My Sway bar broke now what?

[1976Camaro]

Ok so the other day i was driving into my drive way in my mom's car and i saw that somehting was hanging under the rear end of my car. So i got down on the ground and found out that the right side of my sway bar was broken. My dad told me he hasn't seen one of those break like that in years. When he got under there he said it was cracked b4 and it was bound to happen. So i was wondering how much one would be and should i go to a junkyard and get a old one or just spend full price and get a brand new.

 

[Gary S]

Your Dad is right. They seldom break because they are made of spring steel and they are designed to flex. Like springs, sometimes they do break. Replace it with whatever you can find. Old swaybars are not inherently weak, so a used one can be a good deal. On the other hand, if you find a new one for a good price, get it.

 

[ks71z28]

they break all the time! The late 2nd gen Camaros used little bars that break at the 90* bend near the shock plate. Time to upgrade the bars, look for trans am bars

Keith

 

[Dragula]

Look for one from a 1979 Trans Am with the WS6 option. The WS6 bar is 1 1/4" thick or 1.25" thick. Your stock one was probably 1" or if from a Z28 maybe 1 1/8" or rather 1.125 . Good luck its ann Ez swap.

 

[Twisted_Metal]

Look for one from a 1979 Trans Am with the WS6 option. The WS6 bar is 1 1/4" thick or 1.25" thick. Your stock one was probably 1" or if from a Z28 maybe 1 1/8" or rather 1.125 . Good luck its an Ez swap.

His rear bar broke... You are describing front bars.

If you replace the rear bar with a heavier one, you will probably want to upgrade the front one too. He's right though... A T/A with the WS6 suspension would make a good donor for both.

If you liked the way it handled before it broke, replace it with the same size. (Probably a 5/8" or 3/4", IIRC)

 

[John Wright]

I agree with Twisted...I'm pretty sure you won't like the handling of a 1 1/4" bar in the rear....can you say loose race car?

 

[1976Camaro]

thanks guys alot answerd almost all or all of my questions and concerns i will show my dad this and see what we can find. We have a junk yard right down the road from our house called all american classics with thousands of old camars and transams junked. I will probably be heading over there sometime this week to look for one. http://www.allamericanclassics.com/

 

[John Wright]

Ideally, if you could get the matched set of (F&R)springs and (F&R)sway bars off a T/A, it should work great for a street car.

But at least get the same size rear bar as a replacement, if only replacing the rear bar...

 

[rscamaro73]

AND.....if you plan on any performance driving, you can 'tune' how the car handles with the right combination of sway bar and spring rate.
(just hope we're not getting to in depth and confusing you).

In the mean time, yes. Stick with a matched pair or same size rear bar.

 

[1976Camaro]

thanks every body

lol confused only a little but i need to learn so its good