Addco Swaybars

Addco makes front and rear sway bars for the MK2. This is a very common suspension upgrade as makes the MK2 handle much flatter.

Installation can be done in an afternoon. You will need metric tools, a torque wrench, car ramps and the special polyurethane bushing lube. Some have wrapped some teflon tap on the bar where the swaybar support bushings are. This ensures there are no squeaks.

The stock sway bars are: front 1", rear 5/8". The Addco bars are larger. Front is 1-1/8" and rear is 3/4".

Here is a comparison of the front bars:



Here is a comparison of the rear bars:



The rear bar installation is relatively straight forward. The car should be on ramps, Remove the 2 end link nuts that attach to the control arms, then the 4 swaybar bracket bolts. The Addco bars use straight end links rather than the pivot links as the factory installed.





The front bar installation requires a few modifications to fit.

The front wheels need to be on ramps. Remove the two end links. The two strut rods have two nuts on each control arm. Remove them.

Each bracket has 4 bolts that hold them to the front subframe. Once these are removed, remove the entire assembly.



Remove the 4 bolts that hold the sway bar brackets, then remove the sway bar.

The frame brackets have 2 holes which the sway bar is installed through. The Addco bars ends are slightly larger than these holes. Using a grinder or an agressive round hand file, enlongate the holes so the bar ends will fit through.



The swaybar brackets also need to be modified.



Feed the swaybar through the subframe brackets and position the swaybar bracket bushings, and install the swaybar brackets temporarily (just thread the bolts slightly).



Re-install the entire assembly. The bracket to subframe bolts are torqued to 34 ft-lb. The strut bar to lower control arm is 48 ft-lb.

Install the end links and center the sway bar. Torque the swaybar brackets to 9 ft-lb. Then tighten the end links to 13 ft-lb.

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