DIY - Gen III Rear Anti-Sway Bar Install

I installed the 2008 Scion xB rear anti-sway bar (part number PTR11-52091) on my Prius Saturday morning. For those interested in this mod, here are install instructions with photos of the process.

I'd like to thank josh2008 for providing the seed information, that the 2008 Scion xB TRD rear anti-sway bar will fit a Gen III Prius.

Tools Needed:
2 Large zip ties
Floor Jack
Jack Stands
Tire Iron
15 mm box end wrench, long (> 8")
13 mm open end wrench or cresent wrench
Metric sockets and socket wrench

1) Here are the parts that come with the anti-sway bar:

The orange and blue parts are the links, orange = left, blue = right. The colored covers slip off when the nut is removed. In the box are the rubber bushings, metal straps, a bag of nuts & bolts, and a small tube of grease. The instructions for the xB are almost identical to those for the Gen III.

2) I raised the vehicle rear up & put it on jackstands and removed the rear tires. The first thing I did was to locate the link mounting holes called out in the xB install instructions. Turns out there are holes just ahead of and slightly above the lower shock mounts:

This is the hole on the left side in the middle of the picture. The rear shock mount nut is just to the right of the hole. Note the semi-circular hole just below the shock mount. This is where the nut for the anti-sway-bar link can be inserted (more below).

This is the right side, unfortuntately inverted (this would only import inverted for some reason!).

3) Here's a picture of the anti-sway bar on the ground behind the vehicle. There are flanges on the bar beneath the orange webbing pieces - these are the locations for the bushings. The xB instructions don't mention these flanges and require the bushings to be placed a specified distance along the anti-sway bar. The flanges make things easier.

The orange webbing is part of the shipping packaging and come off. Note the bag of zip ties.

4) The xB instructions say to hang the anti-sway bar temporarily from the rear axle using bungee cords. The zip ties work better:

A tip: don't tighten the zip ties too much at this point, just get them started & locked. I have them too tight here & had to loosen them in step 8 below.

5) The xB instructions require the lower shock mount bolt be removed. I managed to get the links installed while leaving the shock mount bolts alone. Take one nut off one of the left link ends, remove the colored cover and insert the end into the left side hole shown in step 2 above. Then insert the nut thru the semi-circular hole on the bottom and just ahead of the lower shock mount and tease the nut into starting to turn on the link stud. The first one was relatively easy, the second took some time and patience. With relatively thin fingers, it can be done. Spin the nut down on the stud until snug. Here's a picture of the left side looking forward from behind:


6) Now for the right side. Same process, this result:


7) Now attach the anti-sway bar to the lower ends of the links on each side. Leave the nuts finger-tight. Left side:

Right side:


8) Cut open the lubricant tube and squirt half into each rubber bushing hole. Spread the lubricant evenly around inside the holes. Then while holding the bushings open at the split, slip them over the anti-sway bar between the flanges on the bar. Rotate to get the pointy end up:

The bushings fit the profile of the inside of the beam axle. Here's when I realized I had tightened the zip ties a bit too much. They can be loosened with a small screwdriver or a knife blade tip to lift the locking tab up, then slide the strap thru.

9) Now for inserting the anti-sway bar up into the beam axle and securing it there. Using the directions in the xB instructions, place the triangular metal straps over the top of the beam axle at the bushings. The instructions say to attach the forward end of the lower strap to the front of the triangular upper straps, but I found that very awkward. Instead, I loosely attached the lower strap to the upper straps at the back of the upper strap one one side, then tried to swing the lower strap around while pushing the bar & bushings up into the axle. I tried slipping the forward strap bolt into its hole but had a devil of a time getting the bolt in. With the bold part-way in on the first strap assembly, I switched to the other one and managed to get the lower strap into position and the forward bolt secured:

In the picture, the first strap is in the background (note the bolt part-way in), and the second strap is in the foreground. I then finished bolting up the second strap, which provided enough lift on the bar to enable getting the bolt in place on the first strap. I thought this was going to be the easy part!

10) With the bar mounting straps tight, I then tightened up the nuts on the links. The upper link nuts behind the shocks can be reached from above and just ahead of the shock by inserting a long-ish box-end wrench down into the cavity just ahead of the shock. I tightened the nuts firmly as much as I could.

Final pictures: left side (my Cusco and Tanabe braces are visible forward):

Right side:


I haven't had a chance to give this a work-out this weekend, but I'm not hearing any squeaks. With these instructions, this install should take less than two hours.