Thread: cost to replace a sway bar? Do these crack?

its completely possible, and that price seems a little steep to me

Price is very steep. Even at list price the stock sway bar is $180. PN 10284146

A heavy duty stock replacement sway bar from GM is only $80 list. PN 12498643 and should be able to be had for less.

The labor to put a sway bar in should be an hour or less. I can do one in 30 min and I am not a mechanic.

I would suggest buying the heavy duty sway bar and having them install it, or doing the work yourself.

And yes, sway bars are known for cracking all the time on our cars. The heavy duty ones do not seem to crack as much.

Originally Posted by andremike

Thanks guys... What about the polyurethane bushings? or are rubber fine?

Now I need to find someone local that has the part....

Is that the part number for a 2000 GP GT?

The rubber are fine. Poly do help stiffen things up a bit. But I didn't notice that much of a difference when I did my poly bushings.

And yes, that PN will work for your 2000 GP GT.

They want to put in a Dorman sway bar. I'm told the price is $219.00 I found it online for $120.00.

They actually offered to lower the price to $261.00 since they are in there.. $150.00 for the parts and then labor..

Is Dorman good or should I go with GMPP sway bars?


Should I replace the rear sway bar?

Originally Posted by andremike

Should I replace the rear sway bar?

As mentioned, stick with the GMPP sway bar. It can be found online for less than the $80 I mentioned above. Even summit sells them, just search for the PN I gave you above.

And if the rear sway bar is not broken (which it hardly ever does) then don't replace it.

Originally Posted by SnowDrift

I hope your experience is better, but I have yet to read about anyone having a flush done on their transmission and not end up in a complete rebuild within a year or two. The consensus on transmissions from every tranny guy I know is to never flush.

FWIW, there is a lot of myths about tranny flushes. Very good write-up by Dave on his site:

4T65E Transmission Info

The myths of the Deadly Trans Flush:
This is one subject that leaves a lot of people in mistrust, doubt, wrongful information and a bitter feeling when mentioned. First of all let me clarify what a transmission flush REALLY does since it is very commonly misunderstood. A transmission fluid flush machine does nothing more than hook up in line with your transmission cooler. One line hooks up to the supply coming from the trans and the other line hooks back up to the return side, which is in series with the cooler. This IN NO WAY flushes the inside of the transmission! All it does is take the old fluid from the transmission side out and replace what goes back in with fresh new fluid. There is no magic wand that crawls inside the transmission and pressure washes anything to disturb particles and gunk buildup. The transmission fluid flush machine has a bladder inside that transfers existing pressure that comes out of the transmission, roughly 10-40 psi, and passes it along to the opposite side of the bladder containing new fluid to properly displace the same amount that came out. NOW with that said here are some problems. I have seen many times where a shop did a flush and NEVER checked the trans fluid before OR after the flush! I have found cars up to 4 quarts low on fluid because of this neglect and leaving the customer stranded with a burned up transmission. It is more of a user or operater problem than the machines fault, its just putting back in what came out.... or is supposed to. During transmission fluid flushes there is also an additive that commonly is added before the flush to help clean the inside of the trans and can be harsh if the transmission has been very neglected over its life. After a transmission ages, and the fluid ages respectively, things chemically change inside the trans as far as friction materials and the adhesives on them. If you never change your trans fluid and it has very high mileage on it or is severly burnt then NEVER expect a flush to magically cure problems or expect new fresh fluid with strong detergents not to cause problems. It is a shock to the transmission to remove all of the old well past due fluid with all new fluid and the new fluid with its fresh strong detergents can break down the friction materials and adhesives that bond them to the clutch plates. On a vehicle with higher mileage and an unknown past it is always much safer to drop the pan and change the fluid and filter, that way you are giving the fluid a chance to slowly adapt, new with old and not be such a chemical shock to everything. Again checking the fluid level is a MUST! Neglect is the biggest problem with transmissions and making sure the fluid level is full and periodically serviced is the best you can do for it. Another problem is that new transmission fluid has friction modifiers in it and tend to keep shifts smooth. A lot of times if you change trans fluid that is old and burnt with new fluid it will feel like it is shifting softer, that is because the fluid is doing its job again. Fortunately on computer controlled transmission this can be troublesome since the pcm controls shift timing and now has to play catchup to firm up shifts because it has been softening them up over time. Not a common occurance but again neglect will only lead to worst case scenarios. I have nothing wrong with flush machines IF used properly and not used on a trans that is just plain worn out, again it is not a solution fix all, it is maintenance pure and simple and if neglected too long then only time will tell longevity of the trans. I hope this clears up some of the confusion and mislead information that has been floating around for years. I have NEVER seen a flush machine cause a failure, I HAVE seen an operater of a flush machine cause a failure.

ebay headlights are ok if you never use them. once you turn them on at night you will see them shake with every little bump you hit in the road. you, and other cars around you will see them shaking on the road signs. its embarrassing. i know this from experience