Gen II Stabilizer Bar Link DIY

I didn't see another write up for this job so I thought I would do one myself. The symptoms I was having was some knocking and rubbing noises over bumps. It was getting progressively worse over a period of months. This job was fairly easy, took me about 30-40 minutes per side.


Here is a pic of my old Stabilizer bar link before any work was done:

After removing the front wheel and securing on a jackstand, You first need to loosen the top and bottom nuts. The bottom one is the harder one to get to, but it's not too bad once you figure out which angle is best to get at it.




A bad pic, but the best I could do of the bottom nut. The top and bottom nuts are 17mm.




A pic after removing the top nut.





Once you have loosened the top and bottom nut, the key now is to take a 2nd Jack and Jack up the front suspension assembly. You need to jack it up just enough until you notice the stabilizer bar link loosen up and become very easy to remove. I first went ahead and pulled the top of the link off, then removed the bottom nut and removed the stabilizer bar link.

Using the 2nd Jack to lift the front suspension up is the key step here! It's the difference between doing this job quickly and easily and spending a ton of time wondering why the link won't come out.


Pic after link has been removed.







Installation is reverse of disassembly. You might have to jack the suspension up or down a bit to get the new link on easily. Tighten the bolts nice and tight, put the tire on and you are done!! My understanding is that there isn't a need to do alignment after this.

 

A pic of the old bar sitting next to the new one. The nuts are on the new one just because that's how it came out of the box. I bought this at my local Oreilly's Auto Parts for $23.99 each. It comes with a lifetime warranty. If you opt for an OEM part it is $84.99 each online.

 

I probably should have, but I didn’t use a torque wrench. I just tightened it down with plenty of force.