Chevrolet Equinox Sway Bars
The Chevy Equinox is an automotive marvel with an automatic transmission and smooth handling. Sway bars are an important part of the safety features in your Chevrolet Equinox suspension system. Replacing a broken sway bar on your SUV means safe vehicle handling. It also ensures your Equinox does not go into a body roll.
How do sway bars function on a Chevrolet?A sway bar (also called roll bar, anti-roll bar, anti-sway bar, or stabilizer bar) reduces the roll of your Equinox during sharp turning or irregular maneuvering by connecting the wheels together through short lever arms linked by a torsion spring. This takes the amount of force off one side of your SUV and distributes some of it to the other side so that you dont tip.
When should you replace sway bars?Most Chevrolet Equinox owners only need to replace their sway bars once during the lifetime of their Chevy. However, this may not be true for drivers who frequently make sharp turns at fast speeds. It is important to be careful on turns to keep your Equinoxs sway bar from being overworked all of the time.
Is a sway bar necessary for the Chevrolet Equinox?Driving without a sway bar can be very dangerous since it compromises your suspension, and your Equinox will most likely roll during sharp cornering without it. Your outside wheels leave the pavement as a majority of the weight shifts to the inside. While your Chevrolet vehicle can still be driven, a sway bar is a safety feature that should not be neglected.
What are the signs of a faulty Chevrolet sway bar?If the sway bar in your Chevrolet Equinox experiences the following issues, these are signs it needs to be replaced.
- Your Chevrolet feels like it wants to roll while going around curves. It will feel very unstable.
- It will make a knocking sound in the front when rolling over bumps.
- Your Chevrolet will also squeak or squeal when going over bumps.
- It feels "loose" when turning on a curve.
Sway bar bushings support the sway bar to reduce noise, soften the impact of bumps and cracks in the road, and make for a smoother ride. When these parts begin to wear, they wear out quickly. Unfortunately, these parts cannot be viewed or reached easily, so there is no real way to diagnose by sight. Here is how you know you might need to replace your sway bar bushings:
- Your Equinox vehicle is less responsive or more sluggish than normal during a turn.
- Rattling underneath the vehicle.
- Squealing noise underneath the vehicle.