Sway bar end link question.

[Squid4life]

I posted in the suspension area a week ago but didn't have any luck, figured I'd try here:

Okay, I need to replace my sway bar bushings and end links, and I know how to measure the sway bar to make sure I get the correct bushings, but...

I need to know the length of the "sleeve" or spacer on the end link. No, I am not too lazy to go measure mine, it has TWO DIFFERENT LENGTHS!

Can someone take a quick accurate measurement and let me know. Thanks a bunch!!!

 

[83ttypecooled]

Hi,
That must have tweaked the bar a bit, don't you think? Just buy the replacements, and be done with it. Neoprene is oe, poly is better but rots faster.I would guesstimate the spacer at 4". Note that this could have been an attempt at suspension tuning, or it could have just been wrong parts.

 

[Squid4life]

I don't know if it is possible to tweak the bar, not with about a 2" difference in "sleeves". I doubt it was for tuning, just an idiot owned it before me. The sleeve and bushings aren't even tight, the washers rattle.

Anyone care to measure theirs?

 

[83ttypecooled]

Hi,
Regarding deformed stabilizer bars, pull the link pins off and take a measurement between the bar and control arm. Both sides should be pretty close.GN Bars are solid steel, unlike Fbody bars. It'll probably be OK, but a 2" preload to one side for a lot of years is not good. Sorry I can't measure the link pin spacers; my car is at my shop, and that's 20 miles away. I will be there Tuesday, can check dimensions then. By the way, 36mm bar from an iroc Z, Trans Am GTA will fit WITH MODIFICATIONS, and is considered an upgrade. Being hollow, I don't know if that's true, but it's certainly bigger and lighter. Just a thought...

 

[Ormand]

GN Bars are solid steel, unlike Fbody bars

That's true, it makes them heavier. But not significantly stronger. In torsion, a hollow tube is almost as strong as a solid bar- the stress in the bar is proportional to the distance from the center, so the inside of the bar doesn't do much except add weight.

 

[wileecoyote]

Sway bar end length

Not to hijack your thread Squid, but if you install the 1" drop springs(eibach) What is the difference to need to subtract for the shorter distance between the lower arm and the bar mounting location on the body? The drop is 1" at the ball joint, but what about at the arm where the end link mounts? Anyone who has done this it would be a great help for me to order the correct length parts.

 

[conn84gn]

I was getting ready to buy new stabilizer links at Advance Auto for a 87 GN
Part # 18201 HD $8.40
I think the bolt is 8" long and the spacer is 4"

 

[salvageV6]

Here's where I found the answer.

http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/showthread.php?t=132727&highlight=swaybar

I used the Energy Suspension ones from Pep Boys and they work fine, 3 3/8" blue poly.

 

[turbofish38]

Not to hijack your thread Squid, but if you install the 1" drop springs(eibach) What is the difference to need to subtract for the shorter distance between the lower arm and the bar mounting location on the body? The drop is 1" at the ball joint, but what about at the arm where the end link mounts? Anyone who has done this it would be a great help for me to order the correct length parts.

The drop is at the spindle centerline and not the ball joint, therefore the stock length links will work fine.

 

[rodman99999]

That 3rd gen F-body sway bar is 9 1/2lbs lighter than a TR stocker. Nothing to sneeze at !!