How to Replace Sway Bar Bushings 2003-11 Honda Element

Hi, I'm Mike from 1A Auto. We've been selling auto parts for over 30 years.

Hey, everyone. Sue here from 1A Auto and today on our '06 Honda Element we're going to be installing front sway bar bushings, that's the half-moon bushings. If you need any parts for your car, click on the link below and head on over to 1aauto.com. I'm going to be using a two-post lift, at home you can use a jack and jack stands.

14mm socket, and there's two mounting bolts on this middle bracket. Don't be afraid to break them free and then keep spraying them and working them back and forth so they don't break on you. I really don't want this to break so I'm just working it back and forth and I'm spraying in between so that I can get a bolt to come out clear. Okay, I'm going to go for it. Perfect. Okay. There's no easy way to get in there to spray. This is definitely a bolt you don't want to break because it's a welded nut inside the sub-frame and that could just end up a really bad day.

When doing sway bar bushings it is always the best to do them both at the same time. Obviously they come in a pack like that, but to actually physically do them you need to take down both clamps at the same time. And you'll see why, 'cause this clamp will come down but getting this bushing out. It's not easy. So now we're going to move on to this side.

Take the bracket down. Okay, now I'm going to grab the sway bar itself. Just pull it right down. It'll hang there freely 'cause the links are still attached. Okay, so we're going to take these bushings off, see what we find. Let's hope we don't find a rotted sway bar itself. You can see those marks, that's because it's originally so it's like 12 years old now. Those are probably the original bushings also.

So what I do in this business, for years, whenever I replace sway bar bushings I take a water-based silicone paste and I'm going to coat the inside of this bushing. It's not going to break it down, it doesn't damage it. But what it does do, it stops that metal from rusting for one, and it gives this bushing, it just stops it from drying out. Just coating it--you don't have to overdo it.

Now I'm going to actually put the break part facing backwards. The reason for that is you go forward more than you go in reverse. So rain, snow, I like to leave that in the back so that it'll impact and fill it up. So now just raise your bar up. Line up the actual spot where it's going to go, the flat spot on the bushings. Then we grab our bracket, and the bracket does have an arrow on it. So it's pointed forward, so the arrow is forward. Start one of the bolts. All right, or don't. That back one wants to go right in. I'm going to put the other side together before I snug that up 'cause I want to make sure that that bushing is sitting properly. Check my arrow, there it goes. Now it's clear to snug them up.

Okay the torque specs for the bolt to the subframe for this front sway bar is 16 foot-pounds.

Thanks for watching. Visit us at 1aauto.com for quality auto parts, fast and free shipping, and the best customer service in the industry.