Trying to find the correct end links for my 08. Totally different than previous years

[GS_Geoff]

So both my front endlinks broke. I compared them side by side with my friend's 06 9-7x 5.3 (mine is an 08 5.3), and his had a totally different endlink setup. The pictures I see online look like his, as seen here: http://www.rockauto.com/getimage/ge...ww.rockauto.com/info/UltraPower/782_K6667.jpg

Here is a picture from my car: imgur: the simple image sharer

The issue is, at Rockauto for example, they show the part interchanging for all years of the 9-7x.

Has anybody run across this issue with later cars using an apparently different setup? Am I missing something?

Thanks!

 

[DustinC1989]

They should be the same as the 08-09 trailblazer, maybe see if they come up that way?

 

[GS_Geoff]

Hmm good call... I checked the 6.0 but didn't try different years.

When I checked the TB, I found these listed along with the other style: http://www.rockauto.com/getimage/ge...tp://www.rockauto.com/info/Moog/K6629_TOP.jpg

I suppose that would work, and I just have to re-use the plastic spacer you can see pictured on my car in the first post. I guess the bonus is they're cheap. Hopefully it's the correct part.

 

[DustinC1989]

IIRC, they are the same on tbe Trailblazer regardless of engine (4.2, 5.3, 6.0)
But I may be wrong, maybe someone else can chime in that knows for sure

 

[GS_Geoff]

I went ahead and ordered 2 of MOOG Part # K6629 Heavy Duty. Pretty confident these are correct. Funny enough, it looks like the 07 prior design was much more sturdy. The newer design is undoubtedly cheaper, but you would think it would have cost GM more to retool to accommodate the new design than they would have saved on the endlinks themselves.

We'll see how the MOOG heavy duty links hold up. Both my OEM end links just snapped off at the bottom and I only have 60,000 miles on the vehicle.

Thanks for the input!

 

[jimmyjam]

Those links are on all 08+ tbs. I prefer them, simpler and less prone to failure, easier to remove when rusted through. You should only need to replace the rubber washers

 

[GS_Geoff]

Good deal. They are definitely going to be easier to replace. The MOOG kit shows the washers and the bolts, which I will need since the heads of my bolts snapped off.

I dunno if it was a freak failure or what. Apparently one has been broken for a while. I noticed the other today because backing out of my driveway I ran over something. Hopped out and found the bottom part of one of the bushings. Obviously when one fails it places more stress on the other side, so I'm sure it was only a matter of time before the other broke. I have had a few "off road" experiences, but it's limited to less than a dozen trips up a 1/8th mile cattle trail type path and generic parking in the grass situations. I did park one side on a 6-7" high snowbank once, which would have stressed the end links. Hard to imagine them breaking though, with the car only 6 years old and with 60,000 miles especially on a vehicle that should be engineered for use as a truck (as opposed to a crossover based on a compact).

Who knows.

 

[Gevans17]

So both my front endlinks broke. I compared them side by side with my friend's 06 9-7x 5.3 (mine is an 08 5.3), and his had a totally different endlink setup. The pictures I see online look like his, as seen here: http://www.rockauto.com/getimage/ge...ww.rockauto.com/info/UltraPower/782_K6667.jpg

Here is a picture from my car: imgur: the simple image sharer

The issue is, at Rockauto for example, they show the part interchanging for all years of the 9-7x.

Has anybody run across this issue with later cars using an apparently different setup? Am I missing something?

Thanks!

Learned the hard way that 2002 and 2004 TB front end sway links are not the same length.

 

[C-ya]

Geoff, someone else recently had the same issue you had. He used a Napa end link. http://gmtnation.com/f77/front-sway-bar-link-broken-10251/ I remember this style on my '98 GMC C1500.

Apparently sway bar end links take more of a beating than we think.