Grimpy

I need help.

For some odd reason, I decided to put my daily beater rims on. When I got to the front driver side, I noticed something dangling. I took a look at it and noticed that the bolt that held it fell off. I shoved the piece back into the hole. Does anyone know what type of bolt it is? Size and measurement? Can I pick one up at the local Auto Parts store? Are there suppose to be washers also?

Please help.

Thanks in advance.

Grimpy

another angle

Grimpy

and one more.

pcmw

sc4oo,

That is your sway bar end link. You cannot purchase that bolt at a store. It is a odd setup because it has a spline/kurd bolt end that uses a friction fitting to tighten to the control arm. Then for leverage, the utilize a allen wrench center. That is going to be near impossible to source. I would say you are looking at spending the $40 each to replace the endlinks.

MW

Grimpy

Pcmw

Thanks for the quick reply. So these aren't bolts? What is an endlink? Is that the part that was dangling? Can I still drive with that piece not tight? If not, how easy would it be to replace if I got a new end link?

pcmw

To replace. Simply remove compression of suspension by lifting both side of the car simultaneously. The pieces just unscrew and replace

MW

Grimpy

hmm I'm still confused a bit. So instead of using a bolt like the one shown here in yellow, I would need to replace the entire piece that is in blue? There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with the red, just the bolt is missing.

Could this have been because the shop I got my brakes replaced at did not tighten it?

Hermosa

Actually the lower stabilizer link joint looks kind of busted and the top nut on the link looks like the wrong part. It may be worth it just to buy a new part. Usually bolts like that either have a metal piece that locks on some part of the chassis or have a collette pin.

SRQ400

I’m surprised that you don’t hear a clunking noise from that nut missing. I had to replace mine recently and they were $51.69 each and the nuts were $0.57 each from Lexus. When you do put Never-Seize on the tread first and fill the Allen key hole with grease so it doesn’t rust.

Grimpy

thanks for all the input guys. Would it be safe to drive to the nearest mechanic? I've been driving like this for who knows how long. But finding out makes me not want to risk it. What do you guys think would be a good price to replace and install?

aliga

iTrader: (147)

If you need this part, I may have it.

Gazi
gazi_ali@hotmail.com

O. L. T.

iTrader: (17)

i am missing the reason why you can't simply replace the nut that backed out. if it is a matter of finding a special nut, these guys have every specialized nut on the planet. : http://www.zieglerbolt.com/

Hermosa

Yeah but the joint looks busted. This will probably end up squeeking and then grinding eventually. Why not replace the stabilizer link bar while you're at it. If you replace it, only replace it when you are completely satisfied with the way your other suspension is. That way if you take it to a shop they won't slaughter the new one.

Grimpy

Anyone know if it is safe to drive around still?

The bar is still straight and everything. Just kind of lop sided because it is not bolted on. The black stuff is like grease.

I'm going to take off the passenger side front rims today and check out how the other side looks.

Gazi - If I can still drive around for a few days, I will contact you about the parts.

SRQ400

Don’t worry you’ll be OK! But do it soon really its not that hard to do yourself. If you have trouble getting the old ones off because you can’t get the other nuts loose use a hacksaw and a hammer. After you get the old ones off use a jack to lift the whole wheel assembly up to get them in place and do like I said previously. You’ll need a 5-mm Allen wrench to hold the shaft still when tightening the nut. Do both sides it looks like it wouldn’t hurt and it might be better in the long run. Probably cost you about $114 in parts if you include labor it might run up quite a bit because of rusted nuts. There is only one way to remove them in a way that it can also be reinstalled and that is with the Allen wrench so, if you can’t loosen all of the nuts yourself it’s going to cost you a lot more to have someone else do it.