Hi,

I was in the middle of doing a rear suspension overhaul and was stumbled upon replacing the sway endlinks. The end link I took off does not look the same as the new Lemforder one I ordered from Pelican Parts.

The old one's bolts are of equal lengths with a hex hole in the middle. The new one, however, has a longer bolt on one end and a shorter bolt on the other end. What's more, the long bolt does not have a hex hole in the middle! When I tried to tighten the nut, the nut and the bolt spin together.

Please see the new one:



My questions are:

1. Did I get the right part?
2. Does the long end go into the sway bar or strut?
3. How do I tighten the long end without the hex hole in the middle?

 

This shows the old link, equal bolt lengths and both have the hex holes in the middle to counter hold the bolt.

 

There are two flats on the flange at the base of the threads.


See if a skinny open ended wrench will fit in there.
It may push the rubber seal back a little temporarily, but it probably will work.

 

You are right! I was able to tighten them up with a thin wrench or a vise grip that comes with my other bmw.

I still have one more question though, the new link has a longer bolt on one end, does the long end go to the top (sway bar) side or the bottom (wheel carrier) side?

 

on our generation I don't think it matters, but since the 1st and 2nd gen share the same endlinks, the 2nd gen has the need for the un equal bolt lengths, if someone else can confirm this

 

Longer bolt goes on the bottom.

 

Probably due to the thicker aluminum rear trailing arms that the lower bolt
goes through on the later models.

 

Thanks for the replies.

I installed the longer bolt on the top before seeing the previous posts.

It was just easier to install the shorter bolt on the bottom due to limited space to fit a wrench or a socket.

Since I've already installed it upside down, I'm wondering if the longer bolt on the top would interfere with the wheel or the suspension. Anyone has an idea?

 

I guess it's possible if you were running a really small rear wheel. Maybe a 15" wheel. It should be easy to check. The relationship between the top of the endlink and wheel/tire shouldn't change much if at all as the wheel moves through it's range of motion. So just toss a wheel on there and see how much clearance you have. I'm sure there is plenty of clearance.

 

I do have a set of 15" wheels, plus 16" and 17", three sets of wheels.

Okay, I will try that after work. Thank you.

 

I installed the other rear strut and endlink after work and found that the long bolt won't fit on the bottom, only the top.

I also test fitted my 16" wheel and there was a lot of space. I jacked up the wheel carrier and the endlink was even closer to the brake rotor, so clearance is definitely not an issue.