Regarding 1981 non turbo: When I install turbo sway bars from an 85 Turbo, will I need different sway bar links on the front, or are the factory non-turbo links the same?

I also want to replace all the bushings involved. Any suggestions about where to buy these?
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Thanks everyone for all the information and advice, Doug C. 81 242 Brick Off Blocks, stock, B21F (non-Turbo), M46; 86 244, B230, 140k , auto.

Thanks for the info. I'm going to finally be doing the struts, strut mount bearings, and control arm bushings. Unfortunately, the front sway bar off the Turbo at the boneyard turned out to be bent. So I'm still hunting for a good Turbo or IPD bar for the front at a good price. I installed the rear Turbo bar and new shocks yesterday.
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Thanks everyone for all the information and advice, Doug C. 81 242 Brick Off Blocks, stock, B21F (non-Turbo), M46; 86 244, B230, 140k , auto.

$10+shipping if you want mine off of the wagon. It turned out to be a 23mm bar (I assume stock), the rear measured 26mm (and it's gone). One of the brackets is still attached.

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alex

'89 765T 174,5xx mi

Sold. I'll contact you off Board. Thanks.
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Thanks everyone for all the information and advice, Doug C. 81 242 Brick Off Blocks, stock, B21F (non-Turbo), M46; 86 244, B230, 140k , auto.

End links are the same.

I put turbo bars on the 83 and ordered a set of polyurethane frame bracket bushings (from FCP). They were made in Australia - can't recall the brand name. First attempt was not a success, as the bushings had no means to keep them centered in the brackets and after a few miles a loud clunking in turns announced that one had slipped out. Fortunately it was still clinging to the bar. I had to remove the brackets, drill small holes in them, and jury-rig a safety wire setup to retain the bushings properly in the brackets. Maybe later brackets have a different design to retain these bushings? Call IPD - they are knowledgeable and usually very helpful with this sort of stuff - and verify that their bushings will stay in place.

Personally, if doing it again I'd get the OE Volvo bushings for the turbo bars. The 21-yr-old originals in our 83 were still in good shape.
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Bob (81-244GL B21F, 83-244DL B23F, 94-944 B230FD; plus grocery-getter Dodge minivan, MGB, and numerous old motorcycles)

Doug,

There is a guy on Turbobricks selling SuperPro Poly bushing sets for the 23mm (turbo)sway bars, click here...




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don hodgdon '89 744ti, '81 242t, '71 D-35...in pieces on a repairman's bench :-(

If you are talking about the sway bar mounting bushings, you will need to buy new ones (get the IPD poly for these), or if the ones off of the donor car are still in good condition by all means you can reuse them and the brackets.

If you are talking about the end link grommets and/or bushings, you can reuse the old ones.

If you will be redoing all of your bushings soon, I would just reuse what you've got for the time being until you get to it.

Here is what I recommend for best ride and least amount of hassle:

Buy the IPD poly sway bar mounts and end link grommets (they come in a set). Also, if IPD sells end links with poly bushings (the lower bushing, not the grommets), get those. I can't remember if they sell the whole end link with the bushing in it or just the bushing. Either way, poly is a good way to go there. For the control arm bushings, I would recommend getting them from the dealer, or better yet the OEM bushings from fcpgroton for a better price (you have to ask for them; they normally sell the cheapass Scantech bushings which you want to avoid).

You could get the poly control arm bushings, but they are kind of a hassle to install because not only do you have to press them out of the bracket, you have to melt out the old rubber and clean it up to reuse the outer sleeve of the bushing, and then press the poly into it. But if you have a torch and want to do that extra work, then more power to you. Poly is a good way to go and you won't have to do the job for a long time. In that case just buy the whole poly bushing set from IPD and you'll be back in business after a long day's work on your front end. If you have any ball joints or tie rod ends that are suspect, now would be the time to do them. Would it make sense to swap out your strut cartridges? Maybe you've got a long weekend of work ahead of you....but once you put those turbo sways on, you'll really like the improvement and will probably want your front end to be in top shape.