I know there have been posts on putting the front sway bar on the rear before but I cant find anything saying how long of endlinks are needed to mount it. Can anyone answer this?

There is a thread on here that gives step by step directions on how to di the mod. They even give domensions for the bolts. Try a sway bar search in the archives. If you have no luck, PM me and I will find mine and measure them for you. I have done this but its not installed due to other mods.

When the sway bar comes off the donor car, keep the mounts and bushings. The end links need to be short. Mine show about 2" between the stoppers. I actually bought a pair of Grade 8 bolts to use instead of the bolts that came with it. I used a block of wood over top of the A arm to make sure the drill didn't drill through the CV boot. I used heavy body screws to attach the mounts to the cradle. It isn't a bad job to do.

Arn

Here is the write up everybody uses.
http://fierozone.tripod.com/weekend/swaybar/

I'm sold on adding a rear sway bar. It made a huge difference on my 87 turbo GT and we will be installing it it on my 3800SC series III. While the use of a front sway bar on the rear of a Fiero is an economical approach to better handling, I still lean towards using the ADDCO 758U sway bar. It a much better fit and you don't sacrifice ground clearance. It s a $150 investment but you only do the job once.

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87GT - with 3800SC Series III engine, 4T65eHD
87GT - 3.4L Turbocharged engine, modified TH125H
" I'M ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "

Dennis, yeah, I've recently put the Fiero Store's rear bar on my 3800SC II Finale. What a difference. Car has a very neutral feel to it now as opposed to a more "tail happy" feel it had before.

quote Originally posted by Dennis LaGrua: I'm sold on adding a rear sway bar. It made a huge difference on my 87 turbo GT and we will be installing it it on my 3800SC series III. While the use of a front sway bar on the rear of a Fiero is an economical approach to better handling, I still lean towards using the ADDCO 758U sway bar. It a much better fit and you don't sacrifice ground clearance. It s a $150 investment but you only do the job once.

even though that one is listed for 84-87 front?

Thanks for the write up.

Comment from previous responder:
" I used a block of wood over top of the A arm to make sure the drill didn't drill through the CV boot"

Please pay heed to this suggestion. I didn't when mounting a front sway bar on the rear of my '87 GT because I thought I could be careful enough to not drill into my CV boot. WRONG! WRONG! WRONG!..........I drilled into the boot and gave myself a whole bunch of extra work and $$$cost. As for the change in feel w/ sway bar in back .......I like it. Bought mine in a U Pull junkyard for $10, and got mounting brackets w/poly bushings @ Autozone. Grade 8 bolts from Tractor Supply.
Good luck, Ray.

I came up with a different solution for mounting the stock front sway bar on the rear. I installed mine so that the cross bar is toward the front of the car, not the rear. The problem with the cross bar in the front is that it will hit the exhaust if bolted directly to the frame. I fabricated two 1/2" thick aluminum spacers which gives plenty of clearance.

The advantages of putting the bar toward the front like this are two:

1) lower polar moment of ineria as the mass of the bar is toward the middle.
2) if the end links break, then the bar will drag on the road, not jab into it and tear up the rear of the car.

I have some pictures of the install if anyone is interested, but I just rebuilt my computer and need to reinstall the drive with the photos.

BTW, my car handles great with this modification, very well balanced, but I also have polyurethane bushings, cradle and motor mounts and my car is lowered 2" on Suspension Techniques springs. Koenig 17" Zeige wheels with 225 40 17 Kumho MX tires rear and 215 45 17 front

spacers just on the 4 bolts to the frame?

Yes,

I made two rectangular plates slightly larger than the brackets with two holes in each for the bolts to pass through to the frame. The suspension end uses standard polyurethane end-links that I bought from a Pep-Boys.

Good, thats the picture I had in my head

I actually have all the parts to do it.. but I heard from many people its almost too stiff and there is no warning of tail spinout..

I can't speak for wet roads, my car is not a daily driver and I only take it out in good weather, but I only broke the rear loose once (and I like to take corners hard) and that was taking a sharp right turn while punching the gas hard. It was very controllable oversteer that occurred. But remember, my suspension is heavily modified with a low center of gravity, very stiff components and much better tires than stock.

Also, the fitment of the swaybar as I did it is probably (I haven't tried the other method, so I am guessing based on the instructions) a little trickier than the other way. You will need to drill bracket holes in the frame in the area where the cutouts for the lower control arms are (this is not a 1988 suspension) in such a way as to be able to attach lock nuts in the gap between the suspension and the frame. You also have to make sure that the end links wind up in a spot that doesn't interfere with the half-shaft boots. I was able to do the job in about 4-5 hours. The hardest part for me was getting the lock nuts started onto the bolts (which for clearance reasons have to face up toward the suspension). There is almost no room to work in the space available.

[This message has been edited by NewGT (edited 05-14-2008).]

There is one downside to this install and that is having the swaybar mounted facing forward,you want to have the pointed end facing to the rear just in case you have a flat tire the ends can make contact with the pavement and rip out the rear end assembly.

just a thought from personal experience.

quote Originally posted by gunslinger: There is one downside to this install and that is having the swaybar mounted facing forward,you want to have the pointed end facing to the rear just in case you have a flat tire the ends can make contact with the pavement and rip out the rear end assembly. just a thought from personal experience.

heres another downside to having the bar mounted facing forward:
you cant get a jack under the rear of the cradle anymore

I always have to make sure to drive up on 2x8's to give the rear a boost, so I can get a jack under the rear of the car....

quote Originally posted by Matthew_Fiero: even though that one is listed for 84-87 front?

You are correct the ADDCO number is 387 for the rear.

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87GT - with 3800SC Series III engine, 4T65eHD
87GT - 3.4L Turbocharged engine, modified TH125H
" I'M ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "

quote Originally posted by gunslinger: There is one downside to this install and that is having the swaybar mounted facing forward,you want to have the pointed end facing to the rear just in case you have a flat tire the ends can make contact with the pavement and rip out the rear end assembly. just a thought from personal experience.

Gunslinger,

Not sure whose post you are responding to here, but the way my sway bar is installed, the rims would have to sink about 3" into the pavement before the end links would touch pavement. My sway bar has the two pointed ends facing to the rear. Also, there is no problem getting a jack under the cradle with my setup.

[This message has been edited by NewGT (edited 05-15-2008).]

I used the old rubber bushings to give a little more flex. You may want to try that first, then move to poly-urethane bushings if you feel the need.

quote Originally posted by NewGT: Gunslinger, Not sure whose post you are responding to here, but the way my sway bar is installed, the rims would have to sink about 3" into the pavement before the end links would touch pavement. My sway bar has the two pointed ends facing to the rear. Also, there is no problem getting a jack under the cradle with my setup.

.
Yikes, I wouldn't like the setup in the above picture at all. This isn't practical for use on public roads in my estimation.

Looks like there's about an inch of ground clearance at the end of the bolt. Why couldn't the bolt be flipped around so the head is at the bottom instead? That would at least give a little bit more ground clearance.

And why are the end-links so long? Couldn't they be somewhat shorter and still allow the sway bar to operate properly?

[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 05-16-2008).]

quote Originally posted by gunslinger:

Great shot of the way not to do it.

After reading the spacer idea for the forward mount, I think I'll put that on my list of things to look at doing.

Good suggestion

Arn

quote Originally posted by gunslinger:

2 things wrong here:
1> if you get a flat tire - you lose your end link - and maybe gash you tire
2> the bar should be basicly parallel with the ground when the car is at rest.

The end link must be be shortened and a good grade 8 bolt used to prevent metal failure

OK,

I found a backup DVD with my build pics on it. Here are the shots of my sway bar install. It took some careful planning to get everything right the first time, but it was worth the effort to me. I do not like the alternative mounting option. As you can see, the links will not hit the road before the rim. I could have cut the extra thread off, but it would be very difficult to reinstall if I did, because the bushings expand when they are not compressed and it is a little tight between the CV boot and the lower control arm.

I have been driving the car this way for two years now with no problems.

[This message has been edited by NewGT (edited 05-16-2008).]

quote Originally posted by NewGT: I could have cut the extra thread off, but it would be very difficult to reinstall if I did, because the bushings expand when they are not compressed and it is a little tight between the CV boot and the lower control arm.

Are you saying then that if you flipped around the two end-link bolts that the end of the bolts would contact the CV boots? If they didn't, I still think it would be worthwhile flipping the bolts over even if only for esthetic reasons, but that's just me.

Looks really nice though, good job.

[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 05-16-2008).]

Is it really worth saving a $100 ( you still need to buy links) to try an adapt a front sway bar to the rear. Buy the ADDCO, as it is a complete kit with all parts, it takes away no ground clearance, but more importantly its properly tuned to the Fiero rear suspension. Suspension tuning is what is not being addressed here and its important.

------------------
87GT - with 3800SC Series III engine, 4T65eHD
87GT - 3.4L Turbocharged engine, modified TH125H
" I'M ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "

quote Originally posted by Dennis LaGrua: Is it really worth saving a $100 ( you still need to buy links) to try an adapt a front sway bar to the rear. Buy the ADDCO, as it is a complete kit with all parts, it takes away no ground clearance, but more importantly its properly tuned to the Fiero rear suspension. Suspension tuning is what is not being addressed here and its important.

Hi Dennis,

The Addco bar is definitely the best way to go, but you underestimated the cost differential by a wee bit. I purchased my front bar for a total of $20. The end links cost me an additional $20. The Addco sway bar, with shipping is about $150 (Price quote from the Shox Shop) for a difference of $110. This is a lot of money for many people. But the real issue relates to the "complete kit." You need to purchase the Addco front sway bar (another $150) also if you want a "properly tuned" car because the Addco front bar is 1" in diameter where the stock Fiero bar is 7/8". The heavier front bar is meant to keep the car from generating oversteer, which is more dangerous than mild understeer for most drivers as there is a greater potential to spin the car in a hard turn.

Therefore, it would actually make more sense to buy the Addco front bar, install it on the front and move the stock front bar to the rear. This would give you a properly tuned car at the best price.

NewGT, thanks for the explanation. It now makes perfect sense why you've done it the way you have.

Nice pics NewGT.

One detail I should add. When I added the '84 Fiero front bar to the rear, the car did have too much oversteer for my tastes. What I did was to replace the front bushings with poly and the car evened out nicely.

It is now neutral except when you punch it in a turn

When I can afford it, I'll likely get a good set from R Runner

Arn

quote Originally posted by Arns85GT: Nice pics NewGT. One detail I should add. When I added the '84 Fiero front bar to the rear, the car did have too much oversteer for my tastes. What I did was to replace the front bushings with poly and the car evened out nicely. It is now neutral except when you punch it in a turn When I can afford it, I'll likely get a good set from R Runner Arn

Thanks Arns,

My whole suspension, including the motor mounts and cradle mounts is poly and lowered 2". Also I moved my front sway bar mounting brackets (with poly bushings) to the rear and put super heavy-duty brackets (with grease fittings and larger poly bushings) on the front. My car exhibits just a little oversteer when entering a turn while punching the gas.