which can make it difficult to control and increase the risk of a crash.
Do sway bars affect alignment?
sway bar does not affect alignment.
What does a rear stabilizer link do?
This stabilizes your vehicle while still allowing the suspension to move on its own. Sway bar links are what connect the outer end of the sway bar to the suspension component. Because the sway bar itself is a torsional swing, the sway bar link smooths the motion transfer between the sway bar and the control arm.
What is the function of stabilizer bar?
An anti-roll bar (roll bar, anti-sway bar, sway bar, stabilizer bar) is a part of many automobile suspensions that helps reduce the body roll of a vehicle during fast cornering or over road irregularities. It connects opposite (left/right) wheels together through short lever arms linked by a torsion spring.
What is the difference between a stabilizer bar and a sway bar?
Stabilizer bar and sway bar are the same thing. If you are in the engineering world where these are designed, they are shortened to Sta-bar. This was adopted as a sway bar in conversation and aftermarket, as that describes what the purpose is better in lay men’s terms.
Is it safe to drive a car without a sway bar?
Driving without sway bar end links can be dangerous because as you’ve noticed, the vehicle will not steer correctly. Sway bar end links are meant to stabilize a vehicle when turning and at high speeds. You can have your sway bar end links installed by YourMechanic for 97.00.
Can a bad sway bar cause shaking?
The simple answer is no; broken or bad links won’t generate vibration or even excessive steering wheel vibrations but is a safety hazard, especially while traveling at highway speeds.
When should I replace my sway bar?
If you can see looseness in the end links when you move the bar then they should be replaced. If the bushings are showing signs of deterioration (cracking or brittleness) or they have a gap or are misshapen then they also need to be replaced.
How many sway bars does a car have?
Most of the cars have one sway bar in the front and another separate sway bar in the rear suspension. Sway (stabilizer) bar link. Some cars have only one sway bar in the front suspension. Sports cars have thicker sway bars for better stability when cornering.
Can a broken sway bar be fixed?
The good news is replacing a worn or broken sway bar mount is not as terrifying a job as you may think. If you have access to some simple mechanic’s tools you’re very capable of getting this one done.
What happens when stabilizer links go bad?
Common signs of faulty stabilizer bar links include clunking or rattling noises from the tire area, poor handling, and a loose steering wheel.
Do stabilizer bars wear out?
The links themselves are made from metal and should last for a long time. However, because the stabilizer bar rotates each time you go through a turn, the links are put under a great deal of stress (as are the bushings). Over time, metal fatigue will set in and they will weaken.
How much do stabilizer links cost?
As with any car parts, the cost will vary from one car to another. The average sway bar link replacement cost is usually between $125 to $160 including labor. The links themselves cost between $40 to $110 each, while the labor will set you back anywhere between $50 to $70.
Do you need an alignment after replacing rear sway bar?
Basically, if the steering rack, tie rods, subframe, or control arm bolts have been altered or the car has been lowered, you need an alignment. Removing the sway bar, and replacing it would not require an alignment, unless something that I mentioned above had to be moved to access the sway bar.