FE- 3 vs FE- 1 rear stabilizer bar

[bluecalais79]

For my 96 Cutlass I have the soft ride (FE-1) rear sway bar. Is the rear sway bar out of a 92 Lumina Euro (F-41) a better, thicker sway bar that would stiffen up the ride on my Cutlass a bit better? Also, would I need different bushings, etc, I'd think I would .

 

thx

[Schurkey]

What is the diameter of the bar you have?

 

What is the diameter of the F41 Chevy bar?

 

You'll need bushings (4?) the same size as the replacement bar.

[ManicMechanic]

1996 bar = 12mm

 

1992 F41 bar = 14mm

 

Largest first gen W bar = 22mm on 1995-96 MC Z34 and Lumina 3.4

[bluecalais79]

Thanks, I picked up the 14 mm bar to replace the one on the car, along with all new bushings, bracket, etc., from Rock Auto. Spring can't get here fast enough. This will compliment the rear upper tower brace on the way from Canada. I cancelled the order from Amazon for the ADDCO 474 which is a 7/8 thick bar, as that order will never be filled.

 

I'll be taking this car to the Olds Nationals in Gettysburg, PA this year, so I'll need this car to handle those mountainous curves on I-81 along the way. What I lack in power I'll make up in handling.

 

I'll just tell the Judges the top rear strut brace is really a sock hanger. There goes 5 points

[bluecalais79]

My rear Sway Bar arrived over the weekend, the 14mm one. Too bad though, I took one look at it and remarked at how close it looked to the 11mm one already on the car. Because it is. I then measured the one I just bought to be 11mm.

 

So now I guess I have a rusty spare. No way am I sending it back, too much shipping and effort. That's how it rolls, win some, lose some.

 

That's life in the car world.

[Galaxie500XL]

I can look in a few yards around here...a lot of the convertibles got FE3 suspensions, and if I can find one, it should have a much larger bar.

[bluecalais79]

P.M. sent

[ManicMechanic]

Rear bars came in 5 flavors:

 

12mm

 

CUTLASS 92-94 Rear; 6-191 (3.1L)

CUTLASS 92-94 Rear; 6-207 (3.4L), 4 Dr

CUTLASS 95-96 Rear; susp opt FE1

CUTLASS 97 Rear; Supreme, susp opt FE1

GRAND PRIX 96 Rear; 6-191 (3.1L)

LUMINA CAR 90 Rear

LUMINA CAR 91-94 Rear; 12mm

REGAL 92-96 Rear

 

14mm

 

CUTLASS 92-94 Rear; 6-207 (3.4L), 2 Dr

CUTLASS 95-96 Rear; susp opt FE3

CUTLASS 97 Rear; Supreme, susp opt FE3

GRAND PRIX 96 Rear; 6-207 (3.4L)

LUMINA CAR 91-94 Rear; 14mm

 

20mm

 

LUMINA CAR 95-96 Rear; 20mm

LUMINA CAR 97-99 Rear; susp opt F41

MONTE CARLO 95-96 Rear; 20mm

MONTE CARLO 97-99 Rear; susp opt F41

 

22mm

 

LUMINA CAR 95-96 Rear; 22mm

MONTE CARLO 95-96 Rear; 22mm

 

11mm (IIRC)

 

LUMINA CAR 97-99 Rear; susp opt FE1 & FE0

LUMINA CAR 00-01 Rear

MONTE CARLO 97-99 Rear; susp opt FE1 & FE0

[Galaxie500XL]

Thanks!

 

So I'm looking for a 14mm Cutlass bar...because if I recall, the larger 95-96 Lumina bar doesn't work with the earlier Cutlass, right?

[ManicMechanic]

I think it hits the exhaust but can be installed with a little help from a BFH.

[oldmangrimes]

Last year I bought a used rear sway bar and brackets to upgrade my 95 Cutlass convertible from a junkyard using car-part.com.    They said they were from a 95-96 Monte Carlo Z34.   I measured the rear bar as 20mm (I checked again last night), it was much beefier than the flimsy little bar that came on my convertible.    Although it came with the bushings still attached to the bar, I bought new bushings for it.   I think I paid around $100 for everything, including shipping.   

 

My car corners much much flatter, feels stiffer, and can even oversteer a little, which can be a surprise if you're not ready for it.   

 

It didn't fit perfectly, it was hard to install (although that could have just been me being an idiot).   It doesn't hit the single exhaust from the 3100, but it sometimes rubs the back of the spare tire well.  I attached a picture where you can see the rub marks.    My car has been hit in the rear, and has 225k miles on it, and has had much of the rear suspension replaced by an amateur (me!) and never professional aligned, so maybe my situation is a little unique.    

 

 

Even though it's not perfect, I am very happy that I did it.   I feel the difference 100 times a day.   I recommend it.  

Edited February 14, 2018 by oldmangrimes

[bluecalais79]

Wow that is a huge bar for sure. I myself am going to be ok with getting a 14mm for the bottom and the top brace I just acquired, couple that with some KYB's to replace the noisy Moog's I had installed (this was a rush job as my original GM"s were literally rotting off the car and I didn't do enough homework on the Moogs), and call it a day. As previously mentioned I've got the Vert STB in the front which immensely helps, so all around this will be a decent handler.

 

I'll mention what also helps. I weeded it down to figure out my 96 is a Series III car so I got the Variable Effort steering in it (standard in the Series III and Series IV in 1996) which is HUGE.