Jasonawojo

iTrader: (2)

Hey guys.

So a few months ago I installed a pair of Progress Tech sway bars. The stock endlinks were toast after that, so a few weeks later I had a set of Evo-R.net endlinks installed as well.

From the start I got clunking at bumps and sudden changes in direction. So a few more weeks passed and I had the install checked out at a different shop; they said that two of the four end-links were as loose as the adjustments would allow so they fixed those, checked the others, and greased the bushings.

For a few weeks that fixed it. The car was tight and clunk-free. Now, at random over the past week or so the clunking has returned gradually, now as bad as originally.

Are end-links supposed to loosen up on their own? I'm going to go back to the shop that fixed it last time, but this seems ridiculous for something that I rarely see problems on here with. Between this and my bizarre steering, suspension work has certainly been an annoyance.

Any thoughts/experiences?

Bigbacon

iTrader: (4)

what setting did you have the bars on that made the stock end links die horribly?

invasion08

iTrader: (7)

Could be bad nuts or bad endlinks. I have the Racing Beat front endlinks and one of the nuts kept backing off a 1/4 turn causing a clunking noise. So i bought a new nut and even added some loctite and the problem has not came back. I would first try getting new nyloc nuts. And if you can not get them try some loctite.

Jasonawojo

iTrader: (2)

I've been using the middle setting on the front and the tighter one on the rear. The rear really hasn't been an issue, a little loose on the original install but otherwise. The front is bad though.

I thought about using loctite, assuming they're just loosening up. Wasn't sure if that was wise on an adjustable piece. Where can I get the nuts for them separately?

Flashwing

I have the Evo-R endlinks on my RX8 on a set of non-adjustable Whileline sways. I just checked them this past weekend as I needed to readjust them and I've had no movement. So it's either something with how they were installed or perhaps the endlinks being defective.

To ensure the adjustment nuts are locked you need to have two wrenches...one to tighten the locking nut and the second to hold the center shaft in place. They should not come apart and loosen on their own. Either way, the center shaft does not tighten or loosen the link. The rear cannot loosen even if the locking nut comes off because you have to remove the link and spin the top link area to adjust it.

Do not use loctite on these pieces because you will have to readjust them if you change springs, alignment or anything else. Otherwise the links could load the swaybar and break under extreme loads.

I just completed an autocross school this past weekend with 14 hard out runs during the day. As far as I can tell these links should stand up to serious stress.

elysium19

iTrader: (1)

I had the same issues (with the PT bars with first the oem links then the lebren links and now the AWR racing links) and basically looked at every variable independantly. Changing to better links sort of helped but not really, which was annoying. The biggest factor was the greasing of the sway bar bushings, it's important. I always thought it would be an unlikely culprit (if something is making a rattling/clunking sound, it's gotta be the metal-on-metal endlinks, right???) yet I found that greasing the bushing s was the biggest help. Something about the resistance, makes going over small bumps translate to huge clunking noises.

Just my experience....but really i've been through a dozen different bar and link setups.

Also - the AWR links area great in that they seem built very very well and are adjustible and have good quality joints. (they are quite expensive though). Note, however, that even once the bushings were well greased they still make some smaller clunking noises over bumps and I think that is because they are designed primarily for racing applications, not quiet street cars.

Lesson learned: if you stray from OEM harware, realize that you'll probably have to deal with some moderate noise as you add more race-bred bits and pieces....

Jasonawojo

iTrader: (2)

Today was the first time I actually worked with the end-links myself--had the place to do it finally. Looks like the nut that secures the end-link to the sway bar itself is what's coming loose. I'm not sure if the adjustment is optimal, but those are secure.