Endlessblockades
Senior Member
I also did the 2nd Gen rears on front, but I am waiting til the end of this month for the new style OCD for the rear:
(These may be fronts but you get the idea)
Extended sway bar links
- Thread starter killzone90
- Start date
I also did the 2nd Gen rears on front, but I am waiting til the end of this month for the new style OCD for the rear:
(These may be fronts but you get the idea)
Devbot
New member
Huh, funny, was just about to search for this thread to find p/n's for OEM links after battling my OCD set for the past hour or so.
Those look much better than the older version and actually somewhat justify the $200 price tag. I had a real hard time pulling to trigger since OCD wants over $200 for ~$30 of material (plus $20 for four heim boots, which are $1.50-$2.00 each) and the only reason I did so was because he undercuts Toyota by about $50 (if going withtypical 2nd gen/3rd gen combo). Which frankly I suspect was 100% intentional, given it's the same deal with buying 2 OCD links vs 4 - pay $170 for front links, or spend $50 more for all 4 front+rear? Seems fishy? Because it is. Why else would 2 links cost a steep $80ish/each but 4 are nearly half the cost per unit at $50ish each? It doesn't add up.
Personallly I've had nothing but headaches and problems with these links and in no way could justify paying for another set. First it was clunking, then chattering, then the heim joints started to freeze up, then the sleeve inside the heim started to rust and cause a squeak, now all the exposed threads are rusted over and seizing everything together since it had some dirt cheap zinc coating that was rubbed off by the jam nuts. All of this with <3 months of pure highway driving. Initially I browsed t4r for help on the clunking+chattering and saw these were both very old and very widespread complaints - reached out to OCD on the issue and they swore they've never once heard anybody mention either the clunking or the squeaking, informed me they were in the wildfires, then just stopped replying after that. So I'm not sure what to think here.
If anybody needs extended links I highly suggest anybody just build your own set of OCD links instead of buying them. It is nothing more than a tapped hex rod with some threaded rod on one end and heim in the other with some washers, bushings, nylocks and jam nuts. With access to a shop it wouldn't take more than an hour to knock out both front and rear sets, and cost you a $20 or two. You could also just weld up a longer sleeve to the shaft of standard links, add a clevis pin, and now you have extended links that are also quick-disconnecting. This used to be very popular in the Jeep community, back in the day.
Those look much better than the older version and actually somewhat justify the $200 price tag. I had a real hard time pulling to trigger since OCD wants over $200 for ~$30 of material (plus $20 for four heim boots, which are $1.50-$2.00 each) and the only reason I did so was because he undercuts Toyota by about $50 (if going withtypical 2nd gen/3rd gen combo). Which frankly I suspect was 100% intentional, given it's the same deal with buying 2 OCD links vs 4 - pay $170 for front links, or spend $50 more for all 4 front+rear? Seems fishy? Because it is. Why else would 2 links cost a steep $80ish/each but 4 are nearly half the cost per unit at $50ish each? It doesn't add up.
Personallly I've had nothing but headaches and problems with these links and in no way could justify paying for another set. First it was clunking, then chattering, then the heim joints started to freeze up, then the sleeve inside the heim started to rust and cause a squeak, now all the exposed threads are rusted over and seizing everything together since it had some dirt cheap zinc coating that was rubbed off by the jam nuts. All of this with <3 months of pure highway driving. Initially I browsed t4r for help on the clunking+chattering and saw these were both very old and very widespread complaints - reached out to OCD on the issue and they swore they've never once heard anybody mention either the clunking or the squeaking, informed me they were in the wildfires, then just stopped replying after that. So I'm not sure what to think here.
If anybody needs extended links I highly suggest anybody just build your own set of OCD links instead of buying them. It is nothing more than a tapped hex rod with some threaded rod on one end and heim in the other with some washers, bushings, nylocks and jam nuts. With access to a shop it wouldn't take more than an hour to knock out both front and rear sets, and cost you a $20 or two. You could also just weld up a longer sleeve to the shaft of standard links, add a clevis pin, and now you have extended links that are also quick-disconnecting. This used to be very popular in the Jeep community, back in the day.
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Endlessblockades
Senior Member
This is why I like this forum- excellent food for thought. I think I subconsciously posted the picture to stir the pot a bit for feedback like this. SB links are such a simple part but, but when maladjusted can make your entire front suspension and steering rack sound like it's falling off. I exaggerate somewhat of course but I battled my OEM 2nd gen rears on the front until I got them really tightened down with a breaker bar and without any sway bar preload and they have been rock solid and silent since. I just want something solid and maybe a little trick if possible and I like to support small ops like Spiker, but this makes me wonder....a lot.
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Devbot
New member
Tbh if I wasn't so afraid of rollover I'd just run without them. I know it probably won't happen but still, anytime I run without them I always catch myself taking corners like a granny without realizing it. Maybe eventually - need to fix my rubbing issues first!
Endlessblockades
Senior Member
Agreed - it's pretty scary throwing the rig into a corner at speed without them. Mine is a DD so I can't really make that compromise for the amount of real offroading I do.
This is what I did. I got so fed up with the OCD front links. They wouldn't stop squeaking, clunking, etc. No matter how tight I got them, they just would not hush, even on normal asphalt driving. The smallest "lump" in a driveway, for example, would create a super loud clunk.
I ended up just getting fed up and taking them off, and ditching the front swaybar altogether. Drives fine as long as you do not have a lead foot. I don't think anyone should be driving a lifted 4runner with a lead foot in the first place, though.
I left the rear links on, and they're now beginning to rust a little. They at least are quiet and perform well! They do hit my Rokeman rear LCAs on flex, so I'm debating just taking them off too.
004runnerPhx
Junior Member
Not trying to hijack the thread, but why are you all extending the length of your sway bar? When I lifted mine I'm pretty sure I kept the stock ones (SS 1.2 current). I even just looked at the instruction manual again to be sure and saw nothing about extending the front ones (there are brackets to lower the back ones).
Devbot
New member
To help keep geometry straight and avoid preloading the sway bar. For example you CAN use the panhard in it's stock location after a lift, but it's much better if you relocate the mounting points with something like the EimKeith PCK.
The sway bar should always be parallel to the road. Or at least as parallel as possible. Sometimes (like in the case of our rear sway bar) it's not exactly made evenly.
The sway bar should always be parallel to the road. Or at least as parallel as possible. Sometimes (like in the case of our rear sway bar) it's not exactly made evenly.
004runnerPhx
Junior Member
Devbot, can you say more about the geometry while using the stock sway bar and a lift? I understand the preload and I understand the need to change the rear panhard. But I don't know that I understand the analogy between the sway bar and the panhard. It's totally possible that I just don't know enough about this, so don't think I am calling you out or anything.
beklemmung
New member
I don't think I've seen it listed in this thread, but I believe the part number for the 2nd gen rear sway bar links is 48830-35010.
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