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Broken swaybar link.... common? Pic

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  #61  
Old 05-14-2010 | 09:59 PM
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8baal
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I can speak from experience about the "torque" necessary to get those darn Moog aftermarket sway bar links in. The instructions call for 27 ft/pounds of torque on the lower bolts - not a big deal. Not much, I personally felt it wasn't enough. Gave it a little bit more. SNAP! Darn thing tore the threaded shaft apart. Removed it in anger, tried to reinstall the factory one, SNAP! So now I'm accepting the fact that my truck is stuck in my driveway for another two business days (yay weekend with no transportation!) and I decided to attempt to finish installing the other side. The instructions state to torque the top down to 75 ft/pounds of torque... NYLON THREADED NUT! Following instructions, I saw my bushings flatten like pancakes, and that nut never came back off no matter how much I tried. It stripped the insides and I had to saw it off. How pathetic is this? The ones from the dealer are three times as expensive, but if they're higher quality than these Moog parts I'll gladly pay the extra. I've been impressed by Moog in the past, I'm using their tie rod ends on this truck and have no issues whatsoever. This time, however, I think it was cheap manufacture.
 
  #62  
Old 12-15-2010 | 06:40 PM
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I have a 2005 Dakota SLT Crew Cab with 58,000 miles. Three nights ago my truck went into a spin as I was entering the highway at 40 MPH. I spun off into a ditch and have some minor body damage. I drove off thinking that I was a poor driver, but when 20 miles later my front left tire went flat, I found that the sway bar bolt had snapped. I am wondering if it snapped because of the minor accident or if the sway bar might be the cause of the accident.
 
  #63  
Old 12-15-2010 | 09:21 PM
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The Dutch Touch
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The broken sway bar end link shouldn't cause an accident as it only suppresses body roll.

Another question which link should i get for my truck from rockauto

To me this is the simillar stock version
http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=1402919
and this looks more like beefed up version.
http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=1877456

thanks
 
  #64  
Old 12-16-2010 | 12:30 AM
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When I ordered mine, the Moog ones at rockauto were out of stock. I ended up buying the sway bar links for an 08+ Dakota. They are much better than the ones that came on my 05.
 
  #65  
Old 12-16-2010 | 07:43 AM
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Ordered

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=1877456
Rockauto says this is patented stronger greasable version, so we shall see how it does.
 
  #66  
Old 12-18-2010 | 12:01 PM
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I had a 2005 dakota...by 40k i was on my third pair of sway bar links....They are an odd size and there are no off market replacements as far as i know...i bought a replacement for my dealer....they were much beefier.....but a bit pricey.........easy to install....good luck!!
 
  #67  
Old 12-18-2010 | 12:07 PM
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i had a 2005 dakota....was on my 3rd pair by 40k....its an odd size and couldnt find an off market pair...bought from dealer...they were much beefier...alittle pricey.....but did the trick.......good luck....
 
  #68  
Old 05-06-2011 | 06:32 PM
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laserzig
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Default Sway bar link kit

If anybody is still interested, MOOG has a beefer front sway bar link kit for $20.00 through RockAuto. Picture is wrong in the catalog, but the parts are a direct replacement.
 
  #69  
Old 05-07-2011 | 09:08 PM
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BJ Harrison
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Default 2005 Dakota Front Swar Bar Links

My left front sway bar link snapped at 65,000 miles. Beware: you should replace both left & right links at the same time. You must loosen the opposite link to get the sway bar to rise enough to get the new link in place, and the remaining link will most likely snap (break) when you try to bacl-off the retaining nut! Also make sure both links are in place before you try to intall and tighten the retaining nuts--otherwise, you will just cause yourself frustration when you have to back one off to get the opposite one in place. I changed the front pair in my Dakota in about 54 minutes and that included removing both front wheels for ease of access--Safety stands in place--of course! I wrote a complaint to DOT--National Safety & Transportation, but only received acknowledge ment of my complaint--Never another word. Perhaps if more people register a complaint against Dodge, something might happen. In my case, I lost control of my pick-up and landed in a ditch, causing near $2,000 damage to the side and rear of mr Dakota. I hope you were not as misfortunate.
 
  #70  
Old 05-07-2011 | 09:19 PM
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You lost control due to a broken link? I had my bar off for over a month, and did speeds up to 90mph and never had a problem. The sway bar doesn't make that much of a difference in terms of stability.
 


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