RS4 Swaybar install

**A4p** · 10-17-2008 06:15 AM

anyone know before you install the RS4swaybar do you need to load the rear suspension before you install the RS4swaybar??

**A4p** · 10-17-2008 06:40 AM

[QUOTE=old guy]No you do not. The sway bar rotates freely up and in the bushings.

thanks :)

**G Men 08** · 10-17-2008 07:09 AM

yes
just have it up on ramps, thats what i did, and what i was told any ways

**A4p** · 10-20-2008 02:00 AM

now i am confused...

**B6Lovin** · 10-20-2008 02:14 AM

it can be done with the suspension unloaded but it might be easier to get the end link bolts in on the lower arms if it is.

**PCYC** · 10-21-2008 02:40 PM

i need a new sway bar i want some H bars bad

**A4p** · 10-21-2008 04:01 PM

go with OEM dude. just remember to get the bigger arms, and rubber....

**dougyfresh** · 10-21-2008 04:13 PM

I had the suspension loaded. It helped a lot with lining up the end links.

Unloading the suspension puts strain on the end links and makes it very painful to hook them up to the sway bar.

**A4p** · 10-21-2008 04:35 PM

hmmm.. that is why my dealer took so long to install the swaybar.. also read in a4mods that, when you insall coilovers you need to load the suspension somewhere wich i dont know, i think it is the front. so my plan is, I will buy a set of bilstein pss9's following the diy from a4mods, and reinstall the swaybar while the rear suspension is loaded.

**old guy** · 10-21-2008 05:47 PM

Originally Posted by A4p

hmmm.. that is why my dealer took so long to install the swaybar.. also read in a4mods that, when you insall coilovers you need to load the suspension somewhere wich i dont know, i think it is the front. so my plan is, I will buy a set of bilstein pss9's following the diy from a4mods, and reinstall the swaybar while the rear suspension is loaded.

The question you asked was do you need to load the suspension when installing the sway bar. The short answer is no you do not. However, the easiest way to install it is to drive up on a set of ramps and go at it. Shouldn't take any more than Â½ hour. It doesn't matter how your dealer installed it, loaded or unloaded. It has no bearing on how it functions after it is installed. The bar moves freely up and down in the bushings. The only difference being loaded or unloaded makes is how easy it is to get to the end links. So taking it out and reinstalling it will only serve to give you a little more modding experience. It will not change how it functions.

Now the suspension is a different story. It is essential that you have the control arms in the loaded position before you tighten the bushings. These need to be tightened in the neutral or "loaded" position. The bushings do not move freely like the sway bar bushings and if you tighten them in the unloaded position, when you load the bushings they will be in a permanently "flexed" position and will wear out prematurely. They will also begin to squeak like a mofo as they wear out.

Cheers!