[JPWEraser]

Here is a little how-to I've put together. Hopefully this might help someone by clearing up a few questions and really showing how easy it is. It's just time consuming just like anything else.

Tools needed:
1/2” drive socket wrench w/ 12mm (long and short) and 14mm (long) metric sockets
10mm, 12mm, and 14mm open ended metric wrenches
Flathead screwdriver
3/4” socket for taking a wheel off (with a tq wrench to put back on preferably)
PB Blaster penetrating oil (or similar product)
Scissors/knife
Beer
Music



Rear bar:

Step 1 –
Spray your stock hardware with PB blaster to loosen the nuts/bolts before you try and break them. Arrows point to the places you will need to spray. Do this on both sides.



Step 2 –
Remove the endlink nuts connecting the endlink to the sway bar end and move them down out of your way. These are 14mm nuts so your 14mm long socket should do the trick. Do this for both sides.





Step 3 –
Remove the nut and bolt holding the bar to the mounting bracket. These are both 12mm so your 12mm long socket will do fine. Do this for both sides.



Step 4 –
Now, your stock bar should be loose. Maneuver it out from over the exhaust and take put it off to the side. With my aftermarket exhaust, I was able to get it out with no problems; those of you with stock mufflers may find this to be a difficult task since the stock muffler is so large. If you have to, just remove the stock axle-back and go from there. Here is a quick comparison between the stock bar and the new Worx Tuning bar.



Step 5 –
Remove the stock mounting brackets. To do this, you will need to remove the bolts on either side of the bracket. These are 12mm so use your 12mm long socket. The driver’s side is cake, but the passenger side is a booger.





On the passenger’s side, you will need to lower the big black box that is very close in order to have enough room to get to the 12mm bolts holding the stock bracket on. Take off these 2 12mm nuts (held on semi-loosely) in order to drop the assembly. Don’t worry, it won’t hurt anything and it’s almost impossible to get to the bracket bolt without doing this. There is also a little plastic jacket covering the gas tank filler pipe held in place by a 10mm nut, you can remove this to make it a bit easier to get to the bolt holding the mounting bracket in place.



I also found that taking this hose loose gave me a little more movement with the black box so I could get my hands in there to the bolts holding the stock bracket in place. This is also the close to the location of the 3rd 12mm nut holding the black box in place.



You will need to use an open ended 12mm wrench to get these loose as there is no room to get a socket on it. Those of you blessed enough to have the ratcheting wrenches will find this much less time consuming than I did. This took me nearly 30 minutes just to get off. You will also notice that mixed in all the hoses around there, there is a plate that bolts on top of the stock mounting bracket using the same 12mm bolt. You will need to replace this just as you found it when you get your new bracket on.



Here is a comparison picture of the stock mounting bracket and the new Worx Tuning mounting bracket.



Step 6 –
Mount the new Worx Tuning mounting brackets in place of the stock ones that you have now removed. I used the stock hardware but the kit comes with new hardware if you want to use it. I wanted to keep the locking washers on there. Once again, these are 12mm so use your long 12mm socket. Replace everything as you found it on the passenger’s side (black box, hoses, etc.).



Step 7 –

Get your new bar and maneuver it over your axle-back to get it in place. The Worx Tuning kit comes with new bushings for the sway bar along with some grease to keep it moving smoothly. There are little ridges in the bushing and I just filled those nicely with the grease and put the bushing on the bar. Do this for both sides. Once you have that done, get the rest of the rear mounting kit from the box provided by Worx Tuning and begin mounting/test fitting the bar in place. The hardware consists of washers on both sides of the bracket and the bushing mount and 14mm nuts and bolts.



Now, tighten the hardware up using your 14mm long socket and 14mm open ended wrench. The nuts provided are locking nuts so everything should fit up nice and snug here for you. Do this for both sides.



Step 8 –
Twist your new bar into place and re-mount the endlinks using the 14mm nuts you removed from them in Step 2. Once you have this done on both sides, recheck everything and make sure you don’t have any nuts/bolts laying around that you shouldn’t have, and also make sure everything is tightened up. Now you're all done installing your rear bar. Take a break and drink down a few beers and admire your work!





Front bar:

Step 1 –
Remove the front undertray. Those of you that change your own oil, this will be second nature to you by now. For those that have never taken off the tray before, it’s simple. The picture below is marked with red and blue arrows. The red arrows mark where you will need to unbolt some 12mm bolts – use your long 12mm socket. The blue arrows mark where you will need to remove some plastic push clips. Take your flat screwdriver and pry the top out of the clip a little and the rest of the clip should come out relatively easy. Sometimes, when these haven’t been taken off for some time, they will have road grime in them and stick some. Be patient with them if this the case and try not to break them.



Step 2 –
Just as with the rear bar, spray PB on your hardware. You should hit endlinks and mounts just like the back. Their location will be evident to you since you’ve done the rear bar already and know what to look for.

Step 3 –
Now, remove the subframe piece in the shape of a triangle. There is almost no way to get to the bar in order to get it out and get the new one in without this off. Here is a shot of it.



Also, here is a picture of the subframe removed showing what you will need to remove. The red arrows mark 12mm bolts and the blue arrows mark 14mm nuts. Remove these and you should have much more access to your bar.



Step 4 –
Remove the stock endlinks and move them out of your way. These are also 14mm nuts, so use your 14mm long socket. Do this on both sides.



Step 5 –Remove the bushing mounts from the front. You will notice that these are also 12mm nuts on one side and 12mm bolts on the other, just like the back. Do this on both sides.



Step 6 –
I found it easier to remove the driver’s side wheel and turn the front wheels to the left to allow myself some more space to wiggle the front bar out of place. This came in very handy when I had an even larger and completely strait bar to put in its place.





Now that you’ve gotten your stock bar out put it aside. Here is a quick shot comparing the stock bar to the new Worx Tuning bar.



Step 7 –
Wiggle your new bar into place. This may take some time and thinking since the new bar has some radical bends on the ends and is a little harder to manipulate in the small working area around the frame and wheels. Once you get this done, just like the rear bar, use the supplied grease to lube up the bushings and slide them onto the bar. The passenger’s side mount is somewhat difficult to get to. The exhaust manifold heat shield is very close and doesn’t allow for much room to get to the 12mm nut. It’s doable, though but it takes some time and patience.



The driver’s side has much more room and is much easier to get in place. Once you have everything on and test-fitted, tighten everything up.

Step 8 –
Twist your new bar into place and re-insert the endlinks and put the 14mm nut back on them. Do this for both sides.





Step 9 –
Look around and make sure there are no extra nuts/bolts lying around. You should have none this time since you reused all of your stock mounts and hardware. Double check all of your nuts/bolts and make sure they are good and tight. If everything is good to go, reinstall your subframe plate, undertray, and put your driver’s side wheel back on. Make sure to torque your wheel to specs. This should have you all done on your front bar. Step back, admire your work and take her for a spin!

I would recommend taking it a little easy at first and listen for any clunking or ticking. Also, you might consider checking over everything after a few days of driving just to be sure you didn’t miss anything or something hasn’t come loose.

[supermarkus]

3/4" drive tools eh? Are you working on a tugboat or something?

You could also loosen the 3 gas filler mouth screws, and one mid way along the filler tube, and have plenty of room for a socket with an extension.

[InDinile]

Nice write up! How big are these bars and where did you buy them from?

[AndrewSS]

pretty good write up, thanks for the post!

[wdb]

I'm heavy into swaybar research at the moment and have been reading installation instructions. They generally recommend dropping the entire front subframe (the larger U-shaped piece). It's not a load bearing member.

[JPWEraser]

Originally Posted by InDinile

Nice write up! How big are these bars and where did you buy them from?

They are the Worx Tuning Competition bars and I got in on the tester sets. They are 22mm front and rear. They are a vendor here on the site. I'm not too impressed with the powdercoat so far - it seems to fragile to be a powdercoat to me.

www.worxtuning.com

[JPWEraser]

Originally Posted by wdb

I'm heavy into swaybar research at the moment and have been reading installation instructions. They generally recommend dropping the entire front subframe (the larger U-shaped piece). It's not a load bearing member.

While this would completely trivialize the front bar installation, I think it would almost be as time consuming to take off the subframe as it was to get to the nuts/bolts that were somewhat tough. This is definately a viable option, though and either way is doable. I mainly posted all this to give those guys that are on the edge of deciding to try it themselves a little shove over to the dark side. It's not overly difficult - anyone with a decent amount of wrench time will be able to knock it out with relative ease.

[asf]

That looks identical to the perrin bar. Same size too.

[1STI05]

I'm looking at the stock front bar orientation at the endlinks and the Worx SB orientation at the same locations and they look upside down. I'm referring to the very last bend right before the endlinks are bolted to the SB.

[b0oSt1N_LrG]

i got the hotchkis comp kit [f/r sways, links, and hd mounts], BUT i've just realized that the stis come with solid end links already, so should i just keep those in there? doesn't look like i will gain anything drastic if i use the hotchkis ones...

[JPWEraser]

I ended up changing my rear endlinks to the Kartboy ones. My stock ones were clunking like mad. I invested $100 in the massive KB ones and I've not had a single problem since. It's up to you, but good aftermarket endlinks are never a bad idea, especially on a rear bar that is a lot stiffer than stock.

[wdb]

I just finished installing Hotchkis street bars earlier today. The instructions that came with the bars said to drop the front subframe and that's what I did. I'm not sure if taking the subframe down adds to the overall time or not. There is the time involved to remove and reinstall it, but it makes the swaybar swap an absolute cinch and probably saves time at that end. I think if I were to do it again I'd drop the subframe again.

Rear was a bit of a pain due to the fuel system canister on the passenger side, otherwise very straightforward.

I used the stock endlinks; we'll see how they do. If I need to swap them out, right now Kartboys are my choice.

[STiNC]

I did the same thing with the sub-frame when I installed my Whiteline bar today, and I agree with wdb's assesment, though I haven't done it the other way so I can't say for sure that it is faster.

[GD1984]

Good write up

[jasv11]

Originally Posted by 1STI05

I'm looking at the stock front bar orientation at the endlinks and the Worx SB orientation at the same locations and they look upside down. I'm referring to the very last bend right before the endlinks are bolted to the SB.

Yes! It does look like the front bar has been installed upside down or left to right incorrectly.