17 | February | 2010 | Mark Dorman's Garage

Swaybar End-Links Install/Upgrade

February 17, 2010 markdormangarage 2 comments

This is an instructional writeup on how to change out/upgrade your front sway bar end-links on a SW20 MR2. I do not recommend trying this if you have no experience working on cars. Although it is fairly straight forward.

***I am not responsible for your actions. I take no responsibility for any damage that occurs to your car or yourself as a result of your actions.***

So now that we have the formal legal disclaimer…we can being.

I will be showing you how to replace your Sway Bar End-Links. I will be doing the front’s but the rears are easier and just as straight forward. I will be giving written instructions on that.

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To Begin:

Begin by parking the car on a level surface. Always use Jack Stands when raising your vehicle up. I like to start by placing the jack under the rear cross-member and jacking up the back first (My reason for starting at the back is simple. Because the car is so low it isn’t always easy to get a jack under the front. Under the muffler is the best place to start. Once the Car is on the rear jack stands the weight of the engine actually lifts up the front of the car allowing for easier access with the jack). Be sure to chock the front wheels before you begin jacking up the car. After you have raised the rear of the car to a good height, place two jack-stands under the pinch welds just in front of the rear tires (see picture).

If you have four jack-stands you can have the whole vehicle up at once (which is what I prefer to do). However, if you do not you can simply do the front and rear separate (Note – You cannot do the Drivers Side then the Passenger Side). To jack up the front, place the jack under the front cross member (marked by a round circle in the underbody panel between the two front tires). Place the jack stands under the pinch welds behind the front tires (see picture). WARNING!!! – Do not work on the car without it being supported by jack stands.

Next step is removing the wheels from the car. Having an Air Compressor is helpful in this project but not absolutely necessary. Remove the lug nuts and place the wheels off to the side and out of the way. You don’t want to trip over them later (I’ve done it and it’s not fun).

Place the Lug Nuts back onto the studs so you don’t misplace them by accident. I’ve lost my share of lug nuts because I forgot to do this. If you happen to be replacing the brake rotors at the same time simply place them in a ziplock bag and mark it with a sharpie. Remove all wheels at once so you don’t have to keep changing sockets.

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Removal of Sway Bar End-Links:

To remove the Sway Bar End-Links we need to disconnect the Strut Assembly from the Hub. If you are follow the guide to changing out your shocks you can skip ahead to Comparison.

Starting with the front suspension. Start by removing the two large (19mm) bolts the connect the hub to the strut housing (see picture). These are torqued on pretty hard so an impact gun or breaker bar might come in handy. Again keep track of these nuts and bolts after your remove them. Now take a pair of pliers and remove the clip holding the brake line (See next picture) to the strut housing (If your suspension is completely stock you will have to unhook the brake line from the caliper). Most people cut slots in the brake line bracket so they do not have to remove the brake line every time they pull the strut housing. If you do have to remove the brake line you will need to bleed the system after that (I will do a write up on that as well).

After you have the two large bolts removed simply pull back on the hub to separate it from the strut housing. This will put some stress on the ball joint so do not leave the hub in this position after your remove the strut housing.

Disconnect the sway bar end-link from the sway bar (14m nut). The Sway Bar End-Link nut is easiest to remove with an impact gun. If you don’t have one you can use a 14mm combo wrench and a 5mm Allen Wrench (Hex-Key) which fits in the tip of the stud section of the End-Link. Place the nut back on the end-link so you don’t lose it. The lower part of the strut housing is now disconnected. Once disconnected you can turn the Strut Assembly forward to access the nut that holds the End-Link to the Strut Housing. Again, an impact gun comes in handy here but you can use the same method as stated above.

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Removal of the rear suspension is fairly similar to the front suspension. You begin by removing the two large (19mm) bolts the connect the hub to the strut housing. After that remove the bolt that connects the rear tie-rod to the hub (see picture). Don’t forget to unhook the brake line from the strut housing. Unhook the sway bar end-link from the strut housing (see picture) and place the nut (14mm) in a plastic bag so you don’t misplace it.

Removal is simple of the End-Link is now simple. Just pull the the strut assembly out towards the outside of the car and slide the End-Link out of the strut assembly.

Now simply disconnect the End-Link from the Sway Bar and you’re all done.

Removal of the End-Link nut (14mm) is the same as for the front.

If the ball joint is stuck and you are unable to separate the hub from the strut assembly you may need to remove the bolts on the bottom of the hub that hold the ball joint.

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Comparison:

As you can see there is a huge difference between the size and strength of the stock End-Links and the aftermarket ones that I purchased from Twos-R-Us. They are cheaper than new ones from Toyota and obviously a lot stronger. If you have an upgraded sway bar or are thinking of upgrading it, these are the End-Links you want. The set I purchased are also adjustable but I would not try and adjust them yourself unless you have some experience working on suspension geometry.

I will do a separate write up for upgrading your sway bar in the near future.

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Installation of Sway Bar End-Link:

When you begin installation of the End-Link simply turn the strut assembly out again and pop the End-Link in. Make sure that the end-link is securely bolted to the strut housing. I’ve had these come loose and it’s not fun. I personally use a dab of lock tight on them. Once the end-link is bolted on you are ready to install the strut housing. Now attach the strut housing to the hub with the two large (19mm) bolts. Impact these bolts down and torque them to 120 lb-ft or as tight as you can (you don’t want them getting loose). Attach the sway bar end-link to the sway bar and impact it on (make sure it is secure) and again I used lock tight. Obviously don’t forget to put the tire back on.

Installation of the rears is simply the opposite of removal. Just make sure you torque everything down well. If you do purchase the Twos-R-Us End-Links they have a 12mm or 13mm hex fitting to aid with tightening the End-Link down (see picture). I hope you found this helpful and straight forward. Please feel free to leave comments and suggestions on how to improve the write ups. Thanks!