[Civi9]

Thanks for the advice, Kev. I plan to do that.

I got the sway bar installed with all new bolts and lock nuts on Saturday. Torqued everything to spec. I'm getting some kind of clunking noise when backing out of the driveway or when driving through a parking lot and turning left or right. The sound is what you would expect to hear if the sway bar or endlink struck the chassis. It's not loud or violent, just sort of a mild knocking/clunking sound. Any thoughts???

I have a 2012 Si Coupe, with HFP suspension.

I'm wondering if I need to go ahead and order 2014 endlinks...

Edit:

Just took a look, and the endlinks for 2012 and 2014 Si are the same part number.... NOW WHAT..

 

[kev604]

Thanks for the advice, Kev. I plan to do that.

I got the sway bar installed with all new bolts and lock nuts on Saturday. Torqued everything to spec. I'm getting some kind of clunking noise when backing out of the driveway or when driving through a parking lot and turning left or right. The sound is what you would expect to hear if the sway bar or endlink struck the chassis. It's not loud or violent, just sort of a mild knocking/clunking sound. Any thoughts???

I have a 2012 Si Coupe, with HFP suspension.

I'm wondering if I need to go ahead and order 2014 endlinks...

Edit:

Just took a look, and the endlinks for 2012 and 2014 Si are the same part number.... NOW WHAT..

Check to see if the sway bar has any play. Check the bolts to make sure they are tight or haven't come loose, if you have trouble keeping the bolts from coming loose you might have to use loctite . You may want to consider upgrading your bushings and Moog endings. When I installed my Progress RSB I used the Progress endlinks but I regret not upgrading to Moog endlinks at that time cause I know those crappy Progress endlinks are going to crap out sooner or later.

 

[Civi9]

Check to see if the sway bar has any play. Check the bolts to make sure they are tight or haven't come loose, if you have trouble keeping the bolts from coming loose you might have to use loctite . You may want to consider upgrading your bushings and Moog endings. When I installed my Progress RSB I used the Progress endlinks but I regret not upgrading to Moog endlinks at that time cause I know those crappy Progress endlinks are going to crap out sooner or later.

Great thoughts, man. I have been thinking about it today, and I think you may be right. Specifically related to the lock nuts that hold the swaybar together with the endlinks. I had to use WD-40 on the threads to get the original lock nuts off. I'm wondering if the lock nuts came loose. I torqued them to spec, which was 28 ft/lb per 2012 Si specs. This doesn't seem like much.

My other thought is that the little silver rings that hold the sway bar in place may have come loose. I'm really not sure. They sit right next to the swaybar brackets and sortof hold the sway bar steady L to R. They are held in place by a flathead screw that torques down on the swaybar. Kinda hard to explain.

 

[dello]

So upgrading my 2012 civic si's RSB to the OEM 14/15's 20mm sway bar... would I also need to upgrade front sway bar? or would the feel for daily driving be just fine without upgrading the front as well?

 

[KDiggityDog76]

HellaJDM had a thread on here somewhere about getting a clunking noise after a sway bar upgrade and he found out that the end links were hitting the bar because they were somehow mounted incorrectly. See if you can find it. It seemed like real useful information for anyone considering a new sway bar.


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[EffBee6fromthe209]

I have a feeling you installed it backwards.yes it is possible before anyone tries to say otherwise.my friend did it and I had to fix it for em.

 

[Civi9]

I did some searching, but 8 pages of results in search bar didn't land that thread. I may try to PM him. Thanks, KDiggityDog76

Here's a couple photos I took last night. I checked all bolts. Everything was tight. I think I may have installed it incorrectly. I figured it would only install one way, and I admit I had been drinking before starting the job :wooo:

 

[EffBee6fromthe209]

I used the stock 2012 links too and no clunks at all.

 

[9GenSi]

So upgrading my 2012 civic si's RSB to the OEM 14/15's 20mm sway bar... would I also need to upgrade front sway bar? or would the feel for daily driving be just fine without upgrading the front as well?

I have this same setup and the HFP suspension kit on mine and it feels great for daily driving.

 

[9GenSi]

I used the stock 2012 links too and no clunks at all.

Same here.

 

[Civi9]

Can you guys comment on how my endlinks look? They look weird to me. Maybe bent? pics a couple posts up.

I'm wondering if having driven with the sway bar on backwards has warped the endlinks. I can order new ones for around $20 a piece, but I need to know soon so I can instal this weekend.

 

[jtsi2012]

Can you guys comment on how my endlinks look? They look weird to me. Maybe bent? pics a couple posts up.

I'm wondering if having driven with the sway bar on backwards has warped the endlinks. I can order new ones for around $20 a piece, but I need to know soon so I can instal this weekend.

I'm all stock as far as sway bars go, but I would think you would be hearing some noises if the end links were warped and had some play in them.

 

[EffBee6fromthe209]

Can you guys comment on how my endlinks look? They look weird to me. Maybe bent? pics a couple posts up.

I'm wondering if having driven with the sway bar on backwards has warped the endlinks. I can order new ones for around $20 a piece, but I need to know soon so I can instal this weekend.

Try installation with the bar the other way first,then go to the endlinks.

 

[KDiggityDog76]

I did some searching, but 8 pages of results in search bar didn't land that thread. I may try to PM him. Thanks, KDiggityDog76

Here's a couple photos I took last night. I checked all bolts. Everything was tight. I think I may have installed it incorrectly. I figured it would only install one way, and I admit I had been drinking before starting

Okay I found it. Go to the suspension and brakes forum and scroll to the thread called Sway Bars (802 posts). A couple pages from the very end you'll find his posts showing how a bar could've been installed upside down. I'd put a link here but I'm limited by this app.


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[Civi9]

Here's the link for reference: http://www.9thgencivic.com/forum/suspension-brakes/2074-sway-bars-41.html#post2893130

I'm going to try to reinstall it tonight. Are you guys thinking it needs to be pulled out of the brackets? Or can I just rotate it and connect it differently to the end links?

 

[kev604]

Here's the link for reference: http://www.9thgencivic.com/forum/suspension-brakes/2074-sway-bars-41.html#post2893130

I'm going to try to reinstall it tonight. Are you guys thinking it needs to be pulled out of the brackets? Or can I just rotate it and connect it differently to the end links?

I would just pull it out and do it all over again so you know you haven't missed anything.

 

[Civi9]

That's what I ended up doing. Got everything pulled out, and tried to piece it together every which way. As far as I can tell, there's no way to install it backwards or upside down. The bends in the sway bar follow the contour of the gas tank. The bends are not symmetric. If the bar is flipped around, the bends don't match up, and the bar rubs the gas tank. See picture:



My theory as to why I was getting clunking sounds for the first 3-4 days, is that maybe the lock nuts that attach the endlinks to the bar ends need to be torqued down under load. That, or the fact that 28 ft/lb is not tight enough for the endlinks not to shift a little.

Any other thoughts? I ended up reinstalling it the same way.

 

[kev604]

That's what I ended up doing. Got everything pulled out, and tried to piece it together every which way. As far as I can tell, there's no way to install it backwards or upside down. The bends in the sway bar follow the contour of the gas tank. The bends are not symmetric. If the bar is flipped around, the bends don't match up, and the bar rubs the gas tank. See picture:

View attachment 393562

My theory as to why I was getting clunking sounds for the first 3-4 days, is that maybe the lock nuts that attach the endlinks to the bar ends need to be torqued down under load. That, or the fact that 28 ft/lb is not tight enough for the endlinks not to shift a little.

Any other thoughts? I ended up reinstalling it the same way.

You can also try putting some loctite on the nuts after your done.

 

[Civi9]

1 week update:

I'm no longer getting clunking noises when turning aggressively or reversing out of a driveway diagonally.

I'm wondering if there is a "settling" effect that the endlinks have to go through when switching to a thicker sway bar. Maybe the endlinks had to shift or bend a little bit to accommodate the new bar??

 

[BFamazon35]

My '14 20 mm rear sway bar is going in on Friday. Popping it into a '13 sedan. Looking forward to the feel.