Rear Sway Bar

Hmm... any chance u know what car it came from or have an email from where u got it from that would have a part# ?

 

I picked it up at a local dismantle so there was no other documentation. I saw the wrecked car it came off of and it looked like the right year so I didn't inquire further. If I can find a high quality picture of the correct unit I am sure I could figure it out. I don't need the bar anymore so if you could use it...

 

i got mine from ebay from a wreck. apparently, 2003 -06 corolla front bars are all the same whether it was made in japan, usa, or canada. or maybe i just got lucky. anyway its shaped just a bit different than the stock bar so it was a
b!t¢╫ to get it in, but it was worth it. i'm gonna get some polygraphite bushings for it soon. main concern i had was breaking any of the bolts, so i douched everything liberally w/ wd40, and i had to cook the exhaust nuts w/ an acetylene torch. a lower mileage car may not need the torch.
i swear it corners flat like a performance car now. it blew me away when i hit the first turn. there is a road, georgetown pike, that has about 12 good turns on it which i use when i go to MD. body roll is almost nonexistant w/ the new sway bars. some clown was tailgating me until we hit the turns; i bet he was rather suprised how far ahead i was after a few.
i loved this car before i sold it to my brother, i knew i had to get another one day. now i got 2! well, i got my '04 and my wife gots the '05. she really likes it too.

 

update on the sway bars: my wife, who is chinese, knows nothing about cars and didn't ever drive until she was 40 years old, drove my '04 with the bigger sway bars the other day, and when she got back, she said "you work on your car, it drive better than mine." keep in mind the '04 has 184,000 miles and her '05 has 123,000. the only differences are the bigger sway bars and 205/60r15 tires. the tires do help too, but she's got michelins, so it ain't like she has some cheap chinese maypop cheng-shin or kumho's.
and when i drive her car, the body roll annoys me, cause i'm used to the flatter handling.
i got to get some 215's on it.

 

Keep in mind your struts are shot and the springs are weak. By 120k mine were very worn and my springs were sagging. A new set of KYBs and Eibach springs made for a totally different feeling car.

Most OE struts are fairly worn by 60k or so.

 

Can someone verify the mm size of the Front (48811-AB011) and Rear (48812-AB011) sway bars? They both 24mm or just the front and the rear is 22mm? I'm looking to upgrade these next and don't want to buy the wrong part.

These are from the 2003-2011 Corolla and Matrix correct?

 

the stock corolla bar is 24mm, prius 19 or 21, but that's not important. get the 03-07 corolla front bar (maybe 08+ is same pn?) and a set of 19 1123 24mm Universal Sway Bar Bushing Kit | eBay prothane bushings and get modding. rear is what it is. buy from THmotorsports.

 

yeah, they're both worn out; mine are even worse since the mileage is 60k more. i did have the rears in the '04 replaced under CPO warranty at about 42k, but they still got more than the '05. point is, even w/ older struts, the sway bars just work. my wife has not a single clue about cars, she doesn't drive well at all, but even she noticed the difference. if you had got yours installed it would have given you wood when you hit the very next cloverleaf.

 

i been thinkin hard about getting some new struts, but i'm not sure who makes the best replacements (and no i'm not into coil overs or any wild stuff), and i really want another hollow body gibson guitar which is gonna tap me out.

 

The KYBs are the only affordable replacement I know of that doesn't require switching to coil overs.

 

This for OEM quality. The KYB Excel-G are not designed for lowering but more of OEM replacements. Part #s - 333388, 333389, 341322, 341322.

Other options include: Tokico HPs are fairly decent for a strut swap...Toyotechwv did the swap on his. RR - HU3765, LR - HU3765

More extreme:
$111.20 - Bilstein Shocks - Heavy Duty - Import Replacement Parts, LLC
Bilstein Shocks - Heavy Duty Shocks
Part Number: 24-069243
Old Part Number: F4-BE5-6924-H0

$116.64 - Koni Shock - Sport Series - Import Replacement Parts, LLC
Koni Shock - Sport Series'Yellow' Shocks
REAR: 80-2844SPORT

$125.84 - Tokico Shocks - HTS Series - K-Spec Racing - racing performance & tuning - air intakes, headers, exhaust, springs, coilovers, suspension
Tokico Shocks - HTS Series
REAR: TOHTS115R

 

Damn! When did all of those come out?

 

Oh, not "specifically" for the Prius, all but the KYB GR2/Excel-2 are the rear strut for the Toyota Matrix. Completely swappable with the Prius. However nothing new for the front.

 

i'm thinkin front need replacement worst, cause thats where all the weight and stress is. only concern i have about kyb is that i put kyb gas front shocks on my chevelle years back and they were both popped within a year. of course i drove very hard back then, and i hope the new stuff is better.

 

Is this what you got? Did it fit well. The 2006 Matrix, Part # 48811-AB011 front sway bar I picked up for $60 had both bushings but only one bracket. So I will need not only newer bushings but the brackets as well. This looks promising.



Did anyone also replace their sway bar links?

 

i must confess, my bar came w/ both bushings and brackets. since i am a cheap and lazy sob, i used them. however: i did order prothane the other day when i posted about the wife's comment. i want to see if i can tell the difference. i'll let you know how the prothanes fit. (or not).
i'm not sure, but i think the stock brackets might be the same, so you can use them if you don't want to spring for poly.

one more thing, you might want to measure the matrix bar, unless you're sure its the same as a corolla.

 

2006 Matrix


2006 Corolla


Both showing 48811-AB010 being replaced with 4881-AB011

From this it looks like the 2002-2008 Matrix will work as well as the 2002-2010 Corolla will work. Toyota Parts - Genuine OEM Toyota Auto Parts and Accessories - The one I picked off the 2006 Matrix also has 24 stamped on the bushings but I'll still measure it. I also plan on giving them a shot of rattle paint can before installing them just because. Was thinking Silver with a clear coat would look good.

 

well if you gonna paint em, you most definitely need prothanes...

 

installed the progressive 24mm rear sway bar from thm ($120 shipped) yesterday on my wife 2008 prius w/50k. absolutely zero body roll now, very impressive. very easy install, much easier than the rear sway on my volvo.

appreciate this forum so much!

 

wait until you get the front bar replaced too. then you'll really trip out on how flat it can corner. i was pleased w/ the rear bar, but i was amazed at the difference the front bar made. it was kinda unbalanced w/ just the rear bar-- on sudden sharp turns it felt like the rear wanted to kick out.

i got the prothanes yesterday, they seem kinda wimpy. the pic in the ebay ad is a stock pic and must be for a smaller diameter bar. i hate it when they pull that crap. i'll let y'all know how they do when i get them installed (or not). meantime, use your stock brackets.
don't forget to soak all the bolts down w/ penetrating oil real good before you try to remove the old bar and exhaust flange bolts.