I need to vent about sway bar bushings...

[jamess]

I noticed a few months ago, while i was washing the mud off the beast, that I have a front right sway bar bushing that is split and about to come out of the bracket. So, i did a little searching online and in the forum, and came to the conclusion that I want to replace them with poly bushings instead of the OEM rubber ones. I mean we are talking about a cheap part here, and one that I would think would be easy to find. i thought since they were so cheap, i might as well do the ones in the rear as well, just for the heck of it.

I did not have any problem getting the rear bushing. I found them, 19mm bushing, pretty quickly and got them ordered. However, I am on my third company trying to get the dang correct front bushings. I ordered a set for the front and went out the replace them way the heck back in July in the sweltering 100 heat. I got the drivers side one off and was trying to put the new one on. Well, it would not fit in the bracket or on the sway bar. I got to looking and I saw they sent me 27mm bushings and the OEM one is marked 26mm. So, I called customer service, they were no help. In the end they gave me my money back and told me to keep the part, that I have no need for. I have noticed that a lot of websites are trying to sell 27mm bushing for the 1996-2001 4Runner. Mine clearly has 26mm bushings. I know, 1mm does not sound like much difference, but, apparently it is.

Second company misplaces my order, says the factory took a vacation, and then finally sent me the part over a month later. Only for me to discover they put front bushings in the box for an MR2. What in the world?! Same story, got money back and kept the parts.

I am now working on trying to get this $13.99 part from a third company.

I just needed to share my pain and see if anyone else has had any similar experiences.

 

[Elton H]

could of saved ur self the hassle and got them from here http://www.wheelersoffroad.com/4runswaykit.htm now they dont say what size but nothing a phone call couldn't solve

 

[JeremyH]

Yep, I've got a set on order from Wheelers!

 

[jamess]

That would have definitely saved me a lot of time. Too bad I did not know about that before hand. If this person does not work out I will definitely be giving them a call. Thanks!

 

[BE4Runner]

Resurrecting an old thread...

I realize this is way old, but I just stumbled onto it because I had the exact same experience tonight. I ordered the front anti-sway kit from Wheeler's, but it appears they sent me 27mm bushings instead of the 26mm originals - I found out when I went to put them on the sway bar.

I've emailed support, so hopefully they can help me out here. I went with Wheeler's despite the higher cost because it seemed like a cool company to support and there were complaints about Prothane's swaybar link bushing sizes, but it seems like I should have just bought the Prothane kit off of Amazon for about half the cost.

 

[jinxed13]

I realize this is way old, but I just stumbled onto it because I had the exact same experience tonight. I ordered the front anti-sway kit from Wheeler's, but it appears they sent me 27mm bushings instead of the 26mm originals - I found out when I went to put them on the sway bar.

I've emailed support, so hopefully they can help me out here. I went with Wheeler's despite the higher cost because it seemed like a cool company to support and there were complaints about Prothane's swaybar link bushing sizes, but it seems like I should have just bought the Prothane kit off of Amazon for about half the cost.

ill never spend another dollar at wheelers. i bought my uca's and coilovers from them at a fair price. but then i ordered a grease pump from them thinking i could trust them. hahah, turned out the part number was the exact same as harbor freight. so i paid 150% of going down the street but then have to wait a week.

 

[JayRolla]

I realize this is way old, but I just stumbled onto it because I had the exact same experience tonight. I ordered the front anti-sway kit from Wheeler's, but it appears they sent me 27mm bushings instead of the 26mm originals - I found out when I went to put them on the sway bar.

I've emailed support, so hopefully they can help me out here. I went with Wheeler's despite the higher cost because it seemed like a cool company to support and there were complaints about Prothane's swaybar link bushing sizes, but it seems like I should have just bought the Prothane kit off of Amazon for about half the cost.

It seems most 4runners run the 27mm. Us 26mm are the odd balls. I've yet to figure out why we have 26mm bushings and others don't. I had to run bushings from both kits to make complete set. PITA

 

[BE4Runner]

I'm still working with Wheeler's support, who are rightfully questioning to make sure I have a stock swaybar, etc. I am the second owner of the 4Runner, but I'm positive it's the stock swaybar and I know the bushing is stock, as it is a Toyota OEM part # 4881535100, with a '26' marking on it, indicating the 26mm inner diameter.

 

[JayRolla]

I'm still working with Wheeler's support, who are rightfully questioning to make sure I have a stock swaybar, etc. I am the second owner of the 4Runner, but I'm positive it's the stock swaybar and I know the bushing is stock, as it is a Toyota OEM part # 4881535100, with a '26' marking on it, indicating the 26mm inner diameter.

Your bar is stock. No one would go smaller. Its just there are some that are different. I had the same issue on my 1996 Limited

I originally purchased this part#. It came with 27mm which where too big but the 4 end link bushings where perfect.
Energy Suspension 8 5118G Sway Bar Bushing Set Black Performance Polyurethane | eBay

I then bought this kit. The correct 26mm bushings but the end link bushings where way to big which can be seen in the pictures. I used both kits to make a complete kit.
18 1115 BL Prothane Polyurethane 26mm Front Sway Bar Bushing Kit 4Runner 96 01 | eBay

GOOD LUCK.

 

[EvilMole]

I'm still working with Wheeler's support, who are rightfully questioning to make sure I have a stock swaybar, etc. I am the second owner of the 4Runner, but I'm positive it's the stock swaybar and I know the bushing is stock, as it is a Toyota OEM part # 4881535100, with a '26' marking on it, indicating the 26mm inner diameter.

The 26mm Energy Suspension bushings I ordered from Amazon were too big to fit into the bracket. It may have been better to order the 26mm Prothane bushings instead. I don't know. I wasn't about to keep ordering different bushings just to find one that fit the bracket. I just went to the dealer and bought the 26mm Toyota bushings. Perfect fit, Done!

 

[JayRolla]

The 26mm Energy Suspension bushings I ordered from Amazon were too big to fit into the bracket. It may have been better to order the 26mm Prothane bushings instead. I don't know. I wasn't about to keep ordering different bushings just to find one that fit the bracket. I just went to the dealer and bought the 26mm Toyota bushings. Perfect fit, Done!

That is strange. The 26mm are the small ones. Sounds like you ended up with 27mm like the OP.

 

[BE4Runner]

Jay, thanks for the info.

Odd that the folks at Wheeler's told me they've been selling this kit for 10 years with only 1 complaint (a 2000 Sport model). Either that's not true or there are a lot of people driving around with loose swaybar bushings.

I'm debating whether to go through the hassle of returning to Wheeler's, since the link bushings look to be good, and they also sent 4 bump stops (not sure exactly where these all go, I haven't looked for them yet on the truck). I may just pick up the Prothane 26mm in addition to this kit and call it a day.

Jay, have you had any trouble with your swaybar bushings squeaking? How often do you grease them?

 

[JayRolla]

Jay, thanks for the info.

Odd that the folks at Wheeler's told me they've been selling this kit for 10 years with only 1 complaint (a 2000 Sport model). Either that's not true or there are a lot of people driving around with loose swaybar bushings.

I'm debating whether to go through the hassle of returning to Wheeler's, since the link bushings look to be good, and they also sent 4 bump stops (not sure exactly where these all go, I haven't looked for them yet on the truck). I may just pick up the Prothane 26mm in addition to this kit and call it a day.

Jay, have you had any trouble with your swaybar bushings squeaking? How often do you grease them?

The bump stops in the wheelers kit are for the front control arms.

I greased them at install and never touch them again. I have installed poly bushings on every bushing available on cars prior with zero squeaks.

But again it has been known to happen.

 

[foo]

It seems most 4runners run the 27mm. Us 26mm are the odd balls. I've yet to figure out why we have 26mm bushings and others don't. I had to run bushings from both kits to make complete set. PITA

It seems to be a very common issue that people have to buy BOTH kits just to get front swaybar bushings that fit properly.

Today I measured my stock original sway bar and endlink rods with calipers to be:
1. Sway bar midpoint diameter was 1.042 inches (roughly 26.5mm)
2. Endlink bar midpoint diameter was 0.395 inches (roughly 10.0mm)

I called both companies to get sizes, and I was disappointed that they both seemed to be wholly unaware of the mismatched size problem.
1. Energy Suspensions 8.5118{R,G} kit: 888-913-6374 (the problem is apparently the swaybar body bushing size at 27mm is too big by 1mm)
2. Prothane #18-1115 kit: 888-776-8426 (the problem is apparently the endlink bushing size, at 0.600 inches is huge with roughly 5.5mm of slop!)

Domenic at Prothane told me the bushings should be undersized by 20 thousandths of an inch (0.5mm) for a proper fit.

Given that and the diameter of my positively stock OEM sway bar and endlinks, the size of the bushings should be:
1. Sway bar body bushings should be 26mm (1.024 inches)
2. Endlink rod bushings should be 9.5mm (0.375 inches or 3/8-inch)

I'm still confused about what sizes are actually shipped in the two kits, but it seems that the right sizes can only be obtained by getting
1. The 26mm (1.024 inch) swaybar body bushing from Prothane
2. The 9.5mm (3/8th-inch) endlink rod bushings from Energy Suspensions

Since it's unfair to have to purchase both kits just to get one fit, does anyone suggest a DIFFERENT kit manufacturer who has the part sizes right?

Lots more detail in this thread:
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-g...er-part-under-my-4runner-makes-noise-now.html

 

[SFsquared]

Any luck sourcing a 26mm/9.5mm sway bar bushing kit?

FWIW - I ordered the front sway bar bushing kit from Wheelers Off-Road along with some long travel Bilsteins for the rear of my Runner. They never sent me the bushings, and I had to call/email numerous times to recieve a refund. Furthermore, the dude who handles ordering/customer service is rather rude, and doesn't like to be bothered with questions regarding the compatibility of the products they sell. This seems very strange given that they are selling after market parts for modded trucks. I would imagine that you would want someone friendly and knowledgable to handle customers questions regarding compatibility and the like. I am generally more apt to highlight positive experiences with businesses as opposed to dwelling on the negative, but this particular experience stuck with me.

 

[Capnemo]

Any luck sourcing a 26mm/9.5mm sway bar bushing kit?

I know this is a 5 year old thread, but I am looking for the proper front sway bar bushing kit for my 1997 Limited and it too has the 26mm center/9.5mm ends links.

Anyone have any luck?

 

[KaletheVeggie]

Any luck sourcing a 26mm/9.5mm sway bar bushing kit?

I know this is a 5 year old thread, but I am looking for the proper front sway bar bushing kit for my 1997 Limited and it too has the 26mm center/9.5mm ends links.

Anyone have any luck?

I bought these and they fit well and worked great. Be sure to grease them with grease that is safe for poly bushings.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01EXKUA34/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Mudeprived]

Jeeps have this issue too. I think there are 3 different diameter sway bars. I remember getting a size too big so I wrapped a few layers of duct tape on the bar and it fit. It gave me no issues for years.

 

[Capnemo]

I bought these and they fit well and worked great. Be sure to grease them with grease that is safe for poly bushings.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01EXKUA34/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

What size are your end links? 12mm or 3/8" (9.5mm)....Or did you not measure them?

 

[VernySanders]

Energy suspension and done. Next time do your research. I dont think if on your end as an informed and researched consumer youd allow yourself to end up with MR2 parts. Pay attention to what you're ordering. Even if a company has something mislabeled and you purchase it without looking at a part number you dont deserve your money back. Just my oppinion.