Okay, I've been sitting on the parts for a while and decided to get the deed done. Read the directions and it seemed real straight forward and for the most part they are. What I'm going to try to do here is kinda like a suppliment to the provided directions. As well I have a couple points not covered that you don't want catching you off guard! Here are the instructions from Hotchkis;
http://www.hotchkis.net/_uploaded_files/1415.pdf
1 - The instructions and kit are for a coupe and if you have a convertible you will have to make some adjustments. Basically that means making some hardware so the part of the brace that bolts through into the back seat can be bolted on.
In the back seat a few inches above where the seat back bolts in is a crease or ridge that runs across the entire surface. After drilling for the brace from under the car that ridge gets in the way of the supplied washers. I modified some big fender washers to fit and by doing so it also captured the heads of the bolts so I didn't need to be in the car at the same time I was under it to tighten the bolts. Another issue with this mount location was the brace didn't fit flat against the mounting surface. I shimmed it with washers to resolve this but may go back and make a couple plates to replace the washers and the fender washers.
2 - Be aware you may have to take apart part of your exhaust and the brace and sway bar may get it the way of the muffler and exit pipes. I had to relocate one hanger (not stock) about an inch and that muffler is now very close to the drive shaft. They were centered nicely before, I'll have to work on that...
3 - The instructions say to jack the car up and support it so the weight of the car is on the suspension! Well not if you want to install the rear sway bar brace. The suspension has to be hanging under the car to gain clearence to put the brace in place. You will want the car on the suspension when tightening the sway bar down though!
4 - The instructions show and tell you how to mark the holes you need to drill. Well, they left out a hugh bit that will make your life easier and will keep you from drilling extra holes or having to hog out the holes you drilled! The brace has 2 oval holes they tell you to use to mark and drill. The brace is held on by a square u-bolt that you feed into the frame through one hole and out the other. Guess what? The holes you drill need to be matched up to the u-bolt as well as fit into the oval holes in the brace... I also found that to get the brace to fit against the floors (area where the rear seat back mounts) I had to drill the 4 holes and bolt the brace up tight before starting on the frame rail mounts. I would also recomend removing any undercoating your frame rails may have in the area the brace mounts.
It's too bad the brackets that come with the sway bar if you don't use a frame mount brace don't match the bolt holes on the brace. The bolts are welded to the bracket and it would have made a great backing plate for the brace with a little cutting.
All and all it was not really a hard install but it took a lot longer than I thought it should. I think most of the extra time was pondering the 4 items mentioned above. I still have to mount the sway bar but that won't take any time at all now that the brace is in and my exhaust is bolted back in place. Even if I find the sway bar to be more than I need for my front suspension I can take it off and the brace can stay providing additional structural support between the rear frame rails. Maybe my tires won't rub on the inside when I go through driveways sideways to keep the cross brace from scraping...
http://www.hotchkis.net/_uploaded_files/1415.pdf
1 - The instructions and kit are for a coupe and if you have a convertible you will have to make some adjustments. Basically that means making some hardware so the part of the brace that bolts through into the back seat can be bolted on.
In the back seat a few inches above where the seat back bolts in is a crease or ridge that runs across the entire surface. After drilling for the brace from under the car that ridge gets in the way of the supplied washers. I modified some big fender washers to fit and by doing so it also captured the heads of the bolts so I didn't need to be in the car at the same time I was under it to tighten the bolts. Another issue with this mount location was the brace didn't fit flat against the mounting surface. I shimmed it with washers to resolve this but may go back and make a couple plates to replace the washers and the fender washers.
2 - Be aware you may have to take apart part of your exhaust and the brace and sway bar may get it the way of the muffler and exit pipes. I had to relocate one hanger (not stock) about an inch and that muffler is now very close to the drive shaft. They were centered nicely before, I'll have to work on that...
3 - The instructions say to jack the car up and support it so the weight of the car is on the suspension! Well not if you want to install the rear sway bar brace. The suspension has to be hanging under the car to gain clearence to put the brace in place. You will want the car on the suspension when tightening the sway bar down though!
4 - The instructions show and tell you how to mark the holes you need to drill. Well, they left out a hugh bit that will make your life easier and will keep you from drilling extra holes or having to hog out the holes you drilled! The brace has 2 oval holes they tell you to use to mark and drill. The brace is held on by a square u-bolt that you feed into the frame through one hole and out the other. Guess what? The holes you drill need to be matched up to the u-bolt as well as fit into the oval holes in the brace... I also found that to get the brace to fit against the floors (area where the rear seat back mounts) I had to drill the 4 holes and bolt the brace up tight before starting on the frame rail mounts. I would also recomend removing any undercoating your frame rails may have in the area the brace mounts.
It's too bad the brackets that come with the sway bar if you don't use a frame mount brace don't match the bolt holes on the brace. The bolts are welded to the bracket and it would have made a great backing plate for the brace with a little cutting.
All and all it was not really a hard install but it took a lot longer than I thought it should. I think most of the extra time was pondering the 4 items mentioned above. I still have to mount the sway bar but that won't take any time at all now that the brace is in and my exhaust is bolted back in place. Even if I find the sway bar to be more than I need for my front suspension I can take it off and the brace can stay providing additional structural support between the rear frame rails. Maybe my tires won't rub on the inside when I go through driveways sideways to keep the cross brace from scraping...