Well, here is another "vote" for bad endlink(s). I just replaced my stock ones with the Way Motors sealed endlinks and the noise is gone...gone...gone. No more banging just going down the driveway, the street or over potholes (not that we have many of those around here in NE ). The car is all quiet now (well, relatively ).

For what it's worth, I had checked the endlinks nuts and they were tight. I had that problem before with a large RSB, so I had check those early on.

Looking back, this might have been the problem I heard as a light tap (thump, maybe?) in the back of the car before I replaced the RSB, but could never find. Then, with the 25mm bar it was much worse.

 

The stresses transmitted by the larger bar might be too much for the stock end links.

 

Possibly.

There was some flexing of the stock end links. The car feels tighter now with the beefier Way links.

I also noted that the ends of the stock end links go through holes that are not in line with each other. The Way links can be installed to accommodate this. I wonder if the holes be at an angle to each other and the flexing caused the stock links to bind in the ball ends?

I have had a chance to push it a little today and the car feels really nice. Between the tighter feel and the quiet, I am really liking my setup.

 

Update... Found my grunt... :( Going to contact Hotchkiss... Clearly this don’t fit my Clubman. After fighting with links, bushings, grease.. had a chance to get a solid look on a lift.. here ya go. That floor webbing is rubbing the bar. Wore a grove into the bar.

 

I am on record here on NAM in some thread or other commenting after installing my 22mm RSB that I didn't see how anyone could fit a 25mm diameter bar in there.

Maybe all the dimension tolerances on your car stacked up to worst case and you have one of the outliers where it won't fit. Sorry for your troubles, you must be Let us know what Hotchkis says, meanwhile get that thing out of there before it breaks.

 

Pretty sure it the exact same stiffness just the hollow one is 8lbs. Lighter

 

Some cars require that little extrusion to be bent out of the way a bit. We've seen multiple at the shop, Just get the car in the air and give it some love with a hammer and punch (or long bar & hammer).

The 22mm solid bar is the same diameter as the 25mm hollow bar, the H-sport bar is a 22mm bar with the efficiency of a 25mm.

 

Hmmmmm?

The 22mm bar is 22mm in diameter and the 25 mm bar is 25mm in diameter. Did you mean to say that they have the same stifness?

 

I think my statement that this is referring to was a little confusing. Yes, the two bars have the same stiffness. However, I was responding to a comment about replacing the 25mm bar with a 22mm bar to get more clearance and maybe that would stop the clunking. But it was mixed in with some other comments. Hope this doesn't further confuse things here.

In my case the clunking was due to the stock end links getting over loaded. It has been fine since I put in the stronger links.

 

 

1) check the nuts on the endlinks are tight, use some Loctite Blue since they can loosen up , happened to me.
2) check the integrity of the swaybar bushings themselves - make sure they are not split, happened to me on one of my other cars.
3) check the bolts holding the swaybar bushing brackets are tight.
4) Check the bolts holding the shock top mounts to the body.
5) If all else fails, drop the shocks and check that the top nut is properly torqued. I had a rattle on one of my other cars that was driving me nuts, after replacing the endlinks, swaybar bushings, and everything else in sight I finally dropped the shock and found that the shop that had installed the new shocks hadn't torqued down the top nut so the washer at the top was rattling. Also check that the springs are properly seated on the perches on the shock body and top mount.

 

I had a rattling noise that I would have sworn up and down just HAD to be the shock top nut backing off entirely and the washer rattling freely, pulled the shock down and damn thing was on there every bit as tight as when I first installed it. **** was driving me nuts. Got rid of my old end-links because they sucked and reinstalled the factory end links (still clunk like mad but ) damned rattling noise disappeared.

The grunting noise problem someone was having is interesting, I'll have to try to get an eye and see if I have any issues there.

In the market for end links that don't suck that are the CORRECT length for a LOWERED mini. That seems to be the legitimate cause of the clunking, endlinks are too long, forcing the sway bar up into the underbody. Nearly everyone with this problem in this thread has OEM end links, guys who don't have the problem have aftermarket links...