Swaybar Endlinks, yes, another endlinks thread :P I want your opinion!

[Rogue92]

Hello all,

I just replaced my shocks today with Bilstein HDs, and am now considering going after the endlinks on the rear, as the clanging I hear with the windows down is driving me nuts.

How do you know if they are out by moving them or looking at them? The rear ones swivel side to side quite a bit, hence why I'm thinking of getting some replacements. The fronts are still tight and unmoving and don't have a ball joint in them (unsure if they are factory or otherwise). Considering replacing those anyway along with the bushing for the front since it's looking pretty...nasty.

Lastly, what brand of endlinks has everyone had good luck with? The threads I have seen here and elsewhere recommend Moog, but those are three + years old. I've seen some members unhappy with Moog because they don't last more than a year.

Thanks in advance for the input. Your write ups have been saving me a lot of money this year.

Nathan

 

[Einst-Hawk]

I had just replaced my links not more than 6 months ago with the Oreilly house brand. Mastercraft, Masterpro or something like that. These things were the worst. The nuts kept loosening up no matter how tight I tourqed them. After about 2 months of this crap, I said screw it and got Maxx links and I couldn't be happier.

http://www.suspensionmaxx.com/171-chevy-trailblazer-4x4-stock-sway-bar-link-front-2004-2007
http://www.suspensionmaxx.com/175-chevy-trailblazer-4x4-stock-sway-bar-link-rear-2002-2009

I bought them from Summit Racing. About $90 a set there.

 

[kickass audio]

Sway bars links are pretty easy to pinpoint. It is bad for your hands but I don't care and do it anyway XD but I take the palm of my hand and get under my truck and start banging on the end link, if it clunks then the links are shot. To check the bushings for them you can either grab the sway bar and push/pull it and see if it wiggles around or for me I started taking my palm and banging on the bar and I could hear the rattle and notice the slight movement inside the bushings when I did so. For my rears I bought suspension maxx links like einst did and they are nice. The only thing I was swearing at with those is the alignment of the links. When you go to tighten up the bolt the link itself wants to turn and you can't allow it to get crooked or it will affect its travel but an easy fix is to bolt it up and use a pair of pliers around the outer part of the link to hold it centered and bolt it up.

I bought my bushings from carquest and they are raybestos but have the same model and markings as the ones I removed so I don't know if mine were OEM or if they were replaced at one time. The rear bushings were not totally gone but were loose and I figured why not replace them while I'm at it. An impact gun and some extensions will be your best friend when you do these. Also if your links are OEM good luck getting those bastards off the rear. I got the lower bolts out but the upper one was so hard to get to that I just used my torch and burned it off but be extra careful with the drivers side upper because that is right at the gas tank but I used a cement board on the whole area to divert the heat.

Another way I noticed my links were totally shot with the crap moog ones I bought was that if I took my impact gun to the bolt and spun it as if I was turning the bolt in, the entire sway bar link would wobble around showing that the little ball for it was out of round. The whole turning the link meaning it is bad isn't always accurate. My links on the front are OEM and are not out of round nor do they clunk at all and they can be turned a little by hand but you can hear the grease in them (for what little GM put in them) squish when I turn them. What I do when I turn the links is to turn and push and pull them, you will feel it knock if its worn out, almost like popping out.

 

[triz]

Agreed the suspensionmaxx endlinks are worth the money. Can't go wrong there.