just more tuner Bling?

[sketchman]

Might also look into replacing the bent center section with a straight piece if you wanted to use the universal bushings. They position the bar lower so a straight one might just clear, though I haven't checked yet.

I know 4130 round bar isn't too expensive, and I did measure it. You'd only need a 3' section. Cut the stock one off at 45 degrees and do the same with the new bar and weld. It works for axles. Should work for this too.

Here for axle example thread.

[Dragonhealer]

Because it is also the radius rod, I'm too chicken to go with a welded bar !

[william]

Dragon did you put anything under your mounts? I put a piece of 1/4" aluminum flat stock. I don't have this sliding issue, at least I haven't seen anything showing it.

[sketchman]

I have plates under mine. Thick steel ones. Still slides.

I may try the welded bar. You could also heat and bend your own custom bar out of 4130. The stock bar is not a complicated part to replicate. Only thing besides heating and bending would be turning down the ends and cutting threads. Hmm. Now you got my gears turning.

[fastivaca]

... You could also heat and bend your own custom bar out of 4130. The stock bar is not a complicated part to replicate. Only thing besides heating and bending would be turning down the ends and cutting threads.

I would think it would be best to do the ends and then the bends. Easier to work with a straight piece in a lather than a bendy one.

[Dragonhealer]

Dragon did you put anything under your mounts? I put a piece of 1/4" aluminum flat stock. I don't have this sliding issue, at least I haven't seen anything showing it.

Yes, filled the depression in the bracket w/delrin. A plate would have been easier.

[sketchman]

I would think it would be best to do the ends and then the bends. Easier to work with a straight piece in a lather than a bendy one.

Yep. I'm very seriously considering this.

Take a jigsaw and cut a pattern out of sheets of plywood. Staple down some fiberglass in the bends and go to town. I remember when Jesse James first started on his TV show watching him bend his own frame with a wood jig and his belt buckle, which he was wearing.

Can be done.

[SWRT]

Ahh, they do exist. Just take a while to get here, and are more expensive than the universal ones.

spf1478-22k

So we have 22mm sway bars?
(As in we'd order 22mm bushings?)

[sketchman]

^Yes. 22mm or 7/8"

[sketchman]

Another thought. We would probably benefit from new bars anyway. I know mine is pitted so bad at the frame bushing locations that it probably functions as a smaller bar from the weak point on each side. And mine is a Florida car with almost no rust on it.

[SWRT]

http://www.aftermarketsuspensionparts.com/w21047g

So do these have the potential of working then with the stock bracket? Been a whike since I took mine apart so I don't remember exactly what they look like

[sketchman]

Yeah, they are a direct replacement, AFAIK.

[SWRT]

I ordered them. Whenever I get a chance I'll swap them out and let you guys know how they fit

[sketchman]

Going over parts some more. Think I can do it without a lathe, which helps since I don't have one.

Weld tube ends are available in the same 4130 and then some threaded rod and nuts, washers, etc. I'm gonna plan to do it and I'll try to get pics up if I do.

[Advancedynamix]

I know what you mean.
Anyone with good bar to chassis rubbers should take good care of them!
Charlie, what did you end up with on Tweek?

Tweak still has its original 1993 bushings. When they need to be replaced, Chris will probably buy superpro poly replacements. They are a direct replacement for the stock bushing, and fit perfectly.

Might also look into replacing the bent center section with a straight piece if you wanted to use the universal bushings. They position the bar lower so a straight one might just clear, though I haven't checked yet.

I know 4130 round bar isn't too expensive, and I did measure it. You'd only need a 3' section. Cut the stock one off at 45 degrees and do the same with the new bar and weld. It works for axles. Should work for this too.

Here for axle example thread.

I would be weary of cutting and welding a sway bar back together. Sway bars are made of a high silicon content "spring" steel. High silicon steels become brittle when welded or even heated to a red state. Sway bars are heat treated after the bending process to give them the necessary rigidity to do their job.
Most common variants of chromoly don't make good sway bars. 4140 and 4340 can be heat treated to the desired tensile strength, however they don't cycle well and will develop cracks and fail much earlier than a high silicon steel bar. I have a pile of broken ones to prove this.
Another problem is that the Festiva handles worse and gets worse traction with a stiffer sway bar on the front. This is a common complaint from members who have used the Aspire bar on a Festiva. It's also a common understanding in the front drive world, that more bar in the front is a horrible decision.
With all that said, a remedy to this would be to make trailing links from DOM tubing and remove the sway bar all together. Build a setup like the Rio used in the mid 2000's. I would also replace the front lower radiator support with a better design while I was at it.