I need another doohickey identified, if someone could help me out.

[y0diggity]

I was changing my rotors and pads yesterday and I noticed that I have this thing that's broken on both sides. I'm hoping someone can tell me what it is and what it does and how difficult it's going to be to replace.
Below are some pictures. Hopefully you can see them, if not, let me know and I'll figure out why not.
Thanks guys.

 

[Ed Blown Vert]

Thats your sway-bar. You must lean quit a bit on turns.

 

[y0diggity]

Not sure if I do or not. It's probably been like that since I bought it, so I wouldn't really have anything to compare it to. So do I just replace that on part that goes between the two? If so, do I just tell them I want a sway bar and then bolt it in on the top and bottom? More info please What's entailed in the repair of this item?

**edit** Is this the "sway bar link kit" at the parts store?

 

[95TwinTT]

You should not need the bar itself. Just the bolt and the nylon fittings that were lost when it broke.

Is the other side the same way?

Call the parts store and tell them your sway bar bolts broke. See what they have in stock. A GM Dealer should have the parts on the shelf.....

 

[Ed Blown Vert]

The bar is still there, you need the ends like 95TwinTT says.

 

[General Stalin]

Yeah, I hate those things. So cheap and flimsy, it's a wonder why they don't break more often.

 

[DJTricky]

you can make your own like i did. If you want info pm me. I made some really high performance looking ones that dont flex at all

 

[y0diggity]

I installed the new ones, but something doesn't seem right. I ran out of thread on the bolt, and there's still play between the ends. The sleeve and the two inside bushings move freely. Is this ok, or did I install it wrong? Pictures are below, as always.

 

[Ed Blown Vert]

Nope its not tight enough. Everything should be snugged together.
Are they the correct parts?

 

[y0diggity]

The guy gave me Duralast part # SL93. I checked the website and that's what's listed their too. I assume that there needs to be a bushing on each side of each end of it, right? Not all 4 bushings go in the middle, do they? If so, then I have it put together wrong, but that would definitely snug it up.

 

[Ed Blown Vert]

Thats correct, two bushings on each end.

You sure the threads dont' go farther down??

 

[y0diggity]

I'll double check tomorrow, but the nut locked up right there. It wasn't turning anymore. lol

 

[992door]

I dont know why but i found that funny

 

[mikeykey]

Is it possibly upside-down?

 

[y0diggity]

Is it possibly upside-down?

I don't think so. The threaded end is pretty long and would hit on the part above the sway bar. Besides, the amount of room between the ends of the part are going to be the same no matter which end is which.

The only thing that I can see that is going to change the fit is changing the positioning of the bushings. So instead of one outside and one inside on each end, I'd have to put 2 inside and none outside. At that point, I think the part would last about 2 hours before it gave out.

Is there something that the previous owner could have done to the vehicle that would cause these parts to not align properly?

Another question - Do you think that if I filled that gap with washers or something similar it would work?

 

[Ed Blown Vert]

The long threaded end should be near the sway-bar.

 

[y0diggity]

The long threaded end should be near the sway-bar.

OK, so the threads point up? I can do that. I'll swap it this afternoon.

 

[Ed Blown Vert]

OK, so the threads point up? I can do that. I'll swap it this afternoon.

Yes. That will allow you to tighten down on the bushings.

 

[y0diggity]

Flipped one around and it tightened down a little more, but still not nearly tight enough. I plan to stop by Home Depot on the way home this afternoon and grab some washers to take up the remainder of the slack in it. I'm thinkin' that should work. That or the front wheels will fall off. Either way, I will have accomplished something...

 

[ravingmadman]

My vote- take the part back, and get the right one. This is going to affect how your rig does in the corners. I see that this is the driver's side, which means when you turn left, your rig will corner correctly, but when you turn right, your rig will feel less stable. If you're doing any hauling, or going fast, this will get old really fast. If this is just a DD, that never gets abused, go for the washers, I guess, but they owe you the correct part. My $0.02.