Replacing Front Sway Bar Bushings NOT the sway bar links
Tools required:
Wrench
WD-40 (to lubricate old bolts, to clean bolt holes)
Regular/any cleaning cloth (to clean bushing brackets)
Old toothbrush (to brush clean bolts)

Parts involved:
Diagram part #2: 51306-S87-A01 Bushing - 2 pieces - $3.15 ea
Diagram part #3: 51308-SW3-000 Bracket - 2 pieces - $1.30 ea
Diagram part #27: 95801-10018-08 Bolt (10x18) - 4 pieces (2 on each bracket) - $9.09 ea

I bought my parts from Acura of Troy in MI.

Instructions:
1. Put the car on jack stands. Front left and front right. So you have access to the sway bar.

2. Locate the 2 bushings, each on the left and right of the exhaust pipe. Just follow along the sway bar and there are two bushings holding the bar to the frame. See attachment diagram, Part 2. 3. 27.

(Replacing the bushings one side at a time is recommended to keep support to sway bar's weight and not just letting it hanging)

3. Spray WD-40, penetrating grease, whatever your preference is (i just used WD-40) to all 4 bolts. This is to help loosen up the 4 bolts (2 on each bushing bracket). This is done to ease the unbolting since when the bushings are due to be replaced, it would have been some age to the bolts and undercarriage, hence seizure and rusts. (Luckily my bolts were not seized)

4. Unscrew the 2 bolts holding the bracket which houses the bushing. Take off the bracket.

(Remember how tight the bolts were when you first trying to take them off. This is because, Acura spec for those hard bolts are 29 lb-ft of torque, and if you don't have a torque wrench, hand tightening is possible, just remember the feeling so you know not to over tighten and screw it up "pun intended")

See here for torque spec

5. Clean off any dirt on the bracket with cloths. Brush clean the bolts if you are reusing them. Spray WD-40 into the screw holes to clean and let it drip a little (to let out any dirt left from the rusty screws)

6. Move on to this step while letting the WD-40 do its job. Shuffle the old bushing along the sway bar towards the centre of the car until it ALMOST comes loose between the frame and sway bar. (I did this to make space for the new bushing while keeping a sufficient gap between the frame and sway bar to slot in the new bushing)

For example, when working on the driver side bushing, shuffle the old bushing to the right. Shuffle to the left for passenger side bushing.

7. While the old bushing is almost free to come off, put on the new bushing from the wheel side of the old bushing. Shuffle the new bushing into position.

(Remember to grease the bushing before you put it on! Whether you are using poly-e, graphite impregnated, whatever material is made from, there's no harm in greasing it to avoid unwanted noise from a dried-out bushing)

(Remember to match the position of the bushings. Original Acura bushing has the split facing the rear of the car, and you can confirm what you are doing because the old bushing is still sitting right next to it on the sway bar)

8. Now that the new bushing is in place. Take off the old bushing.

9. Clean off excess WD-40 if any left in the area. Put on the bracket (there is no particular direction the bracket goes on, its symmetrical) and screw bolts back in place. (Tighten it to spec. 29lb-ft or approx. the feeling you had when taking the bolts off)

******** If NOT using torque wrench, be careful not to over tighten it and mess up the internal threads, but MAKE SURE it is tight! It should be tight that is not easily removable with little force. You don't want the bracket to come loose and fall off and have the sway bar hang freely while you are driving. It's also on top of the exhaust pipe that could possibly be damaged if the sway bar comes loose and hit against it. ********

10. One side done! Repeat for the other side.


Please see attachment for the parts diagram and parts code from Acura. I used Acura parts because I did not intend to do any modification, just purely a replacement job as the old ones were worn. You can search up in the forum for other aftermarket parts recommended by other users.

Sorry that I did not take pictures because I wasn't going to write this DIY and my hand would be dirty that I don't want to put my gloves on and off. All in all, this is a very simple job. I am not a newbie, but I can only call myself medi-core at most working on my car. This job in total should not take more than 1 hour if everything went smoothly. Bolt off, replace bushing, bolt back on. Take care preparing. Examine the old bushing, look at the condition of the old bolts, be prepared, go through procedures in your head before working on it.

PS. If you have been searching for write ups for replacing the front sway bar bushings like I did, you would have came across a "Redneck" method that involves bending of the brackets. It could be that I miss understood the intention/situation in which the Redneck method is for, but replacing the front sway bar bushings, it is a very simple job described above. You should not need to manipulate/forcefully alter any parts. No other components are touched besides the bushings (and of course the bracket and the bolts).

PS2. If you have time, check to see if the old bolts and brackets can be reused to save money. However I don't have time, so I just ordered all new parts from Acura (bolts, brackets, bushings) and my total came to $30 for two sets (driver and passenger side).

PS3. To my knowledge, this procedure applies to 2G TL and TL-S. I did this on my 2000 TL (base).

PS4. To clarify again, the instructions are for Front Sway Bar Bushings. NOT the Sway Bar links.
PS5. Please correct me if I have made any mistakes.
PS6. Please comment below to better educate me of any valuable information.
PS7. Hi admin, I am writing this post because I have been search around internet and here on the forum but did not find a formal write-up for fsb bushing replacement. Hopefully its good enough to go into the DIY section for 2G TLs. =]

 

First off, thanks for taking the time to post the d.i.y. I've only got one step I think you should do differently. Lubrication is not a good idea on factory type bushings. The rubber is designed to grip the bar and flex, unlike urethane and some others that allow the bar to move without twisting the bushing.

 

arrh, i see, thank you for the info! is there anyway i can edit the original post to correct?

 

It is much easier to do if you remove both bushing at the same time, the stabilizer links will hold it, then pry off the bracket from the bushing then remove the bushing sliding it down the bar is a waist of time and does nothing for you.