# Rear Anti-Sway Bar, now i have funny sounds



## epiplayer (Dec 13, 2013)

Hello! i just installed a Whiteline anti-sway bar from a MKV Jetta onto my beetle, and have it set on the middle setting. Ever since i installed it, now i have strange creaking noises coming from the back of the car. I went under there and tightened everything down again after 100 miles, and then again after that to see if that would change anything, but it didn't. it sounds like someone rubbing rubber very hard across metal, and i don't know if it is the bushings that hold it to the frame or the stock end links that are causing it. does anyone know what might be causing this sound, or how to get rid of it? (minus putting the stock anti-sway bar back on)

however, the car corners much better now, with predictable throttle-off oversteer, and it is easy to recover. now if only i could find who makes a front sway bar for it so i can tighten the whole thing up and eliminate the body roll.


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## IndyTTom (Oct 23, 2007)

epiplayer said:


> Hello! i just installed a Whiteline anti-sway bar from a MKV Jetta onto my beetle, and have it set on the middle setting. Ever since i installed it, now i have strange creaking noises coming from the back of the car. I went under there and tightened everything down again after 100 miles, and then again after that to see if that would change anything, but it didn't. it sounds like someone rubbing rubber very hard across metal, and i don't know if it is the bushings that hold it to the frame or the stock end links that are causing it. does anyone know what might be causing this sound, or how to get rid of it? (minus putting the stock anti-sway bar back on)
> 
> however, the car corners much better now, with predictable throttle-off oversteer, and it is easy to recover. now if only i could find who makes a front sway bar for it so i can tighten the whole thing up and eliminate the body roll.


I also installed the Whiteline Anti-Sway bar on my 2012 Turbo and it's as quiet as a church mouse. It does handle a lot better around corners and I may even try the hardest setting to see if it improves even more. 
Question, how did you install your sway bar? Did you jack it up or did you put the rear tires on ramps? You need to have weight on the axles to properly align and tighten the sway bar. So it is crucial to make sure you do all the final tightening 
and aligning with the cars wheels on the ground or ramps instead of jacked up and on jack stands. If you didn't you can break the endlinks and it could explain the noise. I assume you greased up the bushings prior to slipping them onto the 
Sway bar? You did grease the inside and not the outside right!? Just double check your installation and loosen up everything if you are not sure and then retighten it properly with the tires on the ground or on Ramps not on Jack stands. 

I had mine now for 2 months and so far not a peep. I figure I have to re-grease the bushings once a year but hopefully not more than that.


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## epiplayer (Dec 13, 2013)

i installed it on the ground, no jacks or anything. i just backed the car up to the edge where my driveway slants down and put it on there. the bushings from whiteline said that they didnt need grease, because they were... fuzzy. flocked with some sort of microfiber material impregnated into the rubber. it said you CAN grease them, so i might just do that. What kind of grease should i use? i have some grease used for packing bushings, will that work? and i only grease the part that wraps around the sway bar right?

also- did you get new/aftermarket endlinks? the stock ones seem so... tiny.


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## IndyTTom (Oct 23, 2007)

epiplayer said:


> i installed it on the ground, no jacks or anything. i just backed the car up to the edge where my driveway slants down and put it on there. the bushings from whiteline said that they didnt need grease, because they were... fuzzy. flocked with some sort of microfiber material impregnated into the rubber. it said you CAN grease them, so i might just do that. What kind of grease should i use? i have some grease used for packing bushings, will that work? and i only grease the part that wraps around the sway bar right?
> 
> also- did you get new/aftermarket endlinks? the stock ones seem so... tiny.


I agree that the stock endlinks aren't as sturdy as some of the aftermarket ones out there but for now they work just fine. I may invest in some aftermarket endlinks later down the line. 
Never heard of microfiber fuzzy bushings that don't need greasing. If they are made out of rubber or in this case polyurethane they need greasing. Are you sure you ordered the Whiteline Sway bar? I ordered mine from Auto Anything and used their 20% discount and free shipping. I think it was 178 or something close to that after the coupon code. The part number is BWR20XZ
The package was shipped with the Rear Sway bar, the yellow bushings, the grease and the lateral locks. There was a You Tube video about installing the Whiteline Rear Sway Bar on a Beetle which I followed. I was going to attach a link to this response but now that I am looking for it I can't find it. I remember that the guy didn't use the grease that came with the bar since he thought it was too thin so he used special suspension type grease. I don't think that is really necessary since the grease that came with the bar worked just fine and I didn't have any other grease laying around. So far so good. No noise or squeaks from the Swaybar. I will keep on looking to see if I can find that You tube video. I guess it's possible the guy removed it by now. I should have downloaded it. I think you should be fine with the packing grease you have and yes you only grease the inside of the bushing. The part that makes contact with the bar.


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## IndyTTom (Oct 23, 2007)

Okay, I found the Video. It's for a GTI but it's pretty much the same procedure and it is the Same Part Number and everything. Again, your bar should have come with a small packet of grease.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZlmfOFxRWI

Here is where I ordered the bar. They don't have it listed for the Beetle but it's the same Part for the Beetle as it is for the Jetta or the GTI. I verified that with Whiteline before ordering.

http://www.autoanything.com/suspension-systems/77A6663A3817846.aspx


Best Price right now that I found is $215.91 minus 16% with Promocode (FRMTUNDRA16) = $181.36 A very Excellent price for a Great Rear Sway bar! It does help not only with cornering but also reduces understeer. 
Great mod. Start with medium. I may go to the Hard position but for how I am pretty happy with it.


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## Mr Gee (Jan 30, 2006)

When I fitted a whiteline rear sway bar on a previous ride, I used a marine grade grease. They are more durable and hardier to being washed off when driving in rain conditions


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## RFROSS (May 10, 2000)

I've got some Mobil 1 red synthetic grease and I use that on poly bushings. Works great.

A note for those of you contemplating going to the full hard setting: a softer setting (or no sway bar) often times works better in wet conditions. I learned that from my road racing days way back when. So you may want to factor in what type of weather you primarily drive in so that you can find a happy medium for the setting because you may not like the feel of a full hard setting in wet conditions.


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## IndyTTom (Oct 23, 2007)

RFROSS said:


> I've got some Mobil 1 red synthetic grease and I use that on poly bushings. Works great.
> 
> A note for those of you contemplating going to the full hard setting: a softer setting (or no sway bar) often times works better in wet conditions. I learned that from my road racing days way back when. So you may want to factor in what type of weather you primarily drive in so that you can find a happy medium for the setting because you may not like the feel of a full hard setting in wet conditions.


Good point about wet conditions. I like the Medium setting which does great in cornering even in Wet conditions. Heck, it's been nothing but raining here in Indy. Already had over 6 inches of rain in June and more on the way. 
It also helps with under steer and body roll. Great mod in my opinion. You definitely don't want to drive the Beetle without a rear sway bar or you will have major Under Steer issues. It's bad enough with the stock sway bar but I would never ever
not use any even if Noah and his Ark are floating by. ;-)


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## epiplayer (Dec 13, 2013)

yeah im sure i have the whiteline one. the new bushings they are using are black, and they have a fleece-type material on them. I got mine from http://www.aftermarketsuspensionparts.com/ for just over 200 bucks. I will go ahead and grease them, it seemed strange to me not to, but the new bar didnt come with grease, and the instructions said that grease is not required. apparently they were wrong. 

autocrossed it today, got 3rd to a dual-driver '13 focus rs. and they spanked me like a red-headed stepchild. beat an audi a4, a 2000-ish integra type r, and a mini cooper s. I dont think theres anything i could have done against that focus either, as he had me by 3 seconds. if only I could tune it and stay in the same class.


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## IndyTTom (Oct 23, 2007)

epiplayer said:


> yeah im sure i have the whiteline one. the new bushings they are using are black, and they have a fleece-type material on them. I got mine from http://www.aftermarketsuspensionparts.com/ for just over 200 bucks. I will go ahead and grease them, it seemed strange to me not to, but the new bar didnt come with grease, and the instructions said that grease is not required. apparently they were wrong.
> 
> autocrossed it today, got 3rd to a dual-driver '13 focus rs. and they spanked me like a red-headed stepchild. beat an audi a4, a 2000-ish integra type r, and a mini cooper s. I dont think theres anything i could have done against that focus either, as he had me by 3 seconds. if only I could tune it and stay in the same class.


You are right the New Black Bushings are suppose to be PTFE (Type of Teflon) lined and are suppose to be Grease free. However, I have seen on many Subaru websites that those "Grease Free" bushings do squeak and make lots of noise.
Like so many things this "New and Improved" greaseless bushing isn't much of an improvement over their older Yellow Poly bushings. You may want to contact Whiteline to see what they recommend. Not sure if you are really suppose to grease those
Greaseless bushings but I guess it really can't hurt. Congrats on 3rd Place. Those Ford Focus RS cars are pretty potent and I have seen some tuned ones that crank out 500 HP. The 2015 Focus RS is suppose to have 350HP stock. So unless you have a K04 Turbo and a decent tune under the Hood it's no contest. Here is a YouTube Video about Whitelines and their new bushings. I personally think they failed. They maybe greaseless but they are certainly not squeakless 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQzVKNHSqiU


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## Peepsman (Nov 25, 2017)

Good Day All:

I realize the thread is a little older, but I would like to purchase and install the Whiteline sway bar as mentioned above. I own a 2017 convertible classic, and was wondering if this will fit my year or if there have been any changes to factory mounting positions.

Thank you for any info you can provide.


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## Peepsman (Nov 25, 2017)

I took a chance and purchased the Whiteline rear sway bar. Other than the old being tricky to get out, the new one went in without a hitch. Softest setting for now, and cornering seems to be better. Will try medium in a few weeks. Question, is there a front match from Whiteline, and who make good aftermarket links? The stock units are pretty iffy.


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## p3yro (Apr 8, 2009)

In all honesty you don’t really need a front one. Stock one is pretty big as it is. I wouldn’t waste the $


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## Peepsman (Nov 25, 2017)

Thank you for your response. Do you know if the existing sway bar is the same as the R Line unit, or is that one stiffer?


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## p3yro (Apr 8, 2009)

R lines 19mm I believe


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## tobiascuypers (Jun 22, 2017)

What was the part number of the swap bar you purchased? I am interested in one as well


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## Peepsman (Nov 25, 2017)

http://www.autoanything.com/suspension-systems/77A6663A3817846.aspx

Whiteline BWR20XZ. Up to you, but I would order the end links also. While the stock units work, they seem very light weight to me. I ordered the end links after seeing the stock units, and will be replacing them this weekend.


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## drag79stang (Jul 30, 2016)

First I installed H&R super sport lowering springs. Then I installed the rear sway bar strengthening plate from ECS. Then I installed Koni SRT struts/shocks.
First bar I installed, (besides the adjustable front and rear end links), was an ECS rear bar. 26mm I believe. Also installed theiri poly bushings w/billet mounts.
Rear end handled A lot nicer, but made the front end feel washy. A couple of companies said NOT to install a larger front bar. Not necessary. I call bullchit. I've modded
enough cars in my day and 9/.10 times, you did BOTH bars.
Well, long story short, I installed a VWR front bar last weekend. Put it on the middle setting. Car handles like it's on rails. Wish I would have done it at the same time I
did the rear, but oh well.

Cant waiti to put all 4 Hankook S3s on this spring, and REALLY have some fun!


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