Pfadt Install, only one issue - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

joeyea323 · 12-24-2010, 06:15 AM

I installed Pfadt springs, sways, and endlinks yesterday and everything went together just fine, however I wasn't able to torque everything to spec. I did torque the big front strut tower nuts, both rear control arm nuts, front and rear bushings, and all the endlinks. I wasn't able to figure out how to torque the spring and strut retainers up front as I needed the torx bit in there to keep the shaft from spinning. I looked at putting vice grips or a belt wrench on the shaft itself, but then reinstalling the front boot would be next to impossible. Does anyone have any recommendations on what to do here? Right now its just hand tightened to my best guesstimate of how tight it was when I pulled it off.
On a separate note, WOW was this install worth it. I always felt body roll, but never realized how much it affected even low speed driving. I immediately noticed a difference pulling out of the shop doing a measly 10mph. I wasn't able to do a complete shake down yesterday, but did take it on a couple of my favorite twisties and must say I'm very impressed. I honestly couldn't tell you if the slight lean on some turns was from the car or the lean of the actual street. Understeer is a thing of the past and I feel I need to relearn this car all over again. I can't wait until I can get my summer tires back on and REALLY start pushing this thing. GOOD JOB Pfadt and Apex Motorsports. Two days after ordering the parts, they were being delivered to my door the week before Christmas! I've never seen a place complete and ship an order so quickly.

Jaysin · 12-24-2010, 08:30 AM

You could have used a Crows Foot on the torque wrench. You'll be fine with the way you did. Don't lose any sleep over it. Congrats on the install and new found fun!

driser · 12-24-2010, 12:26 PM

Just received my Pfadt sport sway bars and opened the box to review the instructions and they say "follow the factory service procedure" ? Soooo just go by looking at the factory bars when taking them off, or is there somewhere to get the factory procedure? Also, on the rear bar, anyone know which of the three holes to use?

Thanks,

oachalon · 12-24-2010, 12:40 PM

i havent opened my sway bars yet, if thats the case, does anyone have the factory service procedure?

driser · 12-24-2010, 12:50 PM

Hey I am going to start the install on the rear bar in a couple of hours, so will let you know how it goes with or without instructions. I would really like to receive some suggestions on which of the three holes to use. I drive mine daily (well daily when decent weather), and like to take advantage of track days when they come up. Thanks in advance.

axis · 12-24-2010, 12:59 PM

Most use the middle hole for starters and go from there. I haven't felt the need to switch to another hole at this time. It's important to get some blue loctite for the endlink threads. It can be hard to get the proper tq on them and we've had a few people that the nuts have backed out on them. I used the tutorial in the DIY section. Pay close attention to the last post. It will save you a LOT of time on the front bar.

http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showth...ighlight=sways

driser · 12-24-2010, 01:04 PM

Thanks very much for the info. I kinda figured the end links would be tough to torque when I peeked under there earlier, so will pick up some new loctite. Will take a look at the post you mentioned for the fronts as well.

thanks again.

IROCanSS · 12-24-2010, 01:06 PM

Did you put the car back down then torque the bolt? You should have no problem. I didn't worry about it. I just got it good and tight.

PoleCat2SSRS2010 · 12-24-2010, 01:53 PM

This might help and X2 on the use of the blue loctite.

http://www.h-towncamaroclub.com/show...trailing-links

axis · 12-24-2010, 02:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by driser

Thanks very much for the info. I kinda figured the end links would be tough to torque when I peeked under there earlier, so will pick up some new loctite. Will take a look at the post you mentioned for the fronts as well.

thanks again.

The DIY covers both the front and rear. The rear is very easy. Unbolt the endlinks, unbolt the two mounting brackets and slide out. The front is a bear. It has several bends and very little room to maneuver. Jacking the motor up is what Pfadt recommended to me. Takes all of 5min to jack the motor up and saves you HOURS trying to get the bar out without cutting it. Oh, make sure you use ALL the lube. Like most things, you can NEVER have too much lube on it.

driser · 12-24-2010, 04:23 PM

ok all done with the rear bar.....real easy. Instructions made it a piece of cake. Will tackle the front later this weekend. Didn't even try and torque the end like, but tightened and used the loctite.....hope that is right?

Also, how soon/often should I grease the bushings and any suggestions on type/brand of grease?

Thanks,

Apex Motorsports · 12-24-2010, 06:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joeyea323

I installed Pfadt springs, sways, and endlinks yesterday and everything went together just fine, however I wasn't able to torque everything to spec. I did torque the big front strut tower nuts, both rear control arm nuts, front and rear bushings, and all the endlinks. I wasn't able to figure out how to torque the spring and strut retainers up front as I needed the torx bit in there to keep the shaft from spinning. I looked at putting vice grips or a belt wrench on the shaft itself, but then reinstalling the front boot would be next to impossible. Does anyone have any recommendations on what to do here? Right now its just hand tightened to my best guesstimate of how tight it was when I pulled it off.
On a separate note, WOW was this install worth it. I always felt body roll, but never realized how much it affected even low speed driving. I immediately noticed a difference pulling out of the shop doing a measly 10mph. I wasn't able to do a complete shake down yesterday, but did take it on a couple of my favorite twisties and must say I'm very impressed. I honestly couldn't tell you if the slight lean on some turns was from the car or the lean of the actual street. Understeer is a thing of the past and I feel I need to relearn this car all over again. I can't wait until I can get my summer tires back on and REALLY start pushing this thing. GOOD JOB Pfadt and Apex Motorsports. Two days after ordering the parts, they were being delivered to my door the week before Christmas! I've never seen a place complete and ship an order so quickly.

Quote:

Originally Posted by driser

ok all done with the rear bar.....real easy. Instructions made it a piece of cake. Will tackle the front later this weekend. Didn't even try and torque the end like, but tightened and used the loctite.....hope that is right?

Also, how soon/often should I grease the bushings and any suggestions on type/brand of grease?

Thanks,

Thanks to both of you for your orders! I'm glad to see you guys are enjoying your upgrades.

The end links need to be torqued to 33 ft.-lbs. or they will probably end up being noisy. Look for a silicone based synthetic water-proof grease for the bushings. A lot of people use marine grease. DO NOT USE A PETROLEUM BASED GREASE.

joeyea323 · 12-24-2010, 10:09 PM

I was really glad I ran across the threads of people bending their stock front endlinks which pushed me to buy them. The stock ones had rust on the threads which made it a pain to take them off. I would have hated putting those back in after installing all the new hardware. I did manage to torque all the endlink lock nuts to 33 ft-lbs, but I'm still getting some suspension noise. I had a friend taking care of reassembling the rear after we got the springs on while I assembled the front. Turns out he didn't torque anything back there to spec. He is pretty big guy, so I'm thinking the spindle to control arm nut is probably well over-torqued since its only supposed to be 35 ft-lbs. Could this in conjunction with the bushings being over tightened be causing noise? It sounds alot like a loose muffler (and no a muffler isn't loose, I checked

).
I will say that bumps on local roads are really exposing how much stiffer the suspension is, but highway driving is still smooth. Any negative camber the front wheels had before is gone and there may even be a very slight positive camber so the steering is VERY touchy right now. Unfortunately, getting this done yesterday means I can't get an alignment until next week.

driser · 12-26-2010, 04:11 PM

OK got the front sway bar on today....not near as easy as the rear! Thanks to whom ever put the instructions out for the front and rear bars...they were a tremendous help. Also thanks to whom ever originally posted the jack and jack stand post.

Only a quick short drive after installation (Snow in Atlanta last night and early this morning!), but no noise and can feel the difference.

Also thanks to Apex for the quick professional service as well as the answers to all questions.

12-24-2010, 06:15 AM	#1
joeyea323 Drives: 2010 Camaro SS, LS3 M6 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 39	Pfadt Install, only one issue I installed Pfadt springs, sways, and endlinks yesterday and everything went together just fine, however I wasn't able to torque everything to spec. I did torque the big front strut tower nuts, both rear control arm nuts, front and rear bushings, and all the endlinks. I wasn't able to figure out how to torque the spring and strut retainers up front as I needed the torx bit in there to keep the shaft from spinning. I looked at putting vice grips or a belt wrench on the shaft itself, but then reinstalling the front boot would be next to impossible. Does anyone have any recommendations on what to do here? Right now its just hand tightened to my best guesstimate of how tight it was when I pulled it off. On a separate note, WOW was this install worth it. I always felt body roll, but never realized how much it affected even low speed driving. I immediately noticed a difference pulling out of the shop doing a measly 10mph. I wasn't able to do a complete shake down yesterday, but did take it on a couple of my favorite twisties and must say I'm very impressed. I honestly couldn't tell you if the slight lean on some turns was from the car or the lean of the actual street. Understeer is a thing of the past and I feel I need to relearn this car all over again. I can't wait until I can get my summer tires back on and REALLY start pushing this thing. GOOD JOB Pfadt and Apex Motorsports. Two days after ordering the parts, they were being delivered to my door the week before Christmas! I've never seen a place complete and ship an order so quickly.

12-24-2010, 12:59 PM	#6
axis Search Ninja Drives: 2010 Black 2SS/RS A6 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Central Ark Posts: 7,183	Most use the middle hole for starters and go from there. I haven't felt the need to switch to another hole at this time. It's important to get some blue loctite for the endlink threads. It can be hard to get the proper tq on them and we've had a few people that the nuts have backed out on them. I used the tutorial in the DIY section. Pay close attention to the last post. It will save you a LOT of time on the front bar. http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showth...ighlight=sways __________________ 2010 Black 2SS/RS A6 Halltech CF 102 fed GPI modded intake manifold Bo (knows) White ported TB Kooks LT's/ Dynomax VT Pfadted (springs/sways) Dyno tuned by Rhino and GPI I once parallel parked a train.

12-24-2010, 01:53 PM	#9
PoleCat2SSRS2010 R6P Marketing Lab Rat Drives: sometimes Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Texas Posts: 339	This might help and X2 on the use of the blue loctite. http://www.h-towncamaroclub.com/show...trailing-links __________________

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12-24-2010, 08:30 AM	#2
Jaysin Drives: 2015 Chevrolet SS Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: St. Louis, MO Posts: 341	You could have used a Crows Foot on the torque wrench. You'll be fine with the way you did. Don't lose any sleep over it. Congrats on the install and new found fun!

12-24-2010, 12:26 PM	#3
driser Drives: 2010 Camaro SS Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Monroe, Georgia Posts: 717	Just received my Pfadt sport sway bars and opened the box to review the instructions and they say "follow the factory service procedure" ? Soooo just go by looking at the factory bars when taking them off, or is there somewhere to get the factory procedure? Also, on the rear bar, anyone know which of the three holes to use? Thanks,

12-24-2010, 12:40 PM	#4
oachalon Drives: 2010 Camaro 1SS Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Mentor, Ohio Posts: 999 View My Garage	i havent opened my sway bars yet, if thats the case, does anyone have the factory service procedure?

12-24-2010, 12:50 PM	#5
driser Drives: 2010 Camaro SS Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Monroe, Georgia Posts: 717	Hey I am going to start the install on the rear bar in a couple of hours, so will let you know how it goes with or without instructions. I would really like to receive some suggestions on which of the three holes to use. I drive mine daily (well daily when decent weather), and like to take advantage of track days when they come up. Thanks in advance.

12-24-2010, 01:04 PM	#7
driser Drives: 2010 Camaro SS Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Monroe, Georgia Posts: 717	Thanks very much for the info. I kinda figured the end links would be tough to torque when I peeked under there earlier, so will pick up some new loctite. Will take a look at the post you mentioned for the fronts as well. thanks again.

12-24-2010, 01:06 PM	#8
IROCanSS Account Suspended Drives: 89 IROC 350 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Back roads, southern Ohio Posts: 12,504 View My Garage	Did you put the car back down then torque the bolt? You should have no problem. I didn't worry about it. I just got it good and tight.

12-24-2010, 04:23 PM	#11
driser Drives: 2010 Camaro SS Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Monroe, Georgia Posts: 717	ok all done with the rear bar.....real easy. Instructions made it a piece of cake. Will tackle the front later this weekend. Didn't even try and torque the end like, but tightened and used the loctite.....hope that is right? Also, how soon/often should I grease the bushings and any suggestions on type/brand of grease? Thanks,

12-24-2010, 10:09 PM	#13
joeyea323 Drives: 2010 Camaro SS, LS3 M6 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 39	I was really glad I ran across the threads of people bending their stock front endlinks which pushed me to buy them. The stock ones had rust on the threads which made it a pain to take them off. I would have hated putting those back in after installing all the new hardware. I did manage to torque all the endlink lock nuts to 33 ft-lbs, but I'm still getting some suspension noise. I had a friend taking care of reassembling the rear after we got the springs on while I assembled the front. Turns out he didn't torque anything back there to spec. He is pretty big guy, so I'm thinking the spindle to control arm nut is probably well over-torqued since its only supposed to be 35 ft-lbs. Could this in conjunction with the bushings being over tightened be causing noise? It sounds alot like a loose muffler (and no a muffler isn't loose, I checked ). I will say that bumps on local roads are really exposing how much stiffer the suspension is, but highway driving is still smooth. Any negative camber the front wheels had before is gone and there may even be a very slight positive camber so the steering is VERY touchy right now. Unfortunately, getting this done yesterday means I can't get an alignment until next week.

12-26-2010, 04:11 PM	#14
driser Drives: 2010 Camaro SS Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Monroe, Georgia Posts: 717	OK got the front sway bar on today....not near as easy as the rear! Thanks to whom ever put the instructions out for the front and rear bars...they were a tremendous help. Also thanks to whom ever originally posted the jack and jack stand post. Only a quick short drive after installation (Snow in Atlanta last night and early this morning!), but no noise and can feel the difference. Also thanks to Apex for the quick professional service as well as the answers to all questions.