I just discovered that worn swaybar end links can amplify tremendous road noise to the extent that you would think you need new bearings or CV joints.

The transfer of noise was so bad in my Escape that my AC compressor would roar and I thought it was failing as well. So, when I put new endlinks on the front swaybar, not only did the road noise disappear but my AC compressor was quiet again. I was very impressed and, at $37.00 each, a good investment

... An ounce of pretension is worth a pound of manure.

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* Origin: Alpha Centauri BBS (1:322/757)

I just discovered that worn swaybar end links can amplify tremendous road noise to the extent that you would think you need new bearings or CV joints.
The transfer of noise was so bad in my Escape that my AC compressor would roar and I thought it was failing as well. So, when I put new endlinks on the front swaybar, not only did the road noise disappear but my AC compressor
was quiet again. I was very impressed and, at $37.00 each, a good investment

Were the links cracked or just really screwed up at the connection points?

I had to replace my entire sway bar (and did links at the same time) several years ago due to rust eating the bar from the inside. GM made hollow ones that
rusted from the inside and eventually cracked. I had half the bar cracked in half from rust.

Speaking of rust, I have been swaping out several things lately on the Monte Carlo due to rust. The connection between the catalytic converter and the resiator had rusted so bad, the bolts and everything fell apart.

I did a fix using epoxy for the time being. Don't want to buy an entire exhaust system right now.

I also noticed my transmission cooler lines have rusted through in one area causing a transmission fluid leak. I ordered new lines and will work on replacing them one weekend soon.

- Mark

--- WWIVToss v.1.51
* Origin: http://www.weather-station.org * Bel Air, MD -USA (1:261/1304.0)

* In a message originally to Jim Haight, Mark Hofmann said:

Were the links cracked or just really screwed up at the
connection points? I had to replace my entire sway bar (and
did links at the same time) several years ago due to rust

I think they were just stressed, especially after last winter. I would be driving down the narrow streets of new bedford and it was like pounding down cobble stones or a washboard, not to mention gruesome potholes which they are still filling. I had to laugh because I had loosened the front spoiler on the car from slamming into snow banks and I recently fixed it... only to loosen it

again yesterday flying through flooded roads from the heavy rains we just got.

I might consider just taking it off. It really serves no purpose other than ramming more air into the front of the car or giving you a few miles per gallon. Other than the spoiler, my ground clearance is close to a jeep grand cherokee.

... Anything demonstrated for a repairman will work perfectly.

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* Origin: Alpha Centauri BBS (1:322/757)

I think they were just stressed, especially after last winter. I would be driving down the narrow streets of new bedford and it was like pounding down
cobble stones or a washboard, not to mention gruesome potholes which they are
still filling. I had to laugh because I had loosened the front spoiler on

Do they use salt up there? I wish there was an option in cars that you could order them with 100% stainless steel. I can't stand rust. Many of the things I have had to work on recently were completely rust related.

What is really going to suck is when I have to replace the fuel and brake lines
due to rust.

- Mark

--- WWIVToss v.1.51
* Origin: http://www.weather-station.org * Bel Air, MD -USA (1:261/1304.0)

12 Sep 15 20:01, you wrote to Jim Haight:

I think they were just stressed, especially after last winter. I
would be driving down the narrow streets of new bedford and it was
like pounding down cobble stones or a washboard, not to mention
gruesome potholes which they are still filling. I had to laugh
because I had loosened the front spoiler on

Do they use salt up there? I wish there was an option in cars that
you could order them with 100% stainless steel. I can't stand rust.

don't fall for the stainless won't rust thing... it is not true... it is the nickle in the stainless that helps to prevent rust... i have two 1 inch diameter stainless steel "pins" that are just over 1 foot long... one is nasty with rust and the other is quite shiny... both came out of the same batch of pins for the same machine (industrial pin mixer) at the same time... i also have several counter top distillers we use to distill our water... they all have a stainless steel bowl and every one of them rusts out...

)\/(ark

... Casserole is just another word for leftovers.
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* Origin: (1:3634/12.73)

on Do they use salt up there? I wish there was an option in
cars that you could order them with 100% stainless steel. I
can't stand rust. Many of the things I have had to work on
recently were completely rust related. What is really going
to suck is when I have to replace the fuel and brake lines
due to rust. - Mark --- WWIVToss v.1.51 * Origin:

Yeah they use boucoup salt everywhere. I was giving my trailer hitch a coat of black rustoleum and noticed that the wing nut that secures my spare tire was corroded to the point that I might have to cut it off and get a new one. I even was thinking that it might be prudent to have the tow bar / trailer hitch powder coated. There are a lot of auto specialty shops in New Bedford where they will sand blast parts and powdercoat them for you. My stock wheels

would look great with a candy coated purple to offset the blue car :)

... A BAND-AID? Dammit Jim, I'm a doctor, not a... Oh, yeah!

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* Origin: Alpha Centauri BBS (1:322/757)

don't fall for the stainless won't rust thing... it is not true... it is the nickle in the stainless that helps to prevent rust... i have two 1
inch diameter stainless steel "pins" that are just over 1 foot long...
one is nasty with rust and the other is quite shiny... both came out of
the same batch of pins for the same machine (industrial pin mixer) at the same time... i also have several counter top distillers we use to distill our water... they all have a stainless steel bowl and every one of them rusts out...

I have yet to see stainless steel rust anywhere close to non-stainless steel. The only other metal that I have seen on cars that holds up very well against rust is aluminum.

By looking under my car, I can see drastic differences between the different type sof metal material used on the cars. I'm still using the original muffler
on my 2002 Monte Carlo - which is stainless steel. The pipe joins after the converter are rusted to nothing now, but the muffler is still hanging in there and looks good.

Part of the frame looks to be aluminum and looks practically brand new. Looking
at the body panels, parts are rusting like crazy.

I have noticed the same thing on the 2001 Durango. Certain parts just rust and
fall apart and others don't - or at least not even close to as bad.

- Mark

--- WWIVToss v.1.51
* Origin: http://www.weather-station.org * Bel Air, MD -USA (1:261/1304.0)

I even was thinking that it might be prudent to have the tow bar /
trailer hitch powder coated. There are a lot of auto specialty shops in
New Bedford where they will sand blast parts and powdercoat them for you. My stock wheels
would look great with a candy coated purple to offset the blue car :)

If it wasn't too expensive, I wouldn't mind having my wheels sand-blasted. Not
sure if you can do that to aluminum wheels, but I have some stains of some sort
on the rims and would love to get them cleaned up like new.

- Mark

--- WWIVToss v.1.51
* Origin: http://www.weather-station.org * Bel Air, MD -USA (1:261/1304.0)

Re: Re: swaybar end links
By: Mark Hofmann to Mark Lewis on Wed Sep 16 2015 07:12 pm

I have yet to see stainless steel rust anywhere close to non-stainless steel. The only other metal that I have seen on cars that holds up very well against rust is aluminum.

Maybe those aluminum bodied F150s Ford's putting out with hold up better than the steel models. I can't help but think that in 10 years all automakers
will be producing aluminum-bodied trucks.
--- SBBSecho 2.27-Win32
* Origin: http://realitycheckbbs.org | tomorrow's retro tech (1:218/700)

I don't know if you can powdercoat aluminum. Good question.

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* Origin: Cascades II BBS -Telnet://cascadesbbs2.com (1:322/759)