Saleen Sway Bar installation info

[BRacing]

I installed both the front and the rear Saleen sway bars today.

The front went on without incedent, less than an hour's work in the driveway with simple tools. I reused the original Ford bushings, but i might want to upgrade the fronts to polyurethane later, avalable through Explorer Express or Energy Suspension.

Because of my 96 model year, no manufacturers make an aftermarket "universal" bushing kit for the larger rear sway bar. I know i'm not the only one with this problem, so that's why i'm posting this.

The rear sway bar is designed to reuse the factory Ford bushings, just drilled out a little. I took the bushing bracket and bar into the local 4wd shop, and we measured and checked what was avalable. Everything from ES would not fit because the bolt holes are too far apart on the explorer. However, we DID find another brand that fit.

"POLY FOR VEHICLES" is the brand of universal bushings that fit. I used part number 144 - Sway Bar Bushing Kit Bar Size 7/8. The slots were just barely short of the holes for the original bracket, so i filed away some material in each slot to allow for proper alignment. I ended up filing less than 1/4 inch on each end.

The bars ended up fitting great! I look forward to driving up and down some twisty roads to see the handling improvement.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask!
-Brad

 

[YamahaRick]

So ... are you saying other than the small amount of filing on the slots, this was "bolt on" for your 96 Ex?

I was JUST about to order OEM spec ES bushings from www.suspension.com, and had expected to have them modified for the larger Saleen bar.

I did a search for "POLY FOR VEHICLES," and came up with Dead Link Removed . Best thing about this is that they are just down the street from me, and I can pick up a set in person! Too bad they are on vacation this week, or I would have done it this afternoon. They list the part # you mention.

FYI ... you can order the front bushings from www.suspension.com as I did. I had ordered both front and rear (wrong #), and the charge for FedEx ground from CA to GA was only seven dollars. I was just about to order OEM spec rear bushings from them, as I could not find any locally. Best local retail outlets could do was to place order and have them in two weeks. www.suspension.com had the parts I needed in stock, and they were received within ten days of my order. They even e mailed me with the tracking info!

 

[YetiX]

What is it with us '96 owners and Saleen sway bars?

BTW, I installed my front last weekend (along with a host of other stuff) and I love it, especially the red color!! Wish the back from EE was red instead of black. Oh well.

 

[BRacing]

Not sure if i'm going to order the front bushings, but thanks for the info!

I just went for a test drive around my test track, and the sway bars definitely help flatten out the suspension. However, i did notice that it's time to upgrade the shocks, as the original ford ones are quite worn.

Yes, that's the same bushing kit that i used, listed above.


Hope this helps!
-Brad