Does anyone make/sell aftermarket rear sway bar end links?
 

I am running a Tri-point rear sway bar and my driver's side end link broke. The guy I bought the sway bar from warned me that his rear end links broke from running this bar...

So, does anyone make/sell aftermarket rear sway bar end links? And where can I get 'em? If not, any ideas?

Thx,

John

You can use rod-ends, either:

1. a male/female combination, with a jam nut to hold the female in position, or

2. if you can find some with short bodies, double male or double female with reversed threads, a threaded connector in between, and jam nuts to retain adjustment.

If you can get the latter to work, it will make adjustment of preload easier, since you won't have to remove the rod-end to turn it. But you probably will not have to adjust preload very often, so the simpler solution is the male/female combo.

When I put in my rear bar, Tri-point sold me a male/female combo that fit, but I have Advance Design shocks which required non-metric sizing of associated fasteners. You should be able to find metric rod ends that fit-- if I recall correctly, 12mm is the diameter of the bolt that you will need to pass through the upper a-arm, shock, bushing and (your new) link. I'd suggest a very strong bolt, since it will be transferring all the load seen by the shock & spring.

Thanks Artowar, I just emailed Tri-point.

Isn't the tri-point rear bar the Racing Beat bar?

Tripoint told me that they don't know of anyone who sells/makes aftermarket end links.

"You'll have to go to your local Mazda dealer for that part. As far as we know there is not aftermarket endlink/ball joint set up for the rear bar. Sorry."

There probably isn't an aftermarket set for the FD that's prepackaged, but what I described is stuff that you should be able to get from any race supply shop that sells bearings, fasteners, etc. Off the top of my head, you'll need:

- two 12mm (I think) bolts, to pass through the upper A-arm & bushing, lower shock mounting point, and the lower half of each rod end pair,

- two bolts to pass through the upper rod end pair and the swaybar,

- some stainless flat washers

- the rod ends

- some cone shaped spacers (I can't remember the real name for these things-- they basically look like a flat washer on one side, and a cone on the other. You put the cone side toward the rod end so that it is able to articulate without binding)

- locking nuts

If you are nearby to a such a shop where you can dig through some parts bins, you can collect what you need without too much trouble. An alternative is to pick up some cheap equivalents from a local hardware store to prototype the sizes you'll need. After you figure that out, you can mail-order if no local shop carries the stuff.

Two other alternatives:

1. Leave the bar disconnected from the A-arms, drive the car over to a racing shop and just ask them to make a set for you. Since you're in the Bay area, there should be a lot of shops to choose from. They can just put the car up on a rack to see what's needed. You can bring the broken stock link as a model. All you're really asking them to do is create a piece from rod ends that does the same thing with adjustable length.

2. Call Garfinkle and tell him what you want. If anyone has a set ready to go, my guess is it's him ;) [I only say this because duboisr always pops up with a "call Garfinkle" suggestion :) ]

What color is the stock sway bars?

I'm not quite sure but I may have aftermarket swaybar since I keep on breaking the swaybar link on my rear passanger side. My swaybars in the front and back are Red.

I think the stock bars are black. My rear sway bar is a RED tri-point aftermarket bar with two adjustment settings. You may have one also.

Thanks Artowar,

I dug up this old thread. And I am going to follow your suggestions. Shortly after I first wrote this post I ended-up buying a stock composite(read: shitty mazda plastic part prone to breaking) from Fritz Flynn. Well the part held up for a while. It failed the morning of my very first track day. Damnit! I also found that OSH carries a variety of Rod-ends:)

Thanks dude!

You're welcome. Looking back at my last post, I do have two caveats:

1. Before you go and buy the rod ends & bolts, measure the bolt diameters (or take them with you to the store). That 12mm figure is what I remember, but it's been a while...

2. I think that you and I have the same rear swaybar. The ends of the bar were actually interfering with the bodies of my Advance Design shocks. In order to get it to clear, the ends of the bar were rounded-off with a grinder. If clearance isn't a problem for you, just ignore this part.

Also, as long as you're going to the track now, you'll enjoy this site for track junkies:

http://www.nsxfiles.com

I met the guy that owns the site at my first DE event back in 1996 (he was instructing). The stories are always entertaining.

I suspect something else is the cause here, but I have seen a bunch of rear bar end links break from the bar sliding out of place. The stock bar and good aftermarket bars should have something on them to keep the bar from sliding to the side. Make sure those are in place if you are breaking end links. If they are missing, I bet mcmaster.com has something you could install as a remedy. Some kind of collar or clamp that would affix firmly to the bar and provide a large and flat surface on the side to avoid digging into the bushings.

I used some bolts from OSH in place of the end link on my car when I was running it without the rear bar. However, I am not sure I would trust their rod ends. I did a bunch of research to find some replacement rod ends for my toe links and ended up ordering QA-1 rod ends from Jeg's. They had a high strength-to-dollar ratio, were pretty inexpensive in absolute terms, and they seem to be holding up pretty well in my toe links. They might be worth a look as replacements for the rear bar end links.

-Max

Max,


Now that you mention it, I think mine broke because the bar may have slid sidways....

I bought the tri-point rear bar from "Mavila" and he even said that he was selling it because he was sick of breaking the plastic end-links. I figured that since I didn't track my car back then that it would be fine. Well, I broke two end-links on the driver's side. It amazes me that Mazda used a composite/plastic piece. Anyway, I just bought the OSH rod-ends today. I'll see how they work/hold-up. If they don't hold-up I'll follow your lead and call Jegs. At least I will be able to use the OSH parts as a prototype.

Thanks guys,

John

More end-link info here:

https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.php?p=3448975

Max is right about the collars-- my bar came with a couple of urethane collars, IIRC.

Pics
 

This last post for other guys looking looking for a similar solution, here's what I did: It's not perfect, but let see how long it lasts... Artowar, I took your advice and bought some rod ends. I found them at OSH. I know that these aren't the highest quality or thrust-rated as I found on McMaster-Carr, but they were readily available. And I like immediate gratification.

This first pic shows the POS OEM plastic/composite Sway-Bar endlink that broke on the driver's side.
http://images.kodakgallery.com/servl...03_0_BG.jpg?r=

Here are couple of pictures of the 1/2" Male/Female Rod-ends w/ Jam-nut that I found at OSH. I had to shorten them by around a 1/2" to get them to fit properly. I used a Dremel. After looking at this picture again, I may add a couple washers between the shock and the rod-end so that they don't rub.
http://images.kodakgallery.com/servl...03_0_BG.jpg?r=

They seem to be holding up nicely. But who knows how long these $10 OSH rod-ends will put up with the stress that they are subjected to. If they bust, I will order some Thrust-rated rod ends from Mcmaster-Carr. At least I know what sizes to order. FYI, The bolt sizes are 12mm & 10mm. I can't remember how long they needed to be. I also couldn't find any Grade 8(strongest they had) Metirc bolts at OSH. So I bought some SAE 7/16" and, I believe, 3/8" to go throught the Rod-ends.

Thanks guys.:bigthumb:

I think you'll be fine on the swaybar rod ends. My guess is that they probably see a lot less load than, say the upper A-arm. Also, the plastic/composite end-links did survive for years, and they are probably much less strong than the rod ends.

Since they are in a place that's easy to inspect, you should be able to spot problems early. A quick trip to OSH gets you replacements if necessary. Overall, it sounds like a good buy to me.

Not to hijack the thread...
 

Hi Folks,

But would this be a product you'd like Widefoot Racing to look at building? Do
you think there's enough demand for a fixed-length, high strength link, with
proper telfon-lined heim bearings (not rod ends), and 12.9 metric bolts?.

I'd love to get feedback, either to my PM, or to widefoot@comcast.net. Especially
interesting to me would be those who've had problems due to non-stock
components, finding out what parts were causing interference, and getting
relevant dimensions.

Also, please give me an idea of price "break point", as the race quality parts to
make the links can be expensive...

Thanks,
David Breslau
Widefoot Racing Co
widefoot@comcast.net

PS: If this post violates etiquette regarding vendors, my apologies.

Check it:
http://www.awrracing.com/pages/rx/rxsusp.html

The ones I bought for my Protege5 are nice quality. :)