was getting the odd clonk from the front L over bumps and dirt roads etc. It was time to rotate wheels anyway, pulled the wheel off et voila !
Easiest diagnosis in my 45 years of wrenching.. the sway bar is clearly not linked.
the bolt had rusted down to about 2/3 of original size, and snapped somewhere along the way..
the dings on top are from me whacking at it with a punch and a 4lb sledgehammer, trying to knock the bolt loose..
but it had corroded into one solid mass. I had to use a Sawzall to get the front shocks off, here again had to cut the bolt through the bushing and work it out that way.
I will say the original rubber bushings were still in excellent shape, pity about the rest of the mess.
sawzall'd..
everything it was cracked up to be..
massively overpaid for new Carquest ones from Autozone, but they had the parts locally and I had the wheel off. Rockauto has a part which looks suspiciously identical for 1/5 of the price, oh well. Sometimes it's OK just to pay a bit to keep the local shops going.
The old Sienna minivan busted a sway bar link at one point also. In both these cars I can't tell the difference in handling between broken and fixed. Of course I usually drive like a little old lady, so it's possible I never push the corners enough to notice. It's good to have the clonk gone though.
Easiest diagnosis in my 45 years of wrenching.. the sway bar is clearly not linked.
the bolt had rusted down to about 2/3 of original size, and snapped somewhere along the way..
the dings on top are from me whacking at it with a punch and a 4lb sledgehammer, trying to knock the bolt loose..
but it had corroded into one solid mass. I had to use a Sawzall to get the front shocks off, here again had to cut the bolt through the bushing and work it out that way.
I will say the original rubber bushings were still in excellent shape, pity about the rest of the mess.
sawzall'd..
everything it was cracked up to be..
massively overpaid for new Carquest ones from Autozone, but they had the parts locally and I had the wheel off. Rockauto has a part which looks suspiciously identical for 1/5 of the price, oh well. Sometimes it's OK just to pay a bit to keep the local shops going.
The old Sienna minivan busted a sway bar link at one point also. In both these cars I can't tell the difference in handling between broken and fixed. Of course I usually drive like a little old lady, so it's possible I never push the corners enough to notice. It's good to have the clonk gone though.
