Dilemma concerning front sway bar on n600

[Matt Timion]

My front sway bar bushing looks like this:



As you can see, it somehow melted over the years.

The replacement looks like this:



here is the dilemna. In order to replace it I'll need to remove the lower ball joints, as well as a number of other things in order to remove those. It seems like a giant process to replace two little rubber things.

The alternative is to cut a slit in the bushing and just slide it over the sway bar. I can use some good epoxy to seal it back up after this and I'm certain it will be as good as new.

Or will it?

Is this a wise course of action? I'm hoping to do this so that I can get this puppy registered tomorrow.