Mounting the End Links
OK.......time to mount everything together and see if it
really fits and works. But first a plug for Energy
Suspensions...........as mentioned before, their web
site shows you how to measure to determine the proper
End Link set to get to keep everything parallel or close
to parallel. Without fully adjustable End Links, you'll
probably never be really parallel. I found the kit at
the local Auto Zone for $20.00. They also carry 7/8"
greasable sway bar mounts but mine are pretty new and
not needing replacement. The only concern I had was
putting a 3/8" bolt though the 9/16" hole in the ends of
my sway bar. A trip to Lowes and I had a 3/8" ID x 1/2"
OD x 1" steel spacer. I cut it in half and I was good to
go.
Having learned from my previous fiasco on fitting
the sway bar...........this time I had the car in a
"loaded" position. The front was driven up onto ramps
while the rear was resting on jack stands. This meant
the front suspension was bearing the weight of the car.
I suppose I could have jacked the rear higher then the
front to add even more load but I had it pretty level,
Art Lipp told me he likes to have about 150 pounds in
the front seat when he does this to simulate a driver.
Kit Components plus the
spacer I made for
the sway bar mounting hole |
And here it is
assembled....sort of |
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The easiest
way I found to assemble it was to mount one
side like in the picture at left
i.e. very loose and with no top busing in
place. Then move to the other side and
you've got
lots of room to fit the End Link with all
pieces. Well...almost.....the only way
you'll catch
a thread is to use a bottle jack to compress
everything. And make sure you assemble it
with the nut
on top. |
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Fully loaded sitting on
the floor |
Plenty of clearance at
full lock |
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With the End
Links mounted in the bracket hole as
originally planned the slant outward
as seen in the picture at left. By flipping
the bracket over, it moves the hole inward
so
the End Links are pretty straight up and
down as seen in picture at right. Anybody
know
if there's a handling advantage in either
case? |
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I finished this up on December 6th, 2007 and went for
a top down test drive in 27 degree weather. I got a lot
of strange looks but the car ran and handled fine.
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