How To: Replace Front Sway Bar Bushings

HKPRO5

Member
:
Supercharged Protege5
Everyone that I talked to said that its difficult and that you either have to pull the motor or drop the sub frames. I did this without either of the two and under and hour.

Disclamer- I will not be responsible for anyone not using jack stands or stripping bolts. Or anything pertaining to this thread. Do this at your own risk!

Parts needed
Energy Suspension bushings 23mm $15 from Amazon.com (comes with two)
Part number 9.5127R
White Lithium Grease ( comes in package with bushings)
(when using the energy susp. bushings you will have to bore out the holes on the bracket to make the bolts fit. Make sure you do this before you get under the car.)
photo6-1.jpg

or
Stock bushing replacement from Mazda $5ish each
Part number B03E-34-156

photo12-1.jpg



Tools needed

14mm angled box wrench
14mm 3/8 deep socket
14mm 6 point socket
3/8 Socket wrench
breaker bar (small enough to fit around the open end of the wrench)
-or use the double wrench method. (as I did with the big wrench on top)
62217_wrenches_5.jpg

Penetrating fluid (WD-40 or similar)
photo11-1.jpg


Angled Box Wrench 14mm
photo10-1.jpg


OPTIONAL
Gearwrench with movable head (makes things much easier)
photo9-1.jpg



Ok Start off by raising the car up as high as you can when you do this. (to give you more room to work. Also first thing to do once you get the tires off is to spray the bolts with penetrating fluid and give it about 10 mins to settle in.

1. take off the sway bar endlinks on each side.

2. Starting with the drivers side, Using the 14mm deep socket remove the upper bolt on the bushing bracket.
photo8-2.jpg


3. Move to the passenger side and take off the same top bolt just like the other side.

4. Using the 14mm angled wrench, go under the car and start on the driver side lower bolt. This one is harder to do due the the fuel lines being in the way. You may have to use a breaker bar or use the double wrench method to get if off.

5. Go to the passenger side and take that remaining bolt off.

6. Remove the old brackets and bushings.

7. Properly lube the new bushings. (insure that the bolts fit into the brackets)

8. Place the new bushings and brackets on the bar.

9. Now is the "hard" part. You just have to be patient and make sure you use all the angles available when trying to get the bolts in. Be sure not to tighten them down till you get all 4 bolts in to give you some wiggle room when getting the other bolts in.

10. After installing all the bolts make sure that they are all tightened down.

11. Assemble the endlinks back to where they belong and put everything back!


Thanks to Mattv for getting me the part number for the Energy Susp. bushings.
 
Last edited:
I am very happy all the guys spreading gloom and doom about this were wrong...I need to do it, but like you was totally dreading it. Thanks for the awesome write-up.
 
Where they tight? or you could not remove the bolts when you loosened them?
 
i'm going to order some... can you help me put them on?

*edit
how did you order them... amazon says it can't ship to my address
 
Last edited:
I dont know. lol It let me ship. You could try to order them from somewhere else. lol Just use the same part number.

I work day shift now but when you get them lets set something up. lol
 
I dont know. lol It let me ship. You could try to order them from somewhere else. lol Just use the same part number.

I work day shift now but when you get them lets set something up. lol

sounds good... yeah i ended up ordering them from a different website
i'll let you know when i get them in then hopefully we can set something up :)
 
like loosening them there physically wasn't room for the bolt to come out. you'd get it out 3/4 of the way and it would bump the subframe

When I was looking at mine a few weeks ago, this is what it seemed like to me... Haven't actually tried to mess with them tho.
 
I would say check it on the part of the bar to make sure it fits. Then if it does install it. It shouldnt be a problem.
 
I think I have found the answer. From energysuspension.com:

Color
Energy Suspension makes parts in 2 colors. Red and Black.

How are these two colors different?
The only difference between the red and black parts is that most Black Energy Suspension parts are Graphite Impregnated. This serves to help self lubricate the bushings. The Red parts do not have this characteristic. Aside from the actual color and the lack of being Graphite Impregnated - the red parts are essentially the same as the black.

I thought that the RED parts were harder and more performance oriented?
This is a common misconception. The red parts have the same durometer (hardness) as the Black parts and differ only in their actual appearance (color) and the fact that they're NOT graphite impregnated like the Black parts.


So, it appears that part number 95127 is the 23mm Front SB bushings. A "G" indicates the black, graphite-impregnated (self-lubricating) bushings and an R indicates the red bushings. I emailed Energy Suspension to confirm this, and I'll post if they say anything different.
 
Back