So like many my front suspension was making noise. I read that sway bar links were a common problem for these cars. To determine if it was the sway bar links that were making noise on my car I removed them and went for a drive. The noise went away so I determined that that was the problem.

For replacements I used aftermarket ones. I bought ones from Moog, I bought them from Oreilly Auto Parts. The Moog ones were half the price of the ones form GM and they have grease zerks.







Tools Used

18mm socky
18mm wrench
Wire brush
Impact
Penetrating Oil
Jack
Jack Stand


Step 1

Jack up car and remove both front wheels

Step 2

Remove the top nut on the sway bar link on both sides of the car. (Letter A in PIC) Now there is no way to hold the bolt from the back side. My bolts were all rusty so I used a wire brush to clean them up, I also sprayed some penetrating oil on them. I used a air impact and tightened a loosened tell I got the nut off. I was also told you could run a die down the bolt to clean the threads up but I did not have one.




Step 3

Remove bottom nut on both the sway bar links. (Letter B in PIC) With the top nut off and the bolt pulled out of both sides the sway bar link with go up and down making it easier to fit the impact on the nut.



Step 4

Install grease zirks on sway bar links. Put them parallel with the bar facing down.

Pic of OLD vs. NEW



Step 5

Install the bottom nut on both of the sway bar links. The moog ones have a place to hold the back side with a 18 mm wrench. Make sure you hold it so it does not just spin.

Step 6

Install the top nut on both of the links.

Pic of new one installed



Step 7

Add grease to all 4 zirks.

Step 8

Put your wheels back on and go for a drive and enjoy your new quiet front suspension.

Note: This is just my opinion on how to do this. I am not responsible if you hurt yourself or damage your vehicle.

 

u can hold it from behind wit a pair of visegrips..or some links actualy have a 15mm nut on the shaft that u can hold from behind...all depends witch manufacturer build ur link, there mosty versitile some sizes fit other cars aswell. i usually get all links off wit the visegrip and an impact gun, but when i have to reuse them i heat up the bolt and nut till theyre glowing hot, cool them off and give it a shot with the impact should come right off, never had a problem with links, thanx for reading im ver bored right now LOLLL

 

Thanks for some more advise.

 

and to know if the link is faulty, dont remove it first, grap it and move it up down and side to side, if u feel any play even minimal it can cause noise when hitting bumps. No problem man thats y were here

 

Anybody know the torque specs of what these are supposed to be torqued to????

 

hey wat kind of noise were these making that made you decide to change them?

 

It is kinda hard to describe the sound. What I noticed is my suspension seemed very loud. It didn't make sounds going over big bumps. I was loud just driving down the street with smaller bumps. I also noticed it when coming to a stop.

 

I'm definitely gonna have to check this out as winter is almost here and cold weather = more noises

 

mine likes to clunk going over bumps and on rough roads i may have to check these out or it might be the shocks havent replaced those yet and i got 76000 miles lol probably need new ones of those to.

 

From the pics, seems like the moog on larger is diameter. In this case, aftermarket is better than factory.

 

well cuz mine makes noise when i take off from a dead stop or stopping or making a slight turn. so i don't know if that could be my tie rods or sway bar links or axels.

 

could also be sway bar bushings guys...another cheap thing to change...i know my bushings and links are gone...thanx to all the potholes in montreal!!!!

 

how much did that cost you for parts

 

bushings were 5$ each, and links were 24$ each
i work in a garage so its cost...but honestly it all depends on the quality u want mine are spicer parts...i trust that company but i hat ethe roads...its just a matter of time b4 i change them again

 

The Moog links don't come with the bushings? I've never seen links with no bushings they always come with them already on there...unless you mean you did your sway bar bushings.

 

where did you find those moog sway bar links

 

let me refer you to the first post:

 

Advanced Auto Parts carrys them.

 

there are 2 different types of MOOG endlinks.
I have a 06 ss S/c and i got the K750012 Moog endlinks with greasable zerks.
so if your TC/SC you need k750012

is your a regular cobalt i believe the part number you want is k80252, these endlinks are a bit longer and cost more

your going to want to order two boxes. Moog sells their endlinks 1 endlink per box.

local autozone down the road's prices when i replace my endlinks.
k750012 $32.99 for ONE endlink
k80252 $40.99 for ONE endlink.

hope this helps. i remember how hard it was for me to locate the proper part number for what endlink i needed.

 

It was also a pain in my butt to remove my stock endlinks. i didnt use a impact gun, only socket n ratchet. passenger side i could only get one nut off, the other nut/bolt kept spinning inside of the endlink or i just yanked on the endlink until i pulled the ball joint of the endlink out. then used vise grips to grab the ball joint as i used the ratchet to remove the nut. the driver's side i couldnt get either nut off. the bolt/bal joint inside the endlink. it just kept spinning in the endlink so i used a metal saw to cut the endlink in half then ripped off both halves of the endlink only to leave the balljoint/bolt. used the vise grips again to grab the ball joint and ratchet the nuts it off.

 

The instruction sheet that comes with the Moog links says 55 ft-lbs.
I needed to use a torch to heat up one of the nuts. It was really stuck on the bolt.

 

i think my stock endlinks were so shot that the ball joint just kept spinning. they were way too loose. moogs ball joint bearing were alot firmer/stiffer

 

click

pretty sure im just upgrading to the adjustable powergrid endlinks

 

I understand man! I live in MTL also and my suspension takes a beating hahaha

 

Ok. Mine are shot and I'm planning on replacing them with the Moog endlinks.

How much more of a pain in the rear is it going to be if I don't have an impact gun to take these off?

sternerG85SC - was saying he did it with hand tools and had a horrible time doing it but has anyone else here done it without an impact wrench?

Just trying to plan ahead to make this install as smooth as possible.

Thanks.