Sway Bar end link replacement
 

Does anyone have any helpful hints on putting new sway bar end links on the front? I attempted to do the job and upon trying to loosen the nut holding it on, it just spins the entire ball within the link. I've sprayed everything with penetrating lubricant with no success. Anybody have any idea how to keep the ball from spinning and get the nut off? Upon fooling with it, I've caused there to be a lot of play within where it mounts, so when I do drive now, I get a lot of clunking where it's metal/metal. So any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

there's an allen wrench hole in the front of the bolt idk if you noticed, you're supposed to put an allen in there and then you use an open end wrench to loosen the nut. most of the time though the allen end is completley rusted and trying to get an allen in there without stripping it is a pain, that's why i say just cut the link off completely, that's what i had to do on both ends of my car, it sucks lol.

Yeah I tried that and it stripped out almost instantly. What did you use to cut them off, and where did you cut them?

When I had to replace mine...I had to cut them off ....nuts were stripped and allen key was stripped...

I used a saw-zaw.....to cut if off on link ends....

Replaced them with MOOG end links

Saw zaw or cut off wheel.

Steve

Is it stripped on the sway bar side or the shock bracket side? If you can remove the sway bar side, then I would recommend removing the shock bracket and cutting it off the car.

I was able to loosen mine a little by hammering a larger SAE allen head socket into the head of the endlink, then after I got some space a I cut it off using a reciprocating saw and sharp metal blades.

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h2...ps2nbbtsbs.jpg

If I were to do it again, then I would try using a cut off wheel and cutting a slit into the nut, so I could hammer a screw driver in there and split the nut.

i used an angle grinder

Thanks for the advice! I'm gonna try it this evening after work. I don't drive it much (couple times a month) but it's been driving me crazy!

I worked on it this morning! Damn what a pain in the butt. I wasn't able to cut it on the side of the nut, So I was using a Roto-Zip and had to cut on the other side towards the boot. When you do it that way, you have to make sure you cut the lip on the link as well otherwise it won't slide through. It took forever, but no more clanking and noises! MAKE SURE TO GET MOOG LINKS. They fit perfect and they are the right size. I originally had ACDELCO (don't ask why), and they are HUGE. Much longer and thicker and don't work at all! I'll be emailing them and informing them of that issue. But otherwise a success. Thanks for the advice everyone. Next will be the power steering rack bushings, any recommendations for brands?

Glad you were able to get the endlinks off.

Any brand will work for the steering rack bushings. Whiteline, super pro, or battle version solid aluminum mounts if you want a solid feel.

i like my whiteline bushings, feel great, easy to install, took 10 minutes.

The rear sway bar links are the same setup. I've got a new Milwaukee Diamond Grit 6" sawzall blade. You will need it to cut through the suspension bushings because most of the bolts are rusted inside of every bushing (unless you live outside of the Salted Roads). MOOG parts are twice the thickness of OEM part. I use rockauto.com for most partshttps://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.clu...5564ce1399.jpg

Lexus did not do us any favors with their OEM parts. No corrosion resistant coatings on any exposed parts.

Agreed. This has been something I've always disliked abot Toyota/Lexus. Friends who also have or had them and lIke to work on their own cars also agree.