Leaking PS pump killed front sway bar to body bushing. I am ordering a poly replacement. Noticed how wimpy the factory bracket is. I saw the Steeda 555-8112 bracket. I called Steeda they could only tell me its made for their larger sway bar. So I am guessing the sizing for the busing is wrong for factory sized poly bushing. Anyone have an experience with alternate front sway bar brackets or using this Steeda bracket and know for sure a stock bar sized bushing will not work? Trying to get the 88 LX 5.0 worked on this holiday season so we start using it for CAMT in 2024.
aggarcia70
You could have posted a link, but i don't see any bushings listed, only the brackets?
www.steeda.com
Steeda Lightweight Mustang Front Sway Bar Brackets (1987-1993)
A common suspension upgrade for Fox body Mustang owners is a high performance front sway bar. Yet when you re-use the Ford factory stamped, strap-type brackets to attach that beefy new bar, you never get the full benefit of that upgrade due to excessive flex in the steel original.
www.steeda.com
I have a set on my 94 but with their sway bar. Not sure if it is different for the 94/95 to measure/check.....
I've been looking into this as part of a video I'm making about the Steeda sway bar brackets. I haven't been able to 100% confirm anything because my 1993 LX is still in the process of being built, but I have some notes from my experiments that might help...
I put a poly 1 3/8" bushing that came with my Steeda sway bar into a Steeda sway bar bracket (off of the car), then compared the fitment to 15/16" and 1 5/16" Prothane poly bushings in the Steeda bracket (still off of the car). The Prothane bushings fit into the Steeda bracket. The Steeda bushings were a slightly tighter fit. There was no movement with the Prothane bushings, they just slid in easier. I didn't mount them to the car or onto an OEM sway bar, I was just checking to see if poly bushings for factory Fox sway bars would fit into the Steeda bracket.
The Steeda sway bar has less of a bend where the bushings mount. That could make it difficult for everything to fit together properly. You can see the issue I had with an old 1 3/8" sway bar (with a bend similar to an OEM sway bar) and Steeda Delrin sway bar bushings at the 3:52 mark of this video:
Looking at the OEM sway bar, you might have a similar issue with custom Delrin bushings. I'm going to do more testing in the next couple of months to prove whether or not the Steeda brackets will work with OEM sway bars.
I put a poly 1 3/8" bushing that came with my Steeda sway bar into a Steeda sway bar bracket (off of the car), then compared the fitment to 15/16" and 1 5/16" Prothane poly bushings in the Steeda bracket (still off of the car). The Prothane bushings fit into the Steeda bracket. The Steeda bushings were a slightly tighter fit. There was no movement with the Prothane bushings, they just slid in easier. I didn't mount them to the car or onto an OEM sway bar, I was just checking to see if poly bushings for factory Fox sway bars would fit into the Steeda bracket.
The Steeda sway bar has less of a bend where the bushings mount. That could make it difficult for everything to fit together properly. You can see the issue I had with an old 1 3/8" sway bar (with a bend similar to an OEM sway bar) and Steeda Delrin sway bar bushings at the 3:52 mark of this video:
Looking at the OEM sway bar, you might have a similar issue with custom Delrin bushings. I'm going to do more testing in the next couple of months to prove whether or not the Steeda brackets will work with OEM sway bars.
So I finally received an e-mail reply from Steeda on could their bracket be used with a stock size sway bar -
"Good morning,
These were designed to work with the Steeda front sway bar. If you find a bushing that fits the bracket, with the proper diameter for the factory sway bar, then in theory, it should work."
I tried and the Prothane body mount bushing fit very well. Depending possible rain, I will install this weekend and report back.
"Good morning,
These were designed to work with the Steeda front sway bar. If you find a bushing that fits the bracket, with the proper diameter for the factory sway bar, then in theory, it should work."
I tried and the Prothane body mount bushing fit very well. Depending possible rain, I will install this weekend and report back.
Hotchkis makes the billet aluminum sway bar bushing mounts, too - not specifically for the Mustang, they're just generic bushing brackets. That's another possible option.
Years ago, before they did the billet aluminum ones, they used to use beefed up steel brackets with their big sway bars. That's what I have on the front of my 1st gen CTS-V:
![Image]()
You can see it's just a typical bent strap type steel bushing bracket, but they added gussets to strengthen it. Presumably, if you know how to weld, you could do something similar, and spend a heckuva lot less than the $100 or more for the snazzy billet aluminum ones. I've had those Hotchkis ones on my CTS-V for over a dozen years now with no issues.
Years ago, before they did the billet aluminum ones, they used to use beefed up steel brackets with their big sway bars. That's what I have on the front of my 1st gen CTS-V:
You can see it's just a typical bent strap type steel bushing bracket, but they added gussets to strengthen it. Presumably, if you know how to weld, you could do something similar, and spend a heckuva lot less than the $100 or more for the snazzy billet aluminum ones. I've had those Hotchkis ones on my CTS-V for over a dozen years now with no issues.
RideTech makes a nice set of mounts with their Delrin lined bushing set.
"This is a simple way to eliminate rotational friction in your sway bar. Rubber or Polyurethane mounts can induce as much as 200 lbs of uncontrolled, unpredictable and unwanted spring rate spike into your suspension. These bushings make an immediate and significant seat of the pants improvement in ride quality and handling performance! The Delrin sway bar bushing kit includes a pair of the steel bushing housings, poly bushings and Delrin sleeve inserts."
![Image]()
"This is a simple way to eliminate rotational friction in your sway bar. Rubber or Polyurethane mounts can induce as much as 200 lbs of uncontrolled, unpredictable and unwanted spring rate spike into your suspension. These bushings make an immediate and significant seat of the pants improvement in ride quality and handling performance! The Delrin sway bar bushing kit includes a pair of the steel bushing housings, poly bushings and Delrin sleeve inserts."
Did anyone figure out how to make a delrin bushing fit a fox body front swat bar? Per my measurement, the stock sway bracket is 3" center to center. The Ridetech setup calls for a minimum 3.125" center to center. Im not sure if the MM relocation kit affects this? it just moves the sway bar fore and aft?
Thank you. How did you fabricate the nut plate? Just cut a piece of strap and tap accordingly? I have the MM relocation kit. Pretty easy to drill the rectangular tube to accomodate a 3.5 inch spacing.
I welded nuts to the plate keeping the same height as the originals so it will fit inside the rectangular tube. Using low profile nuts or machining down regular height nuts.
Using the thickest plate possible and just tapping would be way easier.
Using the thickest plate possible and just tapping would be way easier.
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