I had my sway bar links replaced under warranty on my 2007 FEH at 30,000 miles. Now at 45,000 they are noisy again. I live on a gravel road, so I guess they get a work out.

My question:

Has anyone found there to be a significant difference between the other non OEM brands available, such as Moog for this part?

 

Some of the after market brands have grease fittings

 

Yeah, the Moogs have a Zerk fitting for greasing plus they are powder coated and a higher durometer bushing than OEM.


buy em from rockauto.

It should only take a few minutes to install em in the drive way with a floor jack and jackstands and a socket.

Alot of OEM parts from the dealerships are cheap by design so they can get another shot at clipping your wallet.

 

I need to replace mine when it warms up. Thanks for the info on the MOOG parts.

 

I bought the Moog links at Rock and installed them yesterday. It was an easy job - maybe 45 minutes at most. Fixed the clunk, nicely. These links have a much larger ball joint end with grease fittings and I'm hoping they will not need replacing for a good long while.

Does anyone know how often the links should be greased?

 

Based on this thread I've decided to replace my sway bar links. I use NAPA Stuff for the most part. I got their lifetime replacement links. I started doing their lifetime stuff on my Suburban (~435,000) since I try to keep cars for the long haul and you get the next ones free.

I'll let you know how this works out as I start the replacement cycle on my FEH (~96,000 right now).

 

Just finished replacing the front sway bar links. Piece of cake. Will let you know if it fixes the clunking I was hearing.

Mileage: 95,000+; calendar age 65 months. The rubber boots were badly deteriorated and one joint was loose enough to be the source of the noise.

These use a hex in the bolt end to enable holding it while loosening or tightening. These are 4 mm hexes.
The OEM nuts were 14 mm.
The NAPA units had 15 mm nuts.
Access for torquing (spec: 46 ft-lbs) was awkward: use thread locker.
Engage both ends of the link loosely before tightening things up.

 

Might anyone be able to supply SKU's for either the Moog or NAPA parts, by chance ? I see more than one possibility out there on the Rockauto site, so want to be sure I order the right ones.

Thanks.....

 

My experience with these types of aftermarket parts has been bad. More hard work, don't fit right and are a waste of money in the end. This happen on my '02 Explorer front sway bar.

Go to your Ford dealer with your VIN and get the exact part designed for your vehicle's build date. Do it right the first time and save hard work and money!

GaryG

 

NAPA Part number is: 265-1747 for the lifetime sway bar link. $44.99@ at my local store.

I started buying NAPA many years ago. Their parts are warranteed wherever you can find a store, nationwide. Bought NAPA stuff on the island of Guam some years ago (yeah, way, way far out the food chain...) when one item needed warranty replacement back in the states... no questions asked, just a new one.

Had a starter motor die on the road one time & didn't have the receipt: since they could ID the old unit as a lifetime unit from its markings, they warranteed it: free new one; no ifs, ands, or buts about it.

I buy NAPA lifetime stuff. If it needs replacement: it's free. There's a reason my 19 year old Suburban is now at 436,000 miles & counting, my Mustang is at 256,000 miles & counting, and now my FEH is at 96,000 miles and counting.

Buying at a dealer is far too expensive, no better quality if you pay attention, and has a poorer guarantee.