Crap! Sway Bar Problem
 

So, my sway bar is screwed.. again.

The first time it happened was right after I had bought the car. The piece that holds the sway bar to the chassis on the right side (basically two circles with a bar in between them) snapped right in half. Don't know how it happened, just figured it out after the car start rocking back and forth cata-cornered when driving.

Now, 4 years later, its happened again. The only difference is that the connector piece, whatever its called, didn't snap. It just simply came off of the sway bar! I have no idea how this could happen, I haven't been driving my car hard.. lately. But I have been making weekend trips to Tucson and back just about every weekend for a few months (around 450 miles each time).

So now the sway bar is free to hang on the right side. It doesn't move much, but when I do hear it when I am going highway speed.

My questions are:
1. What are my chances of screwing something up worse by driving this car until I can afford to fix it?

2. Will anything else be damaged by the car being able to roll more than normal?

3. Is this something I should take in to a dealer to fix, or could this be done at any suspension shop? Or even by me?

1. i'd say if you take it easy you should be ok for a little while...no serious cornering or speeding. but im only saying you SHOULD be ok...the car is designed with that sway bar for a reason, and it will react differently and not handle like it's supposed to. it may even be unpredictable at times. but if you do end up driving it...be careful. it's drivable if you need it to be.

2. if you havent lowered your car or anything, there SHOULD be enough clearance in the wheelwells to allow for some more body roll. but use the same caution and listen for things that dont sound right, like rubbing.

3. pretty much any repair shop can fix this very easily. although if you have even marginal mechanical skills, you should be able to put a new one on. just a couple nuts or bolts. it would be ideal if you could get the car on a lift, but there is probably enough room if you use jack stands. ALWAYS use jackstands if you are under your car working on it. i've had my car roll off of the stock jack while changing a tire...thus bending and ruining the jack...but you definately dont want to be under the car with that thing...
bavauto.com has the links for 30 bucks each.

and for everything i say SHOULD be able to. these are only my opinions and i dont want anyone to get property damage or even worse, injuries from a mistake i might make. but use your best judgement and avoid driving a car that has any kind of damage that affects drivability.
best of luck!