2014 SE TRD rear sway bar installation problem - Toyota Yaris Forums

NYC-SE · 09-10-2014, 12:13 AM

After reading so many positive posts recommending it I bought a TRD rear sway bar. Read the install instructions and the various threads here and it seemed like it would be simple enough to do. Today I crawled under my car to install it and well...not so simple.

The forward hole or upper hole (NOT the shock mount hole) is already in use. I was unable to get a picture but it seems like some sort of lateral bump stop is installed there. That's the only possible purpose of this doohickey that I can figure out. There is no mention of this thing in the instructions and I can't even find it on any of the parts diagrams I was able to pull up online. Does anyone know what I am talking about? My car is an SE model, so I was thinking this might be something unique to the SE.

If there is anyone here who has installed a TRD rear bar on an SE I would love to hear how you dealt with it. Toyota went to the trouble of designing and installing this thing, they must have had a reason. I am reluctant to just discard it without knowing what that reason is and how it would affect things.

Thanks in advance.

fatpanda · 09-10-2014, 03:25 AM

Whatever it is, I took it off and installed the sway bar. I have 25K on my car with no issues if that helps.

NYC-SE · 09-10-2014, 05:16 PM

I've decided I would like to keep the bump stop, like I said it's there for a reason.

So just so I understand...Did you use the built in nut on the bump stop or did you use the nut supplied with the sway bar hardware? If you used the supplied hardware did you have to drill out the bump stop nut or grind it off? And as to the order (from closest to wheel moving inward) it should be sway bar tab then trailing arm then bump stop. Is this correct?

NYC-SE · 09-10-2014, 11:58 PM

Thanks aznturboman, all my questions are answered. I'll give it another go when I get some free time.

NYC-SE · 09-30-2014, 07:45 PM

Finally got the sway bar installed today. It wasn't too difficult to do but I was working without jack stands so it was a slight PITA.

I haven't had an opportunity to really push the car yet but on the test drive today it felt more stable, seemed to hold a line better, and the ride quality didn't seem to be negatively affected. So far, so good. Looking forward to really testing it out over the next few weeks. Final opinion then.

NYC-SE · 09-30-2014, 09:19 PM

Just a quick how-to recap for TRD rear sway bar installation on a 3rd Gen Yaris SE.

Things to know:

1. TRD sway bar part # is PTR11-52071. This is the same part that fits the 2nd Gen Yaris and the Scion xD.

2. 3rd Gen SE models have a “rear axle beam dynamic damper” installed in the upper hole where the sway bar will mount. They look like this:

You CAN discard these, thereby freeing up that hole and install the sway bar with the supplied hardware BUT I recommend that you DO NOT. Toyota went to the trouble of designing and installing these dampers, they serve a purpose. I decided to keep mine.

3. If you decide to keep them you will have to buy 2 new mounting bolts. The bolts supplied with the sway bar will not fit the dampers, the thread is different. DO NOT reuse the bolts holding the dampers in place. They are too short and they are lower grade.

VERY IMPORTANT: make sure you buy Grade 10.9 bolts. (This is the same grade as the supplied bolts.) You will NOT find them at your local Home Depot. I had to order them online from Fastenal. Part number is 11116380. These are M10-1.25X30mm, Class 10.9, Yellow Zinc coated flange bolts. They look like this:

DO NOT use lower grade bolts. There will be a greater risk of failure if you do. Don’t put yourself in danger.

4. You can use the washers supplied with the sway bar. They go on the bolt head. The “nut” is cast into the damper.

5. Remove the dampers first. Then install the sway bar according to the supplied directions, except of course, use the 2 new bolts and the rear beam dynamic damper for the upper mounting holes. Torque to specs. (44 ft-lbs for upper {new} bolts, 36 ft-lbs for lower shock mount bolts).

6. You can do ALMOST all of this with the car on the ground BUT you will have to jack up the vehicle and remove the tires for the final torquing of the upper bolts. There is not enough clearance to get a torque wrench on those bolts with the wheels on.

Exiwolfman · 09-30-2014, 10:01 PM

Can u post a pic of the dampers installed on car ..could say never noticed on the SE , what purpose do they serve ?

sent from my S4 on Mars

WorkTL · 09-30-2014, 11:46 PM

Does the LE 3rd gen bring the bump stops? I just ordered a Whiteline 22mm RSB.

NYC-SE · 10-01-2014, 12:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WorkTL

Does the LE 3rd gen bring the bump stops? I just ordered a Whiteline 22mm RSB.

I don't know for sure but I suspect the answer is no. I found a part diagram for the rear suspension online, it shows the dampers on rear disc brake models only. In the US that means SE trim.

I'd be interested to know the answer myself. So do us a favor when you install your Whiteline bar and please let us know.

NYC-SE · 10-01-2014, 12:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Exiwolfman

Can u post a pic of the dampers installed on car ..could say never noticed on the SE , what purpose do they serve ?

sent from my S4 on Mars

Yeah I should have taken a picture while I was under there but unfortunately I didn't. It's very tight quarters though and I don't think I would have been able to get a decent shot anyhow. I mean a shot where you would be able to tell the positions of things in relation to each other. I have no plans to do so at the moment but if I crawl under the car again anytime soon I will attempt it. Maybe someone else has a pic?...Bueller...Bueller...

Purpose? Not really sure but it seems to function as a bump stop to prevent the shocks and springs from moving out of alignment with the axle beam and to keep the axle beam perpendicularly aligned to the direction of motion. I suppose driving over rough surfaces or heavy cornering could induce forces on the suspension which would be limited by these dampers. It will make more sense when you are actually looking at it. CTScott where are you?

DJYojimbo · 12-10-2014, 04:06 PM

NYC thanks for this man! hopefully during the summertime i can get a rear sway bar and get it installed on my car! Did you do anything else on your se?

NYC-SE · 12-10-2014, 04:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJYojimbo

NYC thanks for this man! hopefully during the summertime i can get a rear sway bar and get it installed on my car! Did you do anything else on your se?

My pleasure. So far the sway bar is my only mod. I would like to get a set of sport pedals and install turn signal mirrors at some point. Maybe.

NYC-SE · 12-10-2014, 04:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NYC-SE

I haven't had an opportunity to really push the car yet but on the test drive today it felt more stable, seemed to hold a line better, and the ride quality didn't seem to be negatively affected. So far, so good. Looking forward to really testing it out over the next few weeks. Final opinion then.

Final opinion: Well worth the money and time spent. Excellent bang for the buck. Car definitely handles better and I see no negative effects. It should come standard on these cars, especially on the SE model.

DJYojimbo · 12-11-2014, 12:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NYC-SE

Final opinion: Well worth the money and time spent. Excellent bang for the buck. Car definitely handles better and I see no negative effects. It should come standard on these cars, especially on the SE model.

Installed an afe short ram intake and lightweight oem sized crank pulley on my SE. I had a tanabe exhaust on my SE but I removed it and got the stock exhaust back on. When I had the tanabe on the SE, I had dj equipment in my car and drove off a really high curb damaging the tanabe exhaust and smushing it against the bumper. So everytime I hit a bump, the exhaust would rattle and annoy me so I had to take it off. Hopefully gettin a brand new tanabe exhaust, trd rear sway bar, tints, and a dc sports header and be done modding my SE. Haha!!

Kalispel · 04-17-2016, 02:57 AM

Thanks for posting this awesome thread NYC-SE.

I just finished ordering a TRD Rear-Sway-Bar and the two #11116380 bolts to adapt it properly to a 3rd Gen SE. Looking forward to installing it when it arrives.

Now I just need to figure out what quality-brand aftermarket springs I need to order for a modest 1" drop - and ones that won't sag with time.

NYC-SE · 04-17-2016, 03:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kalispel

Thanks for posting this awesome thread NYC-SE.

I just finished ordering a TRD Rear-Sway-Bar and the two #11116380 bolts to adapt it properly to a 3rd Gen SE. Looking forward to installing it when it arrives.

Now I just need to figure out what quality-brand aftermarket springs I need to order for a modest 1" drop - and ones that won't sag with time.

My pleasure. Good luck with the install. Unfortunately I have no recommendation for springs, mine are stock and I plan on keeping them that way.

Kalispel · 05-10-2016, 01:23 AM

I posted this in another thread, but posting it here also for those who are searching for information on the 2015/2016 Yaris SE, with regards to installing a TRD rear-sway-bar.

----------------------------------------------------------

My mod-adept nephew and myself just installed the TRD rear-sway-bar on my 2015 this evening after work.

Some notes regarding the 2015/2016 versus the 2012-2014 SE: My SE didn't have any “rear axle beam dynamic dampers” in the secondary bolt-holes (they were empty), so either the design was tweaked some between 2012-2014 and the 2015 refresh as to not require them any more, or some French guy/gal forgot

to install the ones on my Yaris. Thus, the "2007-2011" TRD rear-sway-bar is 100% plug-and-play right out the box on the 2015/2016 SE also, using the Toyota/TRD supplied bolts.

I treated my nephew to dinner out afterwards, and took some corners and such more aggressively than normal, and the car definitely feels much tighter, flatter and controlled on the turns. For the money, it's a really sweet bang-for-the-buck handling/stability mod.

----------------------------------------------------------

NYC-SE · 05-10-2016, 01:40 AM

Good to know that the 2015+ SE models do NOT have the rear axle back beam dynamic dampers. I wasn't sure about that Kalispel, I mentioned that I was only sure about the 2012-2014 SE models. Sorry to make you spend money on bolts that you didn't need.

Glad to hear you were able to install with no problems. It's a great mod, as you have discovered.

04-17-2016, 02:57 AM	#15
Kalispel View User's Garage Drives: '15 Yaris SE 5MT Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: Arizona (USA) Posts: 1,058	Thanks for posting this awesome thread NYC-SE. I just finished ordering a TRD Rear-Sway-Bar and the two #11116380 bolts to adapt it properly to a 3rd Gen SE. Looking forward to installing it when it arrives. Now I just need to figure out what quality-brand aftermarket springs I need to order for a modest 1" drop - and ones that won't sag with time. Last edited by Kalispel; 04-17-2016 at 03:19 AM.

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09-10-2014, 12:13 AM	#1
NYC-SE Drives: 2014 Yaris SE Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: NYC Posts: 1,082	2014 SE TRD rear sway bar installation problem After reading so many positive posts recommending it I bought a TRD rear sway bar. Read the install instructions and the various threads here and it seemed like it would be simple enough to do. Today I crawled under my car to install it and well...not so simple. The forward hole or upper hole (NOT the shock mount hole) is already in use. I was unable to get a picture but it seems like some sort of lateral bump stop is installed there. That's the only possible purpose of this doohickey that I can figure out. There is no mention of this thing in the instructions and I can't even find it on any of the parts diagrams I was able to pull up online. Does anyone know what I am talking about? My car is an SE model, so I was thinking this might be something unique to the SE. If there is anyone here who has installed a TRD rear bar on an SE I would love to hear how you dealt with it. Toyota went to the trouble of designing and installing this thing, they must have had a reason. I am reluctant to just discard it without knowing what that reason is and how it would affect things. Thanks in advance. Last edited by NYC-SE; 09-10-2014 at 12:42 AM.

09-10-2014, 03:25 AM	#2
fatpanda Drives: 2013 Yaris SE Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Hawaii Posts: 28	Whatever it is, I took it off and installed the sway bar. I have 25K on my car with no issues if that helps.

09-10-2014, 05:16 PM	#3
NYC-SE Drives: 2014 Yaris SE Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: NYC Posts: 1,082	I've decided I would like to keep the bump stop, like I said it's there for a reason. So just so I understand...Did you use the built in nut on the bump stop or did you use the nut supplied with the sway bar hardware? If you used the supplied hardware did you have to drill out the bump stop nut or grind it off? And as to the order (from closest to wheel moving inward) it should be sway bar tab then trailing arm then bump stop. Is this correct?

09-10-2014, 11:58 PM	#4
NYC-SE Drives: 2014 Yaris SE Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: NYC Posts: 1,082	Thanks aznturboman, all my questions are answered. I'll give it another go when I get some free time.

09-30-2014, 07:45 PM	#5
NYC-SE Drives: 2014 Yaris SE Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: NYC Posts: 1,082	Finally got the sway bar installed today. It wasn't too difficult to do but I was working without jack stands so it was a slight PITA. I haven't had an opportunity to really push the car yet but on the test drive today it felt more stable, seemed to hold a line better, and the ride quality didn't seem to be negatively affected. So far, so good. Looking forward to really testing it out over the next few weeks. Final opinion then.

09-30-2014, 10:01 PM	#7
Exiwolfman View User's Garage Drives: 2007 Yaris Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Wasaga beach Posts: 1,615	Can u post a pic of the dampers installed on car ..could say never noticed on the SE , what purpose do they serve ? sent from my S4 on Mars

09-30-2014, 11:46 PM	#8
WorkTL View User's Garage Drives: 2013 Yaris LE Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: SoCal Posts: 216	Does the LE 3rd gen bring the bump stops? I just ordered a Whiteline 22mm RSB.

12-10-2014, 04:06 PM	#11
DJYojimbo Drives: 2012 Grey Toyota Yaris SE Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Chicago Posts: 261	NYC thanks for this man! hopefully during the summertime i can get a rear sway bar and get it installed on my car! Did you do anything else on your se? __________________ Upgrades: AFE SRI. Tanabe Touring Medalion Axleback exhaust. Micro Image OEM Sized Lightweight Pulley. DC Sports header.

05-10-2016, 01:23 AM	#17
Kalispel View User's Garage Drives: '15 Yaris SE 5MT Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: Arizona (USA) Posts: 1,058	I posted this in another thread, but posting it here also for those who are searching for information on the 2015/2016 Yaris SE, with regards to installing a TRD rear-sway-bar. ---------------------------------------------------------- My mod-adept nephew and myself just installed the TRD rear-sway-bar on my 2015 this evening after work. Some notes regarding the 2015/2016 versus the 2012-2014 SE: My SE didn't have any “rear axle beam dynamic dampers” in the secondary bolt-holes (they were empty), so either the design was tweaked some between 2012-2014 and the 2015 refresh as to not require them any more, or some French guy/gal forgot to install the ones on my Yaris. Thus, the "2007-2011" TRD rear-sway-bar is 100% plug-and-play right out the box on the 2015/2016 SE also, using the Toyota/TRD supplied bolts. I treated my nephew to dinner out afterwards, and took some corners and such more aggressively than normal, and the car definitely feels much tighter, flatter and controlled on the turns. For the money, it's a really sweet bang-for-the-buck handling/stability mod. ----------------------------------------------------------

05-10-2016, 01:40 AM	#18
NYC-SE Drives: 2014 Yaris SE Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: NYC Posts: 1,082	Good to know that the 2015+ SE models do NOT have the rear axle back beam dynamic dampers. I wasn't sure about that Kalispel, I mentioned that I was only sure about the 2012-2014 SE models. Sorry to make you spend money on bolts that you didn't need. Glad to hear you were able to install with no problems. It's a great mod, as you have discovered.