Sway bar endlinks connect the ends of
the sway bars to the struts. (Front sway bar endlinks are quite different
from rear, and most people run either the old metal design or the 1994 revision,
hard white plastic.) The rear endlink looks roughly like the picture, and
consists of a stud/bolt, four bushings, and four retaining washers. The endlinks
are oriented roughly vertically, and the sway bar fits between the lower pair
of bushings, and the strut connected between the upper pair.
The Ford design uses a stud, threaded on both ends, each with a nut. The inner retaining washers ride on extruded flanges in the bolt. All aftermarket designs seem to use a bolt, threaded on only one end and with a single nut, and the inner retaining washers ride on a spacer tube that fits over the bolt. It would seem that the spacer bar bears the full compression load instead of the bolt, so it ought to be quite strong.
The bushing material used can be quite mysterious. OEM bushings are generally all rubber, but my factory SHO endlinks use blue TPR upper bushings and black rubber lower bushings. Polyurethene was the primary aftermarket upgrade, but TPR has now become available. Usually, the parts store and manufacturer have no idea what bushings are used.
All endlink kits are for one side only, except the Addco and SHONut, which cover both, and possibly the CincySHO and SP Motorsports.
The Ford design uses a stud, threaded on both ends, each with a nut. The inner retaining washers ride on extruded flanges in the bolt. All aftermarket designs seem to use a bolt, threaded on only one end and with a single nut, and the inner retaining washers ride on a spacer tube that fits over the bolt. It would seem that the spacer bar bears the full compression load instead of the bolt, so it ought to be quite strong.
The bushing material used can be quite mysterious. OEM bushings are generally all rubber, but my factory SHO endlinks use blue TPR upper bushings and black rubber lower bushings. Polyurethene was the primary aftermarket upgrade, but TPR has now become available. Usually, the parts store and manufacturer have no idea what bushings are used.
| Available RSB Bushing Material |
Properties |
| Rubber |
Compress easily, wear out, crumble. Lead
to a very soft feel when cornering. |
| Delrin |
Early aftermarket upgrade. Very hard material,
but wears quickly. No longer available.. |
| Polyurethene |
Harder than rubber, less so than Delrin.
However, they bind, wear out, and squeek/squeal horribly unless frequently
lubricated. |
| Thermoplastic Rubber (TPR) |
Harder than polyurethene, but aren't supposed
to wear, bind, or need grease. |
All endlink kits are for one side only, except the Addco and SHONut, which cover both, and possibly the CincySHO and SP Motorsports.