Hi, I installed BC BR series coilovers a while back and have been trying to figure out this issue ever since. It seems that when the weight shifts the sway bar end links are rubbing the axles, because every time I turn with any sort of weight shift I can hear a distinct clunk (both directions). Attached are some pictures, all of the driver side. Does anyone know how I might fix this?

 

Apparently aftermarket ones are often too long and will rub. OEM seem to fix this.
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ting-axle.html

 

BC support claims that stock ones would break, but they also didn't seem like they knew much about the mini setup specifically. My old end links were bad and I threw them out, but they were significantly longer than these. Would it be risky to buy new stock ones if the BC endlinks really are too short?

 

Broken OEM end links are not all that common; I'd go as far as saying that it is very rare unless they are hitting something. It seems to me that your front sway bar is probably the cause of the contact - may not be centered? Or the base of the damper tube is somehow twisted in the steering knuckle. I assume that the BC's have that fin for the correct orientation in the knuckle. Other than that, OEM end links are not that expensive and should do fine. I had the Megan Racing coil overs and kept the stock end links and no matter what I did, they did not rub or touch anything. Also, did not break or bend even running over the occasional FIA curbing at Portland International Raceway on track days.

 

Do you have any pics of the clearance between the BC endlinks and the axle or how the swaybar end sits in relation to the ground (ideally it would be parallel), both pics while the car is sitting on its wheels?

I’ve been using the stock endlinks on my ‘05 lowered with coilovers and haven’t had any rubbing issues or endlink failures with about 37K at time of installation, and about 15K on the setup so far. The only endlink issue I had when first installed was a knock when changing direction between forward and reverse. I had to torque the front endlinks significantly more than spec to eliminate this.

 

Is the end link upside down? Just grabbing at straws here.

 

Apologies for the long response time, for some reason I haven't been getting thread notifications. I do not currently have photos of the positioning, and won't be near my tools for a few weeks. The distance from the axles to the end links is even on both sides, and the issue happens on both sides. This suggests to me that the sway bar is centered properly. When the car is on the ground, I believe the clearance between the end links and the axle was about a half inch, and with the wheel locked either direction it was much closer but not quite in contact. The end links appear to be reversible, so upside down is likely not an issue, and either way it seems unlikely that both of them would be upside down. The shocks do come with the alignment fin. I would absolutely love for the answer to the problem to simply be buying new stock end links (old ones were shot) and slapping them on. If the extra few inches in length really isn't a problem then I'll give it a shot.