I just got done installing a mustang front sway bar with energy suspension bushings and end links and OH MY GOD is there a difference. I had the stock bar on there and the driver side bushing and end link were pretty much useless (power steering pump leak a long time ago rotted them away). The car no longer feels like a slushbox!
oh, and I got the bushings/end links from cheperformance.com :ies: :ies: control arms are on the way
Are the bushings different from the ones pictures on their website? I just went out and looked at the bushings on my '86, and the mounting looks significantly different than what's pictured there.
http://cheperformance.com/cartgenie/prodInfo.asp?pid=39&cid=5
Had to look in the Mustang section because I didn't see any in the T-bird section.
i thought the tbird sports had the same swaybars front and rear as the turbo coupe, wich i thought was bigger than the mustangs....?
On the Tbird, the bushings are spaced away from the frame a bit more. What you will need is just the bushings and you will reuse your existing brackets. If you use the shorter Mustang brackets, you will need to space then away from the frame or the sway bar will hit the engine and you will also need different end links as well if you use shorter brackets.
So I "Should" have reused my old brackets. DOH!!!
You're not kidding about body roll... that's why they make the door handles for these cars outta metal. They last longer sing on pavement in turns...
That near saves my week from being a completely depressing turd of a week. Now that you answered that particular question, I just need a few more credit sales and I can pop for a set of bushings and end links, and hope that that cures the rattle in my '86's front end. That and a cheap alternator (for now) and I can almost forget being ripped off by a customer.
Hey zpyro,
Is that stock mustang bar 1 5/16'. a buddy of mine wants to sell me one for $15, and also on the poly bushings did you drill a hole in the bracket so you can grease the bushing. Thats if you reused the stock brackets, Just want to know if it works before I try it.
you're not the only one having a bad week. I've missed out on about 4 different mustang rollers for about $700 each, and they were all worth at least twice that. my girlfriend and I got in a fight because she went to dinner with a guy with whom she slept while we were still together. her excuse? "I decided I don't want to sacrifice a friendship for you," to which I said "So you'd rather sacrifice me for a friendship, thanks." Also, I can't even get her turned on anymore every time I try to get somethin started I get shut down like it was the first date(http://les-smileys.com/smiley/Smiley/Violent/suicide.gif) I was going to get a job at NAPA but apparently they aren't looking for hard-working, honest people, because I "failed" their psychological profile test :bs: x eleventy-billion. I apparently owe $400 in taxes, which is more than a two-week paycheck for me. I'm pretty much dropping out of school, this semester was a waste and I probably won't get enough $ for next year.
dunno if it's any consolation, but I'm having one helluva time too :sorry:
yea the bar is 1 5/16", $15 is a pretty good price I got mine for about that much at the yard. I didn't drill any holes, I thought poly bushings didn't need to be greased. they did come with a little tube of lube (heehee) that I used tho.
oh and that really loud clanking sound in the front end when I hit the brakes?....it's still there :shoothead
have you checked the strutt bearings and the ball joints
i ended up putting greasable energy suspension bushings on my 85 and it turned out my ball joint on ps was going and the strutt bearing on the ds was done.
struts have bearings?? :confused: I thought that was something like headlight fluid or exhaust bearing :p
how do you check the ball joints?
Do you mean the strut mount at the top of the strut tower?
i have bearings. ^_^
not by default though. but, what's a strut bearing on a ds? driveshaft??? i'm confused.
I think he means Passenger Side and Driver Side. PS/DS.
Bird351..make sure you don't get endlinks for as Mustang...they're too long....measure the ones on your car to be certain which ones you need. (I might have an extra set...)
The Tbirds/Cougars to not have upper strut mounts like the Mustangs. Stock the "bushings" are not servicable or replaceable like on the 83-04 Mustangs with the "cup" style mounts. You can buy replacement upper mounts from Moog or TRW that have the cup that you can put the poly bushing in....
, that might ruin the possibility of ordering from CHE like I was planning on. AutoHole has E-S end links listed for T-birds specifically, CHE does not. On the bushings, AutoHole's E-S bushings are special order.. so I figure I'd have had to wait for them either way. In that case, (and there not being much of a price difference either way) I had planned on going with CHE for the order. Maybe I better contact him and specifically request T-bird end links.
If you do have them, and I strike out elsewhere, I may have to get back to you on that possible extra set. (if you find 'em and they're up for sale) Hoping I can get at least a little business going this guy's way, though.. for hooking the board up on the adjustables.
Thanks. Going to go measure 'em right now before it threatens to rain again. (just threatening, and a few drops.. annoying as hell)
EDIT: 9 inches from the top of the end link to the very bottom. 7 inches of that from the top of the end link to the top of the A arm. The other two inches are apparently all threaded. When she's sittin' on the lawn and you have fire ants around, you try not to lay down there any longer than you have to. :p
so that's why they're crooked :disappoin I got the mustang end links, dunno if it's cuz they're too long or the bar is narrower or what, but they were a PITA to get in and they're kinda crooked. does this just mean they'll be more likely to break or wear out or?
and the package says to measure from one of the inner washers to the other, with the car on the ground and the control arm and sway bar parallel. the part# I got was 9.8121G, which is 4.5". I'm thinking I shoulda got the 9.8149 (4.25")
edit: well I measured the stock endlink, and it's 4.5" :dunno:
Distance between the insides (opposing faces) of the two washers was like 4 1/2" to 4 5/8".
according to the package, 4.5" is the longest they have :dunno: maybe the mustang sway bar is narrower?
Or perhaps I have the wrong ones, installed by someone doing a repair for the past owner?
oh. :disappoin
MM has endlinks for TBirds. says 4 3/4. just thought i'd toss that out there. :dunno:
the mustang GT bar is the same bar as the TC bar, so it being narrow is out
That might be why on hard turns that I rub the sway bar with the big ol' tires, because the links are to long.
Found a set of Mustang bars on Evil Bay for $250, 1' 3/8" front and 1' rear. that combo should help in flaten my car out during an autocross.
well I don't have a TC bar stock :dunno:
I don't see how another 1/4" would fit in there, the end links were already at an angle and a PITA to get in
Which brackets did you use to install the front bar to the chassis?
I'll climb under my Tbird and measure mine here at some point this weekend.
the Tbird ones
Well, I'm not sure then. I checked mine this afternoon. Mustang 33mm bar, Tbird chassis mount brackets and the shorter endlinks (length of spacer in the middle is 3 3/8"). Car is lowered about 1.5" or there abouts. The sway bar is parallel to the arm and the endlink is pretty vertical.
So do we have a consensus on what the exact length of the end links should be :dunno: ? I'm looking into getting some new ones myself and wouldn't mind knowing the exact length they need to be.
Yes....
For Tbirds/Cougars
80-82 - ES P/N 9.8121 (4.5" length of center spacer..same for Fox Mustangs)
83-88 - ES P/N 9.8119 (3.375" length of center spacer)
You guys with the 9.8121's have the wrong ones.....
I used the 9.8119's on my cars....
The 9.8121's have the correct sized
STOCK spacer though. I know that our cars call for the 9.8119's but those are definitely shorter than stock. I just went through this last weekend...had a bit of a discussion with the goober behind the counter at AZ about this. After 10 minutes he still didn't get it so I ended up getting a pair of stock end links and not the ES ones. This was for the '88 Sport, BTW, stock ride height. If the car is not lowered then why would the 9.8121's be wrong?
So 3 & 3/4" it is, 'preciate the quick info turn around. Something tells me I have the 4.5's ES's on right now. Go figure :crazy: !! I'll personally be getting rid of my energy suspension parts and getting prothane instead (part #19-404 3 & 3/4" fyi), Haven't quite been all they were hyped up to be.
I'm pretty positive I put the ES 9.8121's on mine when I installed the new bar. For a while the were ok, but I now have a fair amount of "clunking and banging" in my front end. I've had 2 mechanics verify that it is because my swaybar is banging against the struts. If you were to look at how the swaybar sits now, you'd understand why, there's only a matter of maybe a 1/4" between the strut and swaybar. That can't be right in my mind. Before I swap out endlinks and mount bushings i'll take a pic. It should help clarify things a bit.
Eric-
I'd have to dig into my repair logs because it's been so long ago that I messed with buying them, but I'm pretty sure the car(s) were not lowered at the time.
Appreciate the help Chuck. Not nitpicking or anything, but it's just that I was in the exact same predicament just a week ago and we really should have some type of definitive answer for this.
3.375" is 3-3/8". Ohio math? ;)
HA, good point!!! I'm still not awake yet!
Thread resurection time. Installed the new end-links today (a p.i.t.a. with the bar still mounted btw) and got some pics of the old vs. new. I ended up with the Prothane 3 3/4" instead of the 3 and 3/8" 's length ones. I'm not really sure how I could have gotten the shorter one's on though, cause I went through heck to get these one on. But I figure 3/8" 's isn't too terribly far off to cause a major problem and the next closest length were either the 3 1/4" 's or the 3 1/2" 's. Oh, btw, i'm personally not gonna bother with Energy Suspension brand anymore, the pics will tell the tale.
thats how mine looked...other than the end of one being broken
Something to keep in mind, those are "just" over a year old, imho I don't think that's considered a quality part.