BMR sway bar woes

[Sub-Moa]

To start, this is not a dig against BMR. Their product works exactly as advertised and is very nice. Since that is out of the way....


I installed my BMR sway bars on my car today. The rear was no problem at all but the fronts were a giant pain in the butt. Reason being is you have to use BMR's 10mm allen bolts to hold the mounts on. The stock sway mounts use a standard 18mm (I think) hex head. The 10mm allen head requires you to go from the top to tighten them down. That is no problem for 3 out of the 4 bolts. The fourth bolt is tucked behind the alternator and the only way to tighten it is to remove the alternator. It took me a long time to figure out that the top right threads actually remove via the star shaped end. Sorry I don't know the exact technical term for this. Once that is removed, I was able to move the alternator out of the way to get to that last bolt.

BMR was very nonchalant in the instructions about removing the alternator. It would have been nice to have more details on how to do that.

Like any other job, the second time is twice as fast. I would have liked it if they used a hex head as that would make it a lot easier. BMR also stated in their instructions that you have to remove the tie rod end but I was able to fish it through without doing that. That made me happy as I always screw up the boots on those when I remove them.


If you don't have a lift and a really nice set of tools, I wouldn't recommend installing BMR's sway bars yourself.

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[Sagacity]

Easier way to install

There is a much easier way to install that last bolt. I ran into the same problem. Use an allen socket or an allen bit or cut down an allen wrench then put a wrench on it to turn it. ratcheting wrench works best.

 

[gtorpedo]

The 10mm allen head requires you to go from the top to tighten them down. That is no problem for 3 out of the 4 bolts. The fourth bolt is tucked behind the alternator and the only way to tighten it is to remove the alternator.

A set of ball hex sockets are what you needed - definitely no need to remove the alternator with the proper tools. I struggled with that bolt as well until I bought this set: http://www.amazon.com/GearWrench-80573-8-Inch-Metric-Socket/dp/B000NIAIKQ/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1462105973&sr=8-3&keywords=hex+ball+socket

 

[Sub-Moa]

The Allen socket I had was too tall and wouldn't clear the bottom of the alternator. Even with turning the bolt all the way until it needed torque I still didn't have enough space. Like anything else in life, the right tools make the job so much easier. I'm really happy with the sway bars and think BMR's mount is superior to the other brands. I can already tell a big difference in the body roll from the stock PP sways.

The original post was just me needing to vent.lol

 

[gtorpedo]

The Allen socket I had was too tall and wouldn't clear the bottom of the alternator. Even with turning the bolt all the way until it needed torque I still didn't have enough space. Like anything else in life, the right tools make the job so much easier. I'm really happy with the sway bars and think BMR's mount is superior to the other brands. I can already tell a big difference in the body roll from the stock PP sways.

The original post was just me needing to vent.lol

The ball hex would have allowed you to pivot the socket at an angle to get the clearance you needed. I could imagine it being pretty frustrating without the tool!

 

[Brent Dalton]

I do not have BMR sway bars, but like the they have the allen head bolts. With the sway bar mounts being so large, it was almost impossible to get an 18mm wrench on it. I went in from the driver side wheel well and did not remove the alternator. I had to cut my 18mm wrench down to like 3 inches to get it to have any range.

 

[Sub-Moa]

I do not have BMR sway bars, but like the they have the allen head bolts. With the sway bar mounts being so large, it was almost impossible to get an 18mm wrench on it. I went in from the driver side wheel well and did not remove the alternator. I had to cut my 18mm wrench down to like 3 inches to get it to have any range.

The allen head is really nice for 3 out of the 4 bolts since it was easy to torque them from the top of the engine bay granted you have enough extensions.

 

[Brent Dalton]

I have the afe bars and I think 3 out of 4 of the bolts are easy regardless of hardware. I would rather have the allen head top for the 4th. Any way you slice it, there isn't much room on the 4th.

 

[havasu486]

Another option would be to use a bolt, i forget the size, where the head of the bolt fits inside the head of the supplied allen screw. Add a jam nut to the threads of the bolt you supply. Utilize a wrench on the jam nut to tighten the supplied BMR screw.

 

[Sub-Moa]

Another option would be to use a bolt, i forget the size, where the head of the bolt fits inside the head of the supplied allen screw. Add a jam nut to the threads of the bolt you supply. Utilize a wrench on the jam nut to tighten the supplied BMR screw.

That's a really good idea.

 

[BMR Tech]

That specific bolt location is a PITA, regardless.

We really like to use Billet Saddles on the front bars, and really like to provide nice High Quality allen head bolts when possible.

Not sure if it was mentioned yet, but you can take an allen key - cut it down, insert into bolt, and use a closed end wrench (preferably ratcheting gear wrench). ;)

The most logical method is to just use a ball-head socket.

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