Do you know what a sway bar bushing does? Perhaps a better question is whether you're aware of what a sway bar itself is for. Well, here's a little lesson to enlighten you. When you drive hard around a corner, the wheels on the inside of the turn tend to lift off the road, leaving the outer wheels to bear most of your vehicle's weight. And when there's too much weight on the outer wheels, your car is in danger of rolling over. To prevent body roll, the bar does its best to keep all the car's wheels in contact with the road. Now, when you're exiting the corner, the sway bar pushes down on the inner wheels to keep them on the ground. The same happens for both front and rear sway bars. At that moment, the sway bar bushing carries the bulk of your car's weight. The bushing also prevents any metal-to-metal contact between the sway bar and other suspension components. Several years into your car's future, those bushings will end up cracked or crumbling. There will be metal-to-metal contact on each end of the sway bar, causing excess noise and poor handling. And without functional sway bar bushings, body roll will be more likely to occur. Unless you're interested in finding out what it feels like to be strapped in your car while it rolls over, you may want to replace your car's sway bar bushing once it's damaged. Bushings are available right here at Car Stuff.