Broken front sway bar mount (1 Viewer)

[BEG]

Been chasing a clunking sound in my front suspension since Sunday and found the culprit:

Broke the frame mount when I hit a hole in a water crossing a little faster than I should have, but it was obviously on its way out. Is anyone fabbing a replacement bracket for these? I know it's a common failure because of the AC dripping directly on to it.

 

[gatormark91]

That isn't a frame "mount". There is no separate mount. The bracket bolts through the frame into captive nuts, on the back side of the frame from the bracket. You can see one of the captive nuts in your photo, which is not a good thing. :-(

You actually ripped out the part of the frame that the bracket bolts into. Which is pretty surprising, I'd have figured the sway bar bolts would have been rusty enough to go before that. Can't see from the photo, but if the bracket is completely loose, I'd bet the front bolt broke, and that let the bar twist the rear part enough to do that damage.

You are going to want to get someone to grind out the damaged section and weld in a new piece of plate to fix that and restore the strength there. Once that is fixed, you can just through-bolt the bracket back in place.

On mine, the rusted bolt broke off in the captive nut. Knocked the nut off the frame with a chisel and dumped the sway bar.

 

[BEG]

That isn't a frame "mount". There is no separate mount. The bracket bolts through the frame into captive nuts, on the back side of the frame from the bracket. You can see one of the captive nuts in your photo, which is not a good thing. :-(

You actually ripped out the part of the frame that the bracket bolts into. Which is pretty surprising, I'd have figured the sway bar bolts would have been rusty enough to go before that. Can't see from the photo, but if the bracket is completely loose, I'd bet the front bolt broke, and that let the bar twist the rear part enough to do that damage.

You are going to want to get someone to grind out the damaged section and weld in a new piece of plate to fix that and restore the strength there. Once that is fixed, you can just through-bolt the bracket back in place.

On mine, the rusted bolt broke off in the captive nut. Knocked the nut off the frame with a chisel and dumped the sway bar.

No, there's no hole on the bottom of the frame, I can confirm that. The part that broke off is definitely on the inside face of the frame, like so (not my pic):

 

[gatormark91]

No, there's no hole on the bottom of the frame, I can confirm that. The part that broke off is definitely on the inside face of the frame, like so (not my pic):

In my world, that is part of the frame if it is welded on.

BUT... you are still SOL for an easy fix. Time to find someone to do some fabricating. There is no replacement available.

 

[BEG]

In my world, that is part of the frame. It's been a while since I looked at mine, and I am at work so couldn't check, so thanks for the correction. BUT... still time to find someone to do some fabricating. There is no replacement available.

No worries, it definitely looks like it could bolt directly to the frame from below (would probably be stronger that way). I was just curious if there were any particular off-the-shelf brackets that could be used instead of fabricating something from scratch.

 

[jmthomas83]

I believe I have the same issue. Experiencing a clunk when going over speed bumps. Taking to the shop this week..

OP - were you able to get yours repaired?

 

[Pucker5]

No, there's no hole on the bottom of the frame, I can confirm that. The part that broke off is definitely on the inside face of the frame, like so (not my pic):

Haha I think that’s mine. I got my s*** reinforces before that happened

 

[FLWookie]

Same thing happended to mine. I made a new bracket out of 2"x2" angle and welded it on so i could bolt the same sway bar bracket and bushing back in.

 

[jmthomas83]

Same thing happended to mine. I made a new bracket out of 2"x2" angle and welded it on so i could bolt the same sway bar bracket and bushing back in.

Good deal. Was it straightforward enough and has held up for you?

I’m not a mechanic so will need to have it done at a shop. Any ballpark on how much the job will set me back? I assume torsion bar will need to be removed, so wondering if now is the time to go ahead and put the OME kit on?

Appreciate any advice.

 

[2001LC]

I saw one just the other day, that looks like is go to break loose. Made me think; I'd better learn wielding or get a relationship with one.

I do not think you can just bolt bushing mount to bottom of frame. The bushing hit right in the bend of stabilizer bar. So we need mount so bushing mount sit just at inner wall of frame.

A few tips to reduce incidence of this happening:
Power wash frequently the undercharge, pay special attention to these brackets front and rear.
Add extender hose to AC drain on DS.
Pack bracket with marine grease, the thickest you can find, Saltwater rated is best. Stuff doesn't wash out.

Remember we've rear bracket also.

 

[FLWookie]

The factory bracket sits right below the passenger AC drain. In the replacement I made I added some reinforcing buttress. But I made sure to leave drain holes in the apex of the angle iron so it would catch water like the factory design does.
A qualified welder/fabricator should be able to fix you up with a new bracket in less than an hour but you’ll want to get new sway bar bushings and caps before you bolt everything back together.

 

[GreyGhostLC100]

Just bought this car and found this... made me fail the NY safety inspection. Will update when fixed. Any advice?

 

[hoser]

@GreyGhostLC100

Front sway bar bracket

Here's a bad picture of mine, My bushing is completely destroyed. Plus all the part numbers

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[GreyGhostLC100]

@GreyGhostLC100

Front sway bar bracket

Here's a bad picture of mine, My bushing is completely destroyed. Plus all the part numbers

forum.ih8mud.com

Thank you!

 

[diego355]

Full front sway bar delete, there's little to no noticeable difference once its removed