Sway Bar Bracket Bolts

3/8" x 1 1/2 carriage bolt with a 5/16" washer on outer frame should do the trick. Just grabbed a handful and the key shaped slot on the frame "should" allow enough space to fit the carriage bolt head. Worst case is minor grinding. Then below the head is square and very very close to the width of the slot in the frame. So it won't turn. Will it when I push upwardsm and the square part is too high? Of course. So just use vise grips to pull down a bit. Should work fine. In theory.

Those bolt retainers will keep a bolt from falling out or even from being pushed back through a hole, but they won't hold it from turning. That would be too easy, it can't be easy, haha.

I didn't get a chance to work on this today I'm sorry to say. I'll try again this weekend.

I did get by Lowe's and found nothing suitable, though I did not think to check to see if they have any grade 5 or 8 carriage bolts, but it's kind of unlikely.

Unless original replacements were cheap I probably wouldn't buy them. They will just break anyway. I've only removed the rear sway bar 2 times prior to this. The broken one I have on my toolbox has only spotty light rust so corrosion is not the issue.

If you really want a factory style replacement I think these might be a good option. I suspect there is a chance the bolt head might need to be filed down a bit on the sides to fit through the slot though. They are $5 each.

I didn't see your recent post with the carriage bolt until after my previous post. To use that I think a retainer similar to the Dorman you posted a pic of would be a good addition to help keep the bolt in position. It'll be interesting to see how it works out. Good luck.

Hey man,
Easy solution that is about 99% flush. 3/8" x 1 1/2" round head carriage bolts. The head does fit through and the square just below the head locks into the notch so it won't turn. It's really only the driver's side you can't push down from above so turn slow and gentle or vise grips again for that last bit. 2 days later for one hour of work on links and bar bushings. Done.

Nice work, that certainly provides an easy alternative to the thin sheet metal retained factory bolt. I hope the bolt is hard enough that it doesn't stretch or break.

Took your advice and found some grade 8