How Flush Should Sway Bar Link Ends Be?

[zKars]

8 hours ago, Captain Obvious said:

I believe the poly should operate the same way the originals do. Meaning...

There should be a metal sleeve that runs through the center of the bushings. You're supposed to tighten the nut down until there is metal-to-metal contact between the washers and that sleeve. The compliance of the bushings is supposed to compress until that point. In theory, you should be able to feel the tightening torque shoot up once all the play has been taken up.

Interesting. I’ve never seen a metal sleeve that fits inside the ID of the bushings. Just the ones that set the spacing between the two bushing stacks. Stock end links that I’ve cut off, or any of the after market ones I’ve bought since have never had one. What you get is in the picture below.

I totally agree there SHOULD be a sleeve to set the bushing compression, that would eliminate the guesswork of how much to tighten them, but that’s not the usual reality of what you have to work with. 

Tighten enough so bushings are compressed so that no metal to metal contact is possible and the bushings can still compress enough in use during travel. If your sway bar hole or hole in the control arm is all ovalized out, they weren’t tight enough. 

 

Edited September 28, 2020 by zKars

[Captain Obvious]

OK, so there are a whole bunch of votes that say the spacer I described isn't there. And admittedly, I did not go out to take a look at my car. It's quite conceivable that I was mistaken and simply describing how I THINK it should be designed.

In any event, you're in good hands. Ignore me. 

[Pilgrim]

I checked the parts for my 83 ZXT. The tension rod bushings have a tubular metal inner sleeve, but the sway bar end bushings do not.

Edited September 29, 2020 by Pilgrim

[dutchzcarguy]

6 hours ago, Pilgrim said:

The tension rod bushings have a tubular metal inner sleeve, but the sway bar end bushings do not.

Dito, for my 240z and 280zx..

[zKars]

Captain O, you have earned the right to now produce the sway bar end link Torque limiting position sleeve product (SBELTPS) and sell it to the masses as it clearly is both an excellent idea and a glaring omission in the original design. These things are used in millions of cars throughout the world, the market is massive.

It will require custom bushings as well as the ID has to be slightly bigger to allow room for the sleeves. Millions of happy users will result and cars will handle better and make less noise from loose bushings, and preserve the holes in their control arms. 

At the very least, sell the idea to Energy Suspension and get rich doing nothing. You’re welcome.

[Captain Obvious]

Haha!!! I'll get right on that! 

[crayZlair]

18 hours ago, EuroDat said:

 I tightened the nut until the rubbers started to bulge slightly.

 

 

 

I bulge the rubber just slightly more than the diameter of the steel washer. Always seems to work out well.

[Muzez]

More bulge than this right? Or just past the washer is enough. 

[crayZlair]

Lookin' good!

[EuroDat]

It looks ok. That is about what I did on mine.

Did you use another longer bolt or shorten the spacer tube? My bolts were just long enough and I needed a block of wood to compress the rubbers to start the thread.

[gnosez]

The best way but not one available to everyone is to put the car on scales, the ones used to corner balance the car and tighten until you see a difference in weight shifting from one side to the other. One starts corner balancing with the sway bars disconnected,