Hi folks,

 

I recently had a sudden failure of the front sway bar on my 2000 Subaru Outback (41,500 miles, out of warranty).

 

After posting on alt.autos.subaru, it was suggested I search this group, and found a whole thread with about 3 cases of sway bar failure, one with photos... all sounding like it broke in a similar manner in the same spot.

 

Here's a photograph of my busted sway bar:

http://www.vtphoto.com/tmp/bar_broken2.jpg

 

If anyone on this board has had similar problems, please email me privately (mike@vtphoto.com), or through this thread. Send photos if you have them, or let me know if the problem was similar. What is most striking is the similarity in the cases I've seen, and the clean break in the bar that results. I'd like to approach the dealership armed with proof supporting a potential design flaw.

 

Also, if anyone here has had this problem occur out of warranty, but was able to get the repairs taken care of, let me know how you went about that. It seems like this could be a design flaw, but I doubt a dealership will agree very easily. This isn't a good time for a $150+ repair, especially on something that simply should not break.

 

Thanks!

-Mike

You will get more results in the New Gen section of the board. We deal with 70's and 80's stuff here.

 

Good Luck and Welcome to the Board

Seems like a pretty easy thing to fix yourself - just remove it completely. Wait a few years, and these will be all over the junkyard......

 

GD

Ack! Sorry about putting this on the wrong board. Should've paid more attention.

 

-Mike

yup I agree with GD..

Just unbolt the rest of it.

You dont really need the sway bar

Actually, you kinda really need the sway bar. It helps the car perform better, and reduces understeer.

 

-Brian

actually it increases understeer. With the front swaybar off, and one in the back it'll enjoy flicking it's tail out aggressively. Of course on the old school board the obvious method is to chuck it