how to change Sway bar links
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Captain
Joined: Jun 2009
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From: southern NJ
how to change Sway bar links
Okay guys i got my struts,shocks, and outer tie rod ends put on my truck and when doing so the driver side sway bar link snapped. my dads buddy was doing it for free and it spent the nite, found out he could not get the part because its a dealer part only and he could get it just not sure when. so i drove it home and stopped on my way home to got 1. that was yesterday so today i did the passenger side and did it alot faster then the first one. the first one took an hour and half because wasn't to sure how it worked. today it took 32 mins lol.
heres what the old ones looked like
moto_0307.jpg
the one on the bottom was the one that broke
first thing u want to do is get deep so sockets. what u need is a 15mm,16mm, 18mm. wrenches u'll need 1/2 inch and 18mm and 8 mmi think thats it.
what u want do do is take the 1/2 inch wrench and put it on the long shaft of the sway bar link and hold it, with the 16 mm socket put it on top of the locking nut. sorry for photos but put the new one on before it click i should have put pics but same thing just looks different. after you take the top locking nut off, heres the fun part taking the bottom one off u must use 2 wrench's u need an 8 mm and 18. do not strip the nut u need it when putting the new one on. u need to put the 18 mm around the nut and what i did was pull it towards the tire and put the little 8mm on the bottom and push hard as u can go. this is where u wanna put sum pb blaster on just watch how u squirt it unfortunately i did it by hand wasnt to hard after u turn it a few times the nut does become loose enough for u to take the rest off by hand.
*i suggest u do this part by jacking the truck up so u have more room. i would raise it to the tires are barely touching mine i kept sumwhat o nthe ground just enough i could get under. *
sway.jpg
(this is the new one but same places where the old ones are. btw new ones are alot stronger. )
if u reach this step ur good to go but u need to do one more thing... u need to undo the sway bar bushing. since this is the passenger side sway link u will undo the passenger sway bar bushing. same on driver side. u will need 15 mm sockets i had have a air compressor so i used this part to put it to use instead of undoing these bolts by hand. there are no nuts behind them so u will be fine. sway2.jpg
once u do this u can take the sway bar off the link and attach the new links in make sure to notice how the old rubbers were place and put the new ones on the new bar the same way. i would do everything that u did in reverse order. now what i did was i started to tighten the top new locking not on first then went on the bottoms and tighten it up with the 18mm socket till it started to spin slitly then tighten the top. I didn't read anything in the Haynes book of how much u should tighten it down but i tighten it enough to where the rubbers were kinda squatted and could see the threads. but yea make-sure u tighten the sway bar bushing bolts nice and snug don't want them coming out. and every couple days get under there and check them to makesure there fine. *make sure when putting the sway bar bushing back on u lower the truck all the way with the new link in if not u'll be wondering why it wont go back togather.
if theres anything i missed let me know or if u need help its kinda easy but i thought i do alittle right up.
heres what the old ones looked like
moto_0307.jpg
the one on the bottom was the one that broke
first thing u want to do is get deep so sockets. what u need is a 15mm,16mm, 18mm. wrenches u'll need 1/2 inch and 18mm and 8 mmi think thats it.
what u want do do is take the 1/2 inch wrench and put it on the long shaft of the sway bar link and hold it, with the 16 mm socket put it on top of the locking nut. sorry for photos but put the new one on before it click i should have put pics but same thing just looks different. after you take the top locking nut off, heres the fun part taking the bottom one off u must use 2 wrench's u need an 8 mm and 18. do not strip the nut u need it when putting the new one on. u need to put the 18 mm around the nut and what i did was pull it towards the tire and put the little 8mm on the bottom and push hard as u can go. this is where u wanna put sum pb blaster on just watch how u squirt it unfortunately i did it by hand wasnt to hard after u turn it a few times the nut does become loose enough for u to take the rest off by hand.
*i suggest u do this part by jacking the truck up so u have more room. i would raise it to the tires are barely touching mine i kept sumwhat o nthe ground just enough i could get under. *
sway.jpg
(this is the new one but same places where the old ones are. btw new ones are alot stronger. )
if u reach this step ur good to go but u need to do one more thing... u need to undo the sway bar bushing. since this is the passenger side sway link u will undo the passenger sway bar bushing. same on driver side. u will need 15 mm sockets i had have a air compressor so i used this part to put it to use instead of undoing these bolts by hand. there are no nuts behind them so u will be fine. sway2.jpg
once u do this u can take the sway bar off the link and attach the new links in make sure to notice how the old rubbers were place and put the new ones on the new bar the same way. i would do everything that u did in reverse order. now what i did was i started to tighten the top new locking not on first then went on the bottoms and tighten it up with the 18mm socket till it started to spin slitly then tighten the top. I didn't read anything in the Haynes book of how much u should tighten it down but i tighten it enough to where the rubbers were kinda squatted and could see the threads. but yea make-sure u tighten the sway bar bushing bolts nice and snug don't want them coming out. and every couple days get under there and check them to makesure there fine. *make sure when putting the sway bar bushing back on u lower the truck all the way with the new link in if not u'll be wondering why it wont go back togather.
if theres anything i missed let me know or if u need help its kinda easy but i thought i do alittle right up.
Last edited by Moneyman19; Sep 15, 2010 at 11:47 PM.
Champion
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 3,686
Likes: 0
From: Greenfield, Wisconsin
Make sure you torque the nut on top to spec otherwise the bushings will wear out fast. I believe 25 ft lbs is spec, with 75 ft lbs for the bottome nut. It should be in the service manual.
Record Breaker
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 1,513
Likes: 2
Nice, wow the new ones look much better.
I still have one original, and one replacement, because I also snapped my passeneger side one exactly where you snapped yours. look at how thin that upper threaded portion is. Dodge seriously expected that to hold over a few years of rust? The first time they are serviced...they usually break!
Anyway I did mine with the truck right on the ground, I just slid under there, bing bang boom.
Anytime I need to move the sway bar out of the way now, I always detatch the end links from the bottom bolt, under the lower control arm, and leave the end links attached to the bar when I swing it up and out of the way.
I also just snugged the upper bolt, slightly squeezing the bushings, they still look great after a few years.
Besides the one end link i replaced, I am still running all factory front end parts....im over 50,000 miles, and its starting to feel pretty ugly.... I just cannot justify it yet...
I still have one original, and one replacement, because I also snapped my passeneger side one exactly where you snapped yours. look at how thin that upper threaded portion is. Dodge seriously expected that to hold over a few years of rust? The first time they are serviced...they usually break!
Anyway I did mine with the truck right on the ground, I just slid under there, bing bang boom.
Anytime I need to move the sway bar out of the way now, I always detatch the end links from the bottom bolt, under the lower control arm, and leave the end links attached to the bar when I swing it up and out of the way.
I also just snugged the upper bolt, slightly squeezing the bushings, they still look great after a few years.
Besides the one end link i replaced, I am still running all factory front end parts....im over 50,000 miles, and its starting to feel pretty ugly.... I just cannot justify it yet...
Last edited by MonkeyWrench4000; Sep 16, 2010 at 12:01 PM.
Champion
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 3,686
Likes: 0
From: Greenfield, Wisconsin
If you have a popping/clunking sound in your front end while going over bumps/turning, this could be the cause. Get under your truck and youll see the sway bar attached to the frame, with a link on each side attaching the bar to the control arm. Grab a hold of those links, and move them up and down. If they give to you pulling up and down on them, they are bad. Not a huge deal if they are, they just help stablilize the front end and keep the tires glued to the pavement so you dont have to worry about getting them fixed if right away if you cant.
Registered User
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 1
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Could anyone tell me if the stabilizer links can be bought from parts stores or are they dealer parts only? I was talking to my grandson about a glunking noise he took a look and found the stabilizer links broke on both sides. My son and I removed them and took them up to Autozone and they had nothing on their computer. My son called Mike's auto parts and he would have them in a couple of days.But, I've been looking over the internet and can't seem to find them. I really hate buying them from a dealership because I know their gonna be exspencive.
Your help would be appreciated.
STC01 (2005 Dakota)
Your help would be appreciated.
STC01 (2005 Dakota)
Last edited by STClassic01; Oct 11, 2010 at 10:45 PM.
Napa Part #NCP 2651903 - I have not heard if anyone has installed these successfully.
Dodge Part# 5135731AB
I assume Moog has something, but the site is down
Dodge Part# 5135731AB
I assume Moog has something, but the site is down