[bearda]

I installed a Progress Version 2 (with the stoppers) on Saturday, and the difference so far has been amazing. When driving home from Virginia last night I realized the rear was making the dreaded clunk every time I went over a small bump in the road (very small, like where a bridge meets the pavement). When I installed the bar I torqued the 4 bushing bolts to 38lbs, per the 30-40 ft-lbs spec. I didn't have a way to use my torque wrench on the endlink nuts (I'd never heard of a crowfoot extension at the time), but I tried to get them about as tight as I could. I applied Blue Loctite to all six bolts.

I tried tightening the lower two bushing bolts by hand and couldn't get them any tighter with my ratcheting wrench, and the endlink don't seem loose. At the moment I don't have a 14mm open wrench (I borrowed one at the time) so I can't verify the tightness on the endlink nuts, and I don't have a deep socket to try to tighten the upper bushing bolts. I have the crowfoot extension and 14mm deep socket on order right now.

My two questions now are:
1) How bad is this? The clunk is annoying as shit, but am I damaging something by driving the car in it's current condition? I'm hoping to get the socket and crowfoot in, put the car on the ramps, and retorque the hell out of everything. Do I need to address this immediately, or can I fix it in a week when I get the tools?
2) What did I do wrong? As far as I can tell I did everything right. It's the progress bar with the stoppers, I was under the impression it was clunk-free if installed correctly. Should I have waited for the bushings to settle, should I have over-torqued the bolts, should I have REALLY used the torque wrench on the endlink nuts?

Thanks!

 

[bearda]

Re: HELP NEEDED: Clunk with Progress V2 Rear Sway Bar

Nobody has a clue on this? This clunk is really bothering me, as I know know if I'm royally screwing up my suspension by driving it or what. As soon as the tools come in I'm going to loosen and retighten everything, but if that doesn't work I feel like I'm going to have to put the stock bar back on.

Does anybody know what the clunk is, and if it's causing long-term damage?

 

[bearda]

Re: HELP NEEDED: Clunk with Progress V2 Rear Sway Bar

[quote author=zimmerDN link=topic=74272.msg1421372#msg1421372 date=1179514551]
Did you get it resolved yet?
[/quote]

The clunking problem, yes. I ended up just overtorquing the endlink nuts and that seemed to get rid of it.

Now I'm getting a weird ticking from back of the car when sitting idle, like at a stop light. It's not a constant noise, mostly one tick at a time, generally a minute or so apart. It almost sounds like plastic stress, something rubbing or clicking, but it's not like there's a lot of vibration on the back end when sitting idle that was cause motion.

It's not nearly as bad as the clunking was, however. The ticking is annoying, but I can deal with it.

 

[bearda]

[quote author=zimmerDN link=topic=74272.msg1536722#msg1536722 date=1183576014]
So even the new progress bars that are selling right now will still have that clunk? Meaning they didn't do squat to fix it.
[/quote]

The new bar did fix my problem once I torqued the endlink nuts down pretty hard. I'd say the V2 bar is pretty effective once you get it set up right.

 

[bearda]

[quote author=MZ3FRS link=topic=74272.msg1536821#msg1536821 date=1183581809]
Really; well maybe I'll have to get under the car again and have a look. Did you use a tq wrench, or just crank the hell out of them?

Also, do you happen to know what size allen the endlink uses? iirc my set didn't quite have the right size.
[/quote]

Yes, I did use a torque wrench. You'll need a 14mm crowsfoot extension, though. I'd strongly suggest using some thread-locking compound.

No clue what size allen wrench it uses. I just pulled my set under the car with me and kept trying until I found one that fit.

 

[bearda]

[quote author=SportWagN link=topic=74272.msg1537781#msg1537781 date=1183652511]
Im guessing that with the aftermarket sway bars, they sell or give polyurethane bushing? If so did you lube them good. Most of the time what they supply you with doesnt work well. I had energy bushings on my last car and added a synthetic lube (in a tube). Worked great. If you dont you will get sqeaking.
[/quote]

They supplied polyurethane bushings with my progress bar, and some silicon lube. I rotated the bushing around the bar a few times and it seemed to be pretty well lubed, but it may be worth double-checking if you're having issues.