Grinding the Swaybar... bad idea?

[GDawg]

I was under my Mustang earlier and finally found where a scraping noise is coming from. Sometimes when I do a fast hard start or have a lot of weight in the back seat, I would hear a scraping noise on take off.

I found that my rear sway bar on the ends is scraping my exhaust pipes on hard take offs. The exhaust pipe is wearing down quicker than the sway bar but they are both marred. No hole in the exhaust yet. I don't think I can bend the pipe anymore forward so I was thinking about taking the grinder to the sway bar and take of just a little at those spots. Not a lot just a little.

Here's some pictures... Should I grind them or take it to a muffler shop to bend the pipes?

Man, I love digital cameras...

 

[trinity_gt]

Can you take a hammer and dimple the pipe some to provide some clearance? A dimple won't affect flow measurably...

 

[san~man]

I would dimple the pipe before I grind the swaybar and provide an opportunity for premature failure of the part.

 

[Night Shifter]

^ this.....or just run dumps and eliminate the issue

 

[GDawg]

^ this.....or just run dumps and eliminate the issue

I would but I really like the look of my 3.5" slant exhaust tips.

 

[Rusty67]

Do not grind the sway bar, it is made of spring steel. Grinding it will create a weak spot and caust it to fail. So far it looks ok, looks like the paint has come off but the steel itself is very hard and provably isn't hurt at all. I have never seen that happen. Who setup the exhaust ?

 

[LarsD]

Yeah I wouldn't grind the swap bar. Dimple or bend the exhaust.

 

[Kornnut]

I know in 94-95 cars the sway bar is prone to breakage. I wouldn't grind it down. I would dimple the pipe.

 

[san~man]

I've seen SN95s break sway bars too, beware

 

[nyuk98gt]

GDawg:

You can move the tailpipes away from the sway bar. Loosen up the clamps at both ends of the pipe, twist to loosen, pull the pipes back a little at a time, and, voila. Adjust the tips again and don't forget to snug up the clamps. If those are the Magnaflow tailpipes then there should not be any interference with the sway bar.

HTH,

Chris

 

[GDawg]

Do not grind the sway bar, it is made of spring steel. Grinding it will create a weak spot and caust it to fail. So far it looks ok, looks like the paint has come off but the steel itself is very hard and provably isn't hurt at all. I have never seen that happen. Who setup the exhaust ?

They were installed over six years ago by a shop. It's a Magnaflow Magnapack catback.

I'm going to do what nyuk98gt suggested and see if I can't pull them back a bit.

 

[nyuk98gt]

GDawg:

I forgot to mention that I had to do this with my tail pipes. That's why I know it can be done (and it works). You may need to do it a time or two and don't forget that you need to watch for gas tank clearance by rotating the pipes clockwise or counterclockwise (as seen from the tail pipe outlet). So, basically, you have fore and aft and right/left adjustments available to eliminate interference with the swaybar and axle and gas tank. Magnaflow makes really good stuff (well engineered and fabricated) so the catback does not have to interfere with the stock parts.

GL and please post up an update.

Chris