I was replacing my front wheel hub & bearing assemblies this weekend and found a completely broken stabilizer bar end link. it looks like it's been roached for a while ( Note: I just had the car aligned with new tires and I'd be surprised if the shop didn't see it and recommend replacement). I nave new end links coming, but I'm concerned that the stabilizer bar seems to sit 2+ inches higher than the bottom of the end link. Could the stabilizer bar be bent? If so, how could that even happen without very noticeable damage to anything else?

This isn't a great pic since the stabilizer bar is behind the brake hose, but you can see how far apart the end of the bar (with the end link ball still attached) and the socket of the end link are. The end link is not bent, just broken at the ball & socket.

 

Park the car on level ground. Is the car level? Measure the wheel gap to verify. If the car is level when parked on level ground with the end link disconnected, and the end link does not line up with the sway bar, then I would expect the sway bar to be bent. If the car is level when parked on level ground, and the sway bar link lines up with the bar, then just replace the end link.

 

Thanks, Nik! I'm laughing at myself because it's so obvious after reading your reply.

No, the car was very much not level. I had the right front wheel jacked up to replace the wheel hub. I'll need to make sure to lift both front wheels equally when I replace the end links, vs lifting one side at a time.