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HD Sway Bars on 240[ALL/1998] posted by Stan on
Thursday, 23 October 1997, at 12:22 a.m.
I just received the IPD heavy duty sway bars (front and rear) for my 91 240 and will install them this weekend. Does anyone have any suggestions or tips for installation or anything to watch for? I've installed the IPD Hi Flow exhaust and the instructions were pretty complete, so I expect a similar experience with the bars, but just in case I'd like to see if anyone else has experienced difficulty with the installation.
Also, I keep seeing reference to the K & N filter. I'm guessing that it's an air filter and would like to know if it's performance enhancing or just longer life than the OEM filter.
Any info would be appreciated.
Re: HD Sway Bars on 240[ALL/1998] posted by Keith Hyndes on
Thursday, 23 October 1997, at 9:58 a.m.
Just a few quick tips. Front: Make sure the rubbers on the sway bar struts are in good condition. If they are shot you lose a lot of benefit of your swaybar. When you tighten them, use the correct torque. If they are too tight the strut may snap due to insufficient movement. Rear: Lower the swingarm so that the damper is unloaded. Easier if you take the top of the damper off.
Expect the car to lose a bit of rear traction in slow corners (ie lift inside wheel). I have std. 20mm F & R swaybars on my 1980 245, but heavy rear springs (240 pound). Handles quite sweetly. Upping spring and swaybar rates makes it more important that dampers work OK.
Good luck.
Keith
Re: HD Sway Bars on 240[ALL/1998] posted by Stan on
Thursday, 23 October 1997, at 11:58 p.m.
Thanks Keith. I'll let you know how the process goes and what the results are. Have you tried any other performance mods that you'd recommend for a 240 automatic?
Re: HD Sway Bars on 240/My experience[ALL/1998] posted by Stoney on
Friday, 24 October 1997, at 8:34 a.m.
I swapped my old 82 245DL from stock bars to the ipd 240GT bars and found the following:
1) The effect on turning was to stop the rear from wallowing, the rear tracked true and with a heavy load the read did not want to pull the car away from the turn radius.
2)I ate my rear bushings in 6 months. They were stock OEM originals and the addition of the beefier sway bar ate em like popcorn at a Drive In movie!
3)I also swapped to the HD overload coils and found them to be well worth the $. The trade off was when riding lightly loaded and I hit a speed bump or good sized pavement bump te rear would come down a lot harder than before. This is normal according to ipd, get used to it. I would routinely run with a max load + and found the "waddle" effect to be history, no "squiggles" when changing lanes, etc.
Use new bolts and hardware when installing the springs. The guy I had do mine felt the OEM stuff was too tired and used Stainless Steel bolts, etc.
Just my $.02
Smile!
Re: HD Sway Bars on 240/My experience[ALL/1998] posted by Stan on
Monday, 27 October 1997, at 12:34 a.m.
Stoney,
Thanks for the info. I installed both front and rear HD sway bars this weekend. It was about a 2 hour job (while doing it I installed the new front bracket for my Hi Flow Exhaust system. Anyone contemplating putting the IPD Hi Flow exhaust system on their 240 feel free to contact me for some time saving info). In the short drive home I really didn't notice any major difference, and since my wife drives the car during the week it'll be next weekend before I can experiment with it.
What did you gain by going to the overload coils? We usually drive the 240 with the driver only or with one passenger, so it's never really loaded down. Would overload coils still provide an advantage for me? I was thinking that with 85K+ miles on the car that my next upgrade would be shocks, but you now have me thinking that I'd better order a set of rear bushings also, in case mine become popcorn! Where did you order your replacement rear bushings?
I really appreciate the info that I've received from you and others on mods. They've saved me both time and money, and helped me make the 240 into a much better autobahn cruiser.
Re: HD Sway Bars on 240/My experience[ALL/1998] posted by Topi on
Monday, 27 October 1997, at 10:04 a.m.
1979-80 242GT has exellent HD sway bars.....Also; engine room firewall braces that work.
Re: HD Sway Bars on 240/My experience w/HD Coils[ALL/1998] posted by Stoney on
Monday, 27 October 1997, at 3:57 p.m.
Stan and whomever cares to follow this thread...
I put the HD Overload coils in because I routinely abused my 82 245DL to the point of not being able to see the road cause the headlites were pointing towards Mars! 1000 lbs + in the Butt end of a 245 makes taking off ramps FUN!
So I decided to install the ipd HD rear coils and when loaded it drove like a a normal 245. When unloaded the rear was solid and when you hit a good speed bump the rear would slam down like a brick! BAM! Never any damage but just an example of the spring force available from these lil suckers! They restore normal ride height + or - 1/2" and make hauling a load not such a PITA! (By load I mean if ya can see out the rear window and don't have a box directly in your rear view mirror YOU AIN'T LOADED!)
The rear Bushings I replaced were all with OEM or normal aftermarket stuff. Nuttin special....used a bud's shop down in Winston Salem, NC as he had the lift, bench, and bearing press...ain't life fun wih all the rite toys?
Re: HD Sway Bars on 240/My experience[ALL/1998] posted by Dave Stevens on
Monday, 27 October 1997, at 5:44 p.m.
I've put IPD HD springs on a 245 with IPD sway bars front/rear and I'm most pleased.
I agree with Stoney, the springs are probably only of major benefit if you haul real loads and if anything they're a little too stiff when it's just you in tha car (unless you're of significant proportion and require a seat belt extender to buckle up). If your wagon is setup for trailer towing then all the more reason to consider them. You will eventually be told when you need them, on-coming drivers will be flashing their lights at you when you're driving at night with a load. The same applies for sedans, it's just that they're less likely to be doing serious hauling.
You'll hear it from a lot of wagon owners, the looks we get from people when they see what we make our poor Volvo's haul (a full load of concrete blocks, a stack of heavy timbers on the roof, childsplay!). The only rules seem to be don't run on the wheel rims and don't allow the roof to rest on the seat backs. I treat the GVW limit on the door sticker as a mere suggestion.
Re: HD Sway Bars on 240/My experience[ALL/1998] posted by Stan on
Wednesday, 29 October 1997, at 12:15 a.m.
It's obvious that I've failed to take advantage of one of the 240's major attributes. Anything going into or onto our sedan is subject to spouse approval, and bricks, concrete, lumber, etc., will fail every inspection. I've solved this problem by purchasing a pick-up truck.
The bottom line is that I don't think I really need the HD springs. Thanks for all of the good info. It's probably saved me time and money in making this determination.