How to Replace Sway Bar Link 2005-10 Chevy Cobalt
Created on: 2012-07-11
If the sway bar link is rattling or broken, this video will show what steps and tools are needed to replace it.
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step 1 :Removing the Wheel
- Loosen the lug nut covers with a 19mm socket
- Pull off the center cap
- Loosen the lug nuts with the vehicle on the ground
- Raise the vehicle with a floor jack
- Secure the vehicle on jack stands
- Remove the lug nuts
- Pull off the wheel
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step 2 :Removing the Stabilizer Link
- Hold the upper stabilizer link stud with an 18mm inch wrench
- Apply penetrating oil to the stabilizer link nuts
- Remove the upper nut from the stabilizer link with an 18mm socket and ratchet
- Support the stabilizer link with a jack
- Hold the lower stabilizer link stud with a 18mm inch wrench
- Remove the lower nut from the stabilizer link with an 18mm socket and breaker bar
- Pull off the stabilizer link
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step 3 :Installing the New Stabilizer Link
- Push the new stabilizer link into place
- Start the 19mm nuts onto the new stabilizer link
- Tighten the 19mm nuts to between 45 - 50 foot-pounds of torque
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step 4 :Reattaching the Wheel
- Slide the wheel into place
- Start the lug nuts by hand
- Tighten the lug nuts preliminarily
- Lower the vehicle to the ground
- Tighten the lug nuts to 100 foot-pounds in a crossing or star pattern
- Reattach the center cap
- Tighten the lug nut covers with a 19mm socket
Tools needed
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A Piece of Pipe (for leverage)
15mm Wrench
Torque Wrench
18mm Wrench
Jack Stands
18mm Socket
19mm Socket
Ratchet
Floor Jack
1/2 Inch Breaker Bar
Brought to you by 1AAuto.com, your source for quality replacement parts and the best service on the Internet.
Hi, I'm Mike from 1A Auto. I hope this how-to video helps you out, and next time you need parts for your vehicle, think of 1AAuto.com. Thanks.
In this video, we're going to show you how to replace a stabilizer link on this Chevy Cobalt, pretty much the same for any Cobalt as well as the Pontiac G5. The stabilizer link makes kind of a rattling or thunking noise when you go over a bump. A good indicator that it's your stabilizer link is if you're getting that rattling noise and then, you turn your vehicle, you take a curve, and the rattling noise goes away; that usually means it's a pretty good indicator that it's that stabilizer link that's bad. The tools you'll need are jack and jack stands, 18mm and 19mm sockets with a ratchet. You'll need some pipe for some extra leverage as well as a breaker bar and 15mm and 18mm wrenches. It's pretty much a bolt-on, bolt-off, but sometimes these nuts are really difficult to remove, so there's some techniques in this video that will help you out.
Use a 19mm socket or lug wrench and remove the lug caps and the wheel cover. If you don't have access to air tools, you'll want to start with the vehicle on the ground. Loosen the lug nuts first and then raise the vehicle and remove the lug nuts and the wheel and tire.
Now, use an 18mm wrench and you can grab on the back side there and then use an 18mm socket and ratchet and remove that nut. Use a little bit of penetrating oil just to help get that nut off easier. Now, I'm using my 18mm socket with the ratchet and a piece of pipe. You can use pipe or if you have a breaker bar. You just need some extra leverage. Get that bolt to move some, and then, actually, grab on to the wrench, hold the wrench, and start it loosened and then you can do it by hand the rest of the way. Once you remove that nut, then you can just knock out or remove the top of that stabilizer link. Now, here what I've done is I've supported the bottom of the suspension. What that allows, is it allows me to get a breaker bar onto that bottom bolt and first you can pull the breaker bar, which breaks the nut and the bolt, breaks it free. Then you see with the breaker bar, I start loosening up that nut. You're just going to have to work at it, it's kind of tough to get apart. Just go at it for a while and the nut eventually comes off. Actually, after you get it loosened somewhat, you can get your ratchet on there, and then, use the ratchet to get the nut the rest of the way off. Once you have that off, you can just reach up in there and pull the stabilizer link out.
So, the 1A strut is pretty much the same thing. It has a little different sizes. It's a 19mm nut and a 15mm stud. We'll fast forward through this part. You just take that stabilizer link and put it back into the new strut and put the nut on, and tighten the nut up. You want to get it nice and tight. If you were to torque it, I guess it would be probably about 45 to 50 foot-pounds. Also, if you have ABS brakes, you want to reconnect any clips or anything that holds the wiring to the strut.
Reinstall the tire. You want to put the lug nuts on by hand first and then just kind of preliminarily tighten them, and torque them when the vehicle is back down on the ground.
We'll tighten and torque these to 20 foot-pounds. We'll speed up here as I do that. On the inside one you can't really get a torque wrench on it, so I just used a small combination wrench and got it nice and tight. 20 foot-pounds is not that tight. You don't want to over-tighten them because you could strip them and these are not bolts that you want to strip. Now torque your lug nuts to 100 foot pounds each and then replace either your wheel cover or the wheel caps and the retainers
We hope this video helps you out. Brought to you by www.1AAuto.com, your source for quality replacement parts and the best service on the Internet. Please feel free to call us toll-free, 888-844-3393. We're the company that's here for you on the Internet and in person.
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