FYI: 034 Solid Rear Sway Bar - Replacement Bushing Availability

[walky_talky20]

I have the 034 Solid Rear [Anti] Sway bar installed on my car. I love it, and you should get one too. Completely changes the responsiveness of the car. And you get to lift a rear wheel when pulling into the Burger King....so that's pretty cool. Buy one here:
https://store.034motorsport.com/034m...djustable.html

Anyway, after having it installed for a few years and maybe 75k miles, it developed a failure of the bushings. Some looseness and rattling over bumps that I first thought was a bad stabilizer link, but was actually worn bushings. I contacted 034 to inquire about where to get more bushings, as they do no list replacement bushings on their website. I specifically inquired if they were using an off-the-shelf bushing that I could acquire myself, perhaps locally. They did not give me that information, but were nice about getting me a price on a custom order for just the bushings. The price was $26 shipped. Not bad.

I did inform 034 that I would be a little bit upset if I determined these were something that were available to me locally and cheaper. For one, I would be paying more just because they have secret information and I'm in the dark, which makes me feel more like a mark than a customer. And secondly, because I would be needlessly waiting on cross-country shipping from California when I could have had the things that afternoon. Turns out that I am slightly upset because they were indeed available locally AND cheaper. I don't feel like I got gouged, but I do feel like they were not up front with me, especially when I specifically asked them to be. I understand they are under no obligation to give me that information. I also understand that I am under no obligation to keep their secret. ;)

So, for any others that need replacement bushings, I am sharing the numbers:

- Energy Suspension bushing kit 9.5161G (or 9.5161R, if you want red bushings). These are the exact, greasable bushings that 034 provides. You also get free brackets that you won't use.
- Alternative is Energy Suspension kit 9.5129G (or R). These are non-greasable type. I believe they may be a little more compliant. I haven't tried these yet, but they should be a direct fit.

I found these kits available from $13 shipped. And one reseller - DST - sells them for $22 shipped with a free lifetime warranty. Here's that link:
http://www.energysuspensionparts.com/9.5161#2681

Do note that the initial run of 034 bars used different, much thinner bushings, along with an aluminum spacer plate to move the bar away from the subframe:


The bushings I describe in this thread are the updated, thicker bushings that use taller brackets and do not require the spacer plate:

[UCFQuattroguy]

Good Information. Thanks!

[034Motorsport]

Thanks for the post! We'll also be offering affordable replacements on our site soon.

[Seerlah]

Companies do that all the time. For example, throw out bearing for my Clutch Masters clutch was bad. CM wanted something like $85 for a replacement. Figuring it couldn't be a one-off tob, took the bad one out to see if I could source an exact replacement that came with the clutch before spending more than I needed. All it was is a stock Sach one. Picked one up for like $20.

[walky_talky20]

My feeling is if they are going to design around a standard, widely available bushing - that is a fantastic benefit to customers and they should use that as a selling point. Not simply for their own benefit, which makes them seem cheaty and disingenuous.

[Kronprinz]

I am not surprised, stuff like this happens all the time. Did you really think 034 manufactured their own bushings, or paid a company to make a small run of custom ones(not cost efficient)? lol

Don't forget that at the end of the day, they are just salemen trying to sell you something, bottom line. It is their job.

Don't ever trust a salemen. From my experience, it is best to do your own research, or one day, some salemen will sell you a bridge

[MacDaddy]

I've actually had good luck with the energy suspension bushings on a lot of cars, they offer different diameter sizes and "large" and "small" on a Toyota and a Ford both times the ES bushings fit in the stock bracket

[tar]

I am not surprised, stuff like this happens all the time. Did you really think 034 manufactured their own bushings, or paid a company to make a small run of custom ones(not cost efficient)? lol

Don't forget that at the end of the day, they are just salemen trying to sell you something, bottom line. It is their job.

Don't ever trust a salemen. From my experience, it is best to do your own research, or one day, some salemen will sell you a bridge

This plus if they told you honestly you woulda ran to the forums with a similar thread. Lots of people do this and them giving up suppliers to you is just a bad business decision.