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Mazdaspeed3 Gen1 2008 Rear sway arm bushings and stabilizer links

Warning ! working on your own car is dangerous and all parts listed below are not guaranteed to work in your case so do your homework. this is just a guide of what I did to remedy a problem and how I was able to trouble shoot and resolve my issue as inexpensively as possible.

For a little while now I had been getting the dreaded rear "clink clunk" of the sway bar when going over bumps slowly. I had ordered and installed the Moog sway bar bushings and sway bar links in April 2016. The originals had lasted since 08, at least the records I have and for sure since 2012 when I bought the car. I am trying the Febest sway bar links and Febest sway bar bushings this time around as I though the moogs would have lasted longer and was not super happy with the boot design on the sway bar links.

Tools required-ish: (depending on your current type of sway bar links)

  1. Hammer to start the bolts loose as there is limited space to get a longer ratchet under car for some of these
  2. 6mm Hex/Allen wrench ( this was for reassembly of the new sway bar links more below)
  3. Custom 17mm thin wrench that can be bent (this was for the removal of the moog sway bar links)
  4. 18mm combination wrench
  5. 15 mm combination wrench
  6. 3/8" drive ractchet
  7. 1/2" drive rachet
  8. 14mm 6-point regyular and long socket
  9. 18mm 1/2" socket
  10. PB-Blaster, if you don't know what it is then you don't need it:) northeast joke!
  11. Permatex Anti-Sieze, insert same jokes as in number 10
To remove these items jack the rear of the car up and support on jack stands.
- Use the 18mm combination wrench or ratchet on the nut of the lower stud and a 17mm combination or homemade wrench for the Moogs to stop the stud from rotating on the opposite side of the sway bar from the nut. If you have the stock links use the Allen key in the end of the stud and break nut loose with 18mm combination wrench.

- Use the 15mm combination wrench on the upper nut and slide home made 17mm special angled wrench inside lower suspension link to stop stud from turning or Allen key through nut and into the top stud if you still have the stock type.

- Use 14mm socket(s) to loosen the sway bar bushing cap bolts, take note of the arrow directions on the bushing caps/clamps before removal.

- With everything loose remove the two upper 15mm nuts and swing the whole assembly down out of the lower arms and then remove the 18mm nuts and replace the stabilizer links with the new ones. if you are just doing the links reassembly is the reverse order. 

- To continue and replace the sway bar bushings remove the 14mm bolts and remove the bushing is inline with the caps and then remove the inner rubber bushings. The ones below on the right are the Moogs and notice the slit position VS. the new ones.


- Reassembly of the bushings is the reverse of removal, remember to replace with the arrow position in the same way as during removal.

My sway bar bushing clamp bolts were not super easy to get out so remember to anti-seize them up before reinstalling.(its not like all of our roads are getting more smooth as time passes so...this will probably need to be done again)


Thank you for reading and happy wrenching! 





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