X03

anyone know where I can buy a rear end link? The one on my drivers side snapped... didn't even notice it until I got new tires this weekend. Oh, also, how hard would it be to DIY?

ronald7410

Hey X03,
I was looking into making my own but adjustable. They aren't that hard you'd just have to have the parts and know how. If you want we could probably get a group set since buying more makes parts cheaper. You shouldn't spend more than $150 on an adjustable pair.

Let me know if you'd want a set and I'll go ahead and order the parts :thumbsup:

Rogue

I'm in!

X03

are you going to fab some adjustable camber arms? I would be interested in those as well... but what I need now are just the sway bar end links that cost like $10. haha

PaulX608

I broke one last year. Cheap and easy to replace. I got mine here. $12. Took me 15 minutes to install.

the_widebody

if you make adjustable ones, would you shorten them to increse stiffness, or the other way round?

X03

if were talking about rear camber arms and if your car is lowered, we would shorten them to bring in the negative camber in so your tires would wear more evenly. instead of your rear tires looking like "/ \" they would be more level to "| |"

spetz

Is that just a swaybar link or part of the multilink suspension?

the_widebody

thread was originally to do with sway bar links, someone said they were thinking of making some adjustable ones, so the question i meant to ask was, if you made adjustable sway bar links, which way would you need to 'adjust' them to stiffen up the rear end (to reduce under-steer).

(I have adjustable camber arms fitted already, these won't 'stiffen' anything)

spetz

Adjustable swaybar links won't stiffen anything either. They're adjustable so there is no "load" on the swaybar at normal ride height.

For the swaybar to be adjustable it would need multiple link points (ie, to the front and rear of the original link point).
This would create a pivot/lever effect and alter swaybar stiffness

ronald7410

Yes, Ultimately this is what shortening end links do. Not by a drastic amount but it's definitely noticeable.

ronald7410

Yeah havent really worked with making custom camber arms. I have the adjustable ones but as far as making it, they hold much more load compared to the end links so I wouldn't want to make them for the great risk involved...

ronald7410

Not to get confused with "Camber Arms" and "End Links"
Camber does nothing for stiffness of the ride. End links are connected to the sway bar and create tension or compression which create sway or stiffness for the ride.

spetz

Why do you say that using shorter endlinks would have the same effect as a stiffer bar?

the_widebody

raising or lowering the bar ends defiantly alters the 'stiffness'of the bar, thats why i was asking which way they were going to 'adjust' their bars.

i think raising the ends would increase under steer, and lowering the ends would increase over steer, but not sure on the amounts, and whether it would be the same as fitting a thicker/thinner bar, i think probably not, but it may make enough difference for very fine tuning, but not noticeable on a road ride with std power, unless you drove it like someone stole it.

ronald7410

I never said anything about comaring it to a "stiffer bar". The end links create tension throughout the existing bar but it doesn't compare to a "stiffer bar"

the_widebody

of course it would compare to a stiffer bar, by placing pre load on it, it would increase the force needed to move it, so making it act as if it was a larger section

kwontumspeed

Making adjustable links does nothing to stiffen the rear suspension. A sway bar has no load on it until the car sways: One side of the suspension compresses while the other side extends. Now you have load on the sway bar. Otherwise, when the car is sitting level, making the link shorter or longer serves no purpose whatsoever, except only if something is interfering with the movement of the bar ends and it needs to be lowered or raised out of the way (most likely lowered...closer to the LCA).

MB does make an OE metal link, while the one any parts guy will pull is made of plastic. Not sure what the PN is but it is out there.

kwontumspeed

X03, to answer your question, the dealer would have one or even NAPA, et al. The shock gets in the way as the bolt goes towards it, so you may have to unbolt from the bottom and push it slightly out of the way - I know this was the case for a wagon.

I suggest that when you install the bolt back in, switch the position of the nut/bolt so that at the next change (which after replacement should not be in a while) the shock doesn't interfere.

It's pretty straightforward.

spetz

By your theory there would be "positive" preload on one side yet "negative" on the other. Meaning the car would lean more while turning in one direction and less in the other.

The correct way of adjusting the endlinks is having the car on a flat surface while supporting it's full weight

ronald7410

I guess the choice of words is off for me. It's a restricted bar as opposed to a stiffer bar