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- Century (https://www.buickforum.com/forum/century-22/)

- - Broken sway bar (https://www.buickforum.com/forum/century-22/broken-sway-bar-567/)

So I have my 2000 Century in at the repair shop and they say it's a broken sway bar. A guy I work with says I would have had to hit a battleship to break the sway bar. It's got 123,000 miles on it. The shop wants $1000 total for the bar, new bushings, labor, etc. Am I getting taken?

I think so. I agree that it is unlikely that you broke the sway bar, but the links could very well be broken/disconnected. I can't imagine they would cost more than $50 or so.

Have them show you the broken bar!

yeah ur gettin ripped off. dont let them do the work. a brand new bar is prob 200 bucks. and u can get a new pair of zinc coated links complete withe poly bushings from energy for 15 bucks. soooo 800 bucks worth of labor is b.s. that shop is a bunch of crooks.

and u could prob get a used sway bar for 50 or so.

Thanks guys. I'm going back to my "old" mechanic - I can trust the guy.

a friend i work with wanted me to drive her car today, said it was making intermittant clunking noises, and indeed it is. sway bar is broke both side where the bar is crimped for the links to hook up. links are fine. found a new sway bar at autozone for 130 bucks. how hard is this thing going to be to change? if the subframe needs dropped im going to recommend just tieing it up out of the way. yes i know a sway bar helps with stability, but dont think it will harm much here not being there. owner is a60 y/o woman who rarely leaves the city limits. oh, and this car is a 2000 buick century as well.

Shouldn't need to on Y2k Century but we did when mine broke. If you have room to get it out w/o the exhaust in the way it can be done. not sure what year it was when the steering was changed making the subframe a nightmare when you drop it. 2000 they went with an entire engine refresh. The bar you got "weighed a ton" was Dorman correct? You will see what I mena when you yank the old bar off. also note the way the bar curves in the middle when pulling the old one out. Use all parts that come with that new sway bar cause the old stuff is not going to work. the new bar is larger than whats on the car, she may or may not notice the difrence besides the rattles no longer being there.

Quote:

1. Raise and support the vehicle on jackstands.

2. Matchmark the stabilizer bar to the mounting bracket for installation.

3. Remove the two nuts attaching the clamps for the stabilizer bar to the lower control arms. Do not remove the studs from the control arm.

4. Remove the bolts which attach the retaining plates to the engine cradle on both sides. The retaining plate covers and holds the stabilizer bar.

5. Disconnect and remove the exhaust pipe and crossover if necessary.

6. Pull the stabilizer bar down and remove, then remove the insulators.

To install:

7. Install the insulators to the ends of the stabilizer bar.

8. Align the stabilizer bar to the matchmarks and attach the stabilizer to the frame.

To aid in stabilizer bar installation, a pry hole has been provided in the engine cradle.

9. Install the reinforcements to each side at the frame, then tighten the reinforcement bolts to 40 ft. lbs. (55 Nm).

10. Secure the insulator clamps to the control arms and tighten the attaching nuts to 32 ft. lbs. (43 Nm).

11. Lower the vehicle.

I can post a video when I get home. YouTube is blocked on this computer I'm on now.

awesome info! thanks! found it cheaper (but still the same dorman part) at o'reillys. 99.99 , just hope it goes well!