Scrib

Well, I headed off to my Dad's house early this morning to what I thought would be a straight forward install. Damn, was I wrong!

Good news...

The Neuspeed upper strut bar when on without issues.




Now for the bad...

We get the car all jacked up, tools all lined up ready to be used. I grab the "Liquid Wrench" to loosen the end-link bolts. I grab the 14mm wrench and give the end-link bolt a tug...

It won't budge... Tug again... No luck. Well shit... So I add a couple more drops of liquid wrench, grab a different 14mm wrench. Same results! And I was really putting effort in getting this focker to move.

Ok, so I bust out the big boy, my torque wrench... I crank the thing up and give the left bolt a firm tug, and it comes loose!! YAY!!!

So I grab the 5mm hex tool and begin to remove the pesky bolt. I get about half way and the thing just stops. WON'T MOVE, won't budge. More liquid wrench... NOPE!!!

To make a long story story, I couldn't fucking budge the end-link bolts no matter what. We had an impact wrench, but the last thing I wanted to do was strip the bolts. Unfortunately, we had to give up! We just couldn't budge the fockers, and it't not worth my time to be running around town trying to find the parts when we stipped a bolt.


So I ended up taking my car over to the local Honda dealer. They're doing the install for me. Price is only 100 bucks. Not bad, IMHO.




Now for some interesting tidbits.

When I popped the hood open this morning, a YELLOW handled DIPSTICK fell into the engine bay. I quickly checked, and both the yellow and orange dipsticks were firmly in place. ODD!!! We only have two dipsticks, correct??? I'm wondering if the dealer misplaced mine when doing the tranny swap???



And lastly... There's a HUGE FOCKING scratch all the way down to the black plastic bumper on the left side of the rear bumper. It looks awful!!! No Scratch-X will fix this one. I'll try some touchup paint, but I may but end up replacing the bumper. Recall, I got hit several months agao, and I was quoted and paid to have the bumper replaced by the guy's insurance company. Maybe I'll go through with it now.

Slimey

I was just debating (with myself) about doing a self install of sways. I think I'll just have PAA do it and not worry about it. I'm probably going to do springs too and there's no way I'm compressing one of those.

And, my wife and my neighbor make enough fun of me already just for keeping the car clean and occasionally changing the oil. Just think what slack I'll get if I did a sway self install.

My neighbor tells me that her Lexus dealer washes her car for her when she takes it in.

"Doesn't Acura do that for you?"

Yes, they do...

Scrib

My father is pretty smart when it comes to cars. He says there are two items he tended to steer clear of back when he was in his "prime".

1) Suspension
2) Exhaust

It's not a hard job at all. But 90% of the sawy bar install is really completed if you can get the damn bolts off.

sidemarker

i dont understand what you are doing but here is how i did both sway bar install

for the front jack up the car and remove the tire. this way you dont have to work under the car! place the hand wrench on the bolt then the hex key. turn the wrench so that the key moves and finally stops against a piece of metal. this way you have the key will keep the bolt from just turning. then just turn the wrench until the bolt is loose. next remove the bolts from the brushings. then when you install the bar make sure to go in reverse order! brushings first then end links or you will never get it to work!

the rear is the same procedure but you can do it without lifting the car. also remove the cats heat shield because when you try to remove the front sway it will be in the way. some people would rather just fiddle with it for about 15 mins but the bar gets heavy trying to hold it up and move it around. take of the heat shield and you wont have this problem and it will make the install a lot smoother!

sidemarker

Scrib

So you're saying to tyurn with the hex key instead of the 14mm wrench???

Hmmm... I still don't think it would have worked in my case. The fockin' nuts were really on there tight. Somebody must have had the impact wrench set way too high when my car was assembled.

cody02

Not trying to rub it in but my neuspeed solid sway came in monday. Got home from work, pulled the car in the garage @ 9:30pm and back out with it installed @ 10:30- and downed a couple of beers. What i really want to tell you is good choice on the neuspeed sway. I took the comptech off to put the neuspeed on and OMG what a difference!!!! Get that thing on man you'll like.....

mretif

the endlinks are a bitch, you need to use both the hex key and the wrench, they are not fun.

On mine it seemed that they messed up the threads because it seemed to be getting harder as i was going on.

Scrib

Yeah, I don't feel like a complete moron, because we knew what we were doing, we just couldn't get the damn end-link nuts off and didn't want to risk stripping something out. Ah well... It's only 100 bucks out of my pocket and I know it'll be done 100% right. Ain't no thang...

t-rd

When I did the rear anti-sway bar on my Accord V6, the shop had to literally melt off the endlinks at the rubber joint using a blow torch. That's 3 years of salt blast outside of Chicago for you. There was no way in getting that off using any tool possible because the rust had fused the bolt/nut together. I ended up paying an extra $50 or so for a new pair of endlinks.

fuzzy02CLS

iTrader: (2)

I took the end links off completely. Then took the whole sway, with the links attached out of the car, & swaped them on a workbench for the front. I found it very easy. But I did have access to a garage with a lift, & air tools. I was done with the whole car in about an hour.

mc222

Well, as I posted last thursday - The fuckin mechanic broke 3 of my 4 stabalizer end links , and I was a sucker and paid for new ones....So Im glad in a sick and twisted way that it happened to smeone else--misery loves company--Hahaha--sorry to sound harsh

mc222

ps - I hope you taped those bad boys - My rear sway is squeakin like a bitch - now Im gonna be greasin it up every couple months

Scrib

SWAY BARS ROCK!!!

Hot damn, the car is a completely different beast. I love em.

The Honda dealer did a wonderfl job. They did use the teflon tape, and I haven't heard any squeaks yet. Everyone in the dealership was looking at my car, and I was even approached by a couple sales people, asking me how I liked it. One even went as far as saying, "It's too bad the '03 Accord doesn't drive and look like yours."

I love my sway bars!!!

Wires

I noticed a huge difference going from stock to Comptech. And about the same difference going from Comptech to the front Neuspeed.

My only bitch: Now I notice on hard corning the suspension bounces a bit as the tires dig in. I guess it's time for springs. I could never push the Comptechs hard enough to get that.

peiqinglong

Scrib...a lil off topic, but were my instructions of any use?

Scrib

Your DIY was great. It made me laugh, because when my Dad and I were under the car trying to get the end-links off, he kept mumbling "How the hell did that guy get these f'in nuts off???"



I was a little unsure about how things would go, but once I got myself under the car and oriented myself with the underside and the pics. you took, it looked like a very easy job. Unfortunately, we couldn't even get past step two.

lead_sled_dog

Same problem here. Tried the "quick and easy" route of spraying them with silicone lub but that lasted about a week. Got a nice big can of grease now ... fortunately, the "re-grease" process takes only minutes. Small price to pay, IMHO, for the improvement in handling.

cody02

I would like to thank you -Wires- for it was your positive comments about you replacing the Comptech hollow sway with the Neuspeed solid sway that encouraged me to do the same. There is a particular long off ramp I have to take every morning to work and with the stock CL, I could get around it without tire sequel at 60mph. After the Comptech sways, the SPC camber kits, and the Teins installed I could get around without tire sequel at 70mph. Tuesday morning after the Monday night Neuspeed swap out and each morning since, I'm got around that same ramp without tire sequel at 80+mph. So the first additional increase of 10 extra MPH cost over $1600, the next increase of 10 extra MPH was less than $200. Get bang for the buck. Thank you again, I’m sure there is but it's hard to image any car being any tighter than this… frickin go-cart. [B]

peiqinglong

Hahah...well at least good to know my DIY was of some sort of help . Hope your enjoying the sways! Pics!!!!

AztecRol

iTrader: (2)

DON'T EVER ASK peiqinglong how to get your nuts off!!!!!
You will NOT like the answer!!!!! It's just NOT RIGHT!!!!!
Oh the nightmares!!!!

lou_RENAMED

Not for nothing Scrib but how much do you bench press maybe you didn't have a good breakfast. I don't see the difficulty taken a bolt off isn't it safe to say the mechanic will be doing the same method but with more strengh. maybe its worth the $100 bucks I think they will be better spent on a gym membership.

Scrib

:pfawk:





P.S. I don't think it was because I forgot to eat my Wheates.


P.S.S. :pfawk:

lou_RENAMED

peiqinglong

Hey homo! When I checked...you didn't have any nuts...

lou_RENAMED

OUCH!!!! that was below the belt....

Scrib

:sqnteek:

Eh??? You checked??? That'd make you a man-lover too.

lou_RENAMED

I thought I would never use this but here it goes you made me

:fag:

peiqinglong

No...I'm his doctor

Scrib

Oh. That's OK, then.

Loseit

iTrader: (1)

you didn't eat your spinach!!