034 Sway bar bracket broke and/or fell off

[Pittdawg]

A few months ago I purchased the 034 Motorsports solid rear swaybar for my Q. When it was first installed, the handling improvement was quite noticeable and I was very happy. However, after I had a Magnaflow catback installed, a small portion of the Magnaflow pipe (3 inch vs. >2.5 inch oem) would hit the thicker than oem 034 sway bar and make a loud metal banging noise. I then went to a muffler shop and had them slightly move the pipe further away from the sway bar and all was well. Unfortunately, sometime last week I started hearing what sounded like loose exhaust pipes jiggling underneath the Q so I went back to the muffler shop to figure things out. Once on the lift we saw the bracket on the left side of the sway bar was completely missing, with only the bushing still barely holding on. 1) Do you think this was incorrect bolt torquing by my mechanic or rather the short period of time where the exhaust pipe was hitting the sway bar that caused the bracket to come loose and fall off? Finally, would only the 034 brackets fit on this sway bar? I ask because last Friday I emailed and called 034 about purchasing one bracket and set of bolts only but have not heard back yet.

Let me know your thoughts, thanks.

[robd88]

I would guess the swaybar bracket bolt or bolts were not tightened at the initial install. I don't think the muffler or pipe hitting the swaybar would loosen the bracket.

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[robd88]

Also, make sure the threaded holes for the mounting bolts aren't stripped or cross threaded.

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[robd88]

Also, make sure the threaded holes for the mounting bolts aren't stripped or cross threaded.

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It's possible the bolts may have been installed cross threaded and tightened to where the installer thought they were installed but just felt tight.

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[Pittdawg]

Thank you for your input robd88.

[Mops@Nemesis]

Also, make sure the threaded holes for the mounting bolts aren't stripped or cross threaded.

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This for sure. My bar hardware wasn't properly torqued, the bolt backed out over time, and jacked up the threads in my lower arm at the same time.

So yea, this was 99% an install error. The torque and load must be exactly as the 034 instructions say.

[buggravy]

What Mops said. They definitely seem sensitive to the correct torque specs. Mine backed out a couple weeks after install, but haven't given me any issue in the 1+ year since. It made a hell of a racket when they worked their way loose as well.

[Pittdawg]

Thank you everyone for your input. Interestingly, half the bushings on my Moog endlinks were also missing so just this morning I had my mechanic reinstall new Moog sway bar endlinks and a new bracket and bolts from 034 for the sway bar. Thankfully my mechanic didn't charge me for the labor (although he didn't verbalize it I assume he did so because he knew it was install error) and Rockauto indicated they would refund my money on the defective endlinks upon receipt of the cores. So other than paying for the new bracket it didn't set me back to much.