dmwil

Ok, so after 11 years and 125k miles, my smartbar decided it would not reconnect. I took the whole sway bar off, opened up the housing, and found lots of corrosion and gunk. I degreased it, wire brushed it, cleaned it, regreased it with marine grease, put it back together, and reinstalled it. The problem is that I think the angle of the housing changed because the motor/actuator housing is too close to the metal bar or guard just in front of it. The electronic connector bumps up against it. So the help I need is how can that housing be turned so that it is in the correct position so that I can get the motor/actuator housing back on and plugged in properly? Does somebody have a picture so that I can see the proper angle? I am absolutely cursing myself for not taking pictures before I took it off. I usually am pretty good about that, to head off problems like I now have. I'm guessing I have to take the whole damned thing off and open it up again to change the angle of that housing, or will it change just by disconnecting and rotating? (which doesn't make sense to me. I can't wrap my head around how that would work without having the ends at different angles).

Here are a couple of pics that hopefully will show the problem I now have. Any help would be appreciated. Btw, the cleaning and regreasing worked. It now engages and disengages easily. I don't know yet if the motor still works, or not, but I am betting that it does.

The first two pics are from the passenger side, looking toward the driver side. You can see the plug up against that bar, and the angle of the housing in relation to that bar. The motor has only 1 bolt in it because it needs to rotate counter clockwise (from this side) to line the holes up. The plug bumping the bar is preventing me from lining those holes up.



The following pics are from the driver side looking toward the passenger side. You can more clearly see it bumped up against that protector or guard or whatever that steel bar is. I am thinking it needs to rotate clockwise (from this side) to get the plug up above that metal bar. Am I right? I would love to see a pic from an 07-11 Rubi so that I can see where it needs to be.




I hope I've described the issue well enough and that the pictures show the canundrum. Any help would be appreciated. I know there are a bunch of guys out there that have had their fair share of issues with these confounded sway bars. If I can't figure this out, I'm just going to buy the manual knob disconnect. The angle at which the housing rests now probably won't matter with the manual disco because it doesn't have that big fat computer plug on it.

Thanks!

dmwil

In the first pic, you can see that the housing is pointed at 6:30. What I am trying to ask, is should it be pointed at 5:00 or even 4:00, to get that plug up at an angle where it doesn't bump the square bar/guard? Maybe that will give clarity to what I'm asking. Then, if that is the case, how do I rotate it? I'm guessing I have to take the whole darned thing off again to do that?

ronjenx

Here is a picture of how mine lines up.
The housing will rotate freely on the sway bar, and the only thing that influences the angle is the rubber hanger and the rod it attaches to.

dmwil

Thank you! I didn't think to try to undo it from that rubber hanger! I'll give it a go tomorrow and then will get to see if the motor still works!

Canvas

I have the EVO No Limits on it so I cannot help too much. However I am thinking the connector needs to be pointing down.

Canvas

Engage the disconnect and rotate it by hand. Once engaged the housing should rotate. try that first before you go and remove anything.

dmwil

I'm going to give it a go tonight! Hopefully, it will be fully functional again.

The Evo certainly would fit at the angle where it sits now. If my motor is shot, I'll be ordering up the EVO tomorrow. I still think the motor is good, though. The issue clearly was corrosion and gunk in the gear works. It engages and disengages very smoothly now, when I use a screwdriver to do it manually.

dmwil

Guys, thank you so much!! I got it moved, then attached the motor and the plug. I then started her up, rolled her back in the driveway, and BINGO!! The sway bar reconnected and the light went out! I then cycled it a few times. It disconnected and connected more quickly and smoothly than ever. In some cases, it was instant. The removal of gunk, wire brushing, and the thick coat of marine grease really made this thing slick! It is nice to have this thing back to 100%.

Thanks again!!

ronjenx

What was the cause of it being at the wrong angle?

dmwil

It must have just rotated when I had it out and apart. That's the only reason I can imagine. It wasn't off by a huge amount. Just a few degrees, but enough to block the motor plug from fitting.