My 84 Z has been having problems with the driver side sway bar bracket for a little while now. it works its way loose from the frame and makes a little noise when I go over bumps. it dont seem to get real loose just enough to shift and make noise. Well while I was tightening them back up again tonight the one that goes through the bottom of the bracket into the frame decided that it was gonna be a pain and break the nut loose from the inside of the frame, all other bolts are tight so the bracket is alright as it is. So heres the question I have, would it work if I were to just tighten it down real well and then just weld the stupid thing fast to the frame and be done with it. I also plan on putting a wonder bar on it eventually and was wondering if it would cause any problems with it, I was thinking it would help that out by makeing the mount more solid to the frame.I would appriciate anny ideas, comments and or suggestions on this.

Thanks,
Travis

 

to make this a little easier to explain Im attatching a pic of the bolt that just spins.

 

my tds bar doesnt even have that hole/bolt. I dont think its really needed, more just for install assistance.

 

ok but that bolt is needed to help hold the bracket onto the frame for the swaybar itself so would it hurt to let that bolt go and weld the bracket to the frame? Thats my real question here.

 

The bolt you pointed out is only used for a 'wonderbar'. It has no relevance to the sway bar itself. And whatever you do, don't weld the sway bar bracket to the 'frame.' Then, if the bushing cracked that goes around the sway bar, you would have to unweld it, or chisel it off, and that could be a pain in the @ss. Plus, if you welded the bracket to the frame, you wouldn't be able to install a 'wonderbar.' Hope that helps.

 

Im not talking about welding the sway bar loop to the bracket. the part that loop bolts to is just a bracket that then bolts to the frame part. that bolt goes through the wonderbar then through the bracket then into the frame itself.

 

You mentioned adding a wonderbar but from the pic it looks like you already have one. Did I miss something or do I not know thirdgens as well as I think I do?

If the threads have stripped it should be easy enough to drill the hole and retap it for a larger bolt. I did this on stipped threads for a bolt on my transmission crossmember.

 

Oh! Okay, sorry for the misunderstanding. Now I get what you are saying. Why not just get a new nut and tighten it down on the bolt as tight as you can get it? That should work. If it doesn't, then you might need to weld it.

Oh, and that is not his car. He borrowed someone elses pic to show where the problem was occuring. If only I would have thought outside of the box.

 

Well heres the deal I talked to a guy I work with who specializes in suspension and he told me that I should just weld it and be done with it. I am taking it to his house where he has a really good welder and stuff to do it there. This will make it alot stronger and when I put the wonderbar on Ill use the other holes that bolt the sway bar to the bracket which should be plenty of support. I cant just put another nut on it because there is no access to it whatsoever. so its off to the welder to make my front suspension stiffer than what it alredy is.

 

Well, at least you know someone who can weld it. That is certainly better than paying someone a fortune to weld a little bracket. I hope it turns out well for you.