stabiliser things are breaking

[duffbeer911]

Hi all,

So a couple months ago a stabiliser (not sure if that is the correct term, but it is what the guys here call it) on the drivers side snapped. I can't recall going over anything too serious, just heard the some clanging one day and then saw it broken. So, got it replaced. Then just the other day the same thing on the passenger's side. Again, I got it replaced. I also replaced the LBJ as the guy here said they were finished and possibly that was putting strain on the stabilisers (???).

Anyway, just wanted to see if you have any ideas as to why these would be breaking. Previously I had driven on the old ones for about 18months with no problems.



Thanks

 

[T4R2014]

This is a common issue. They are called sway bar end links and you are supposed to replace them in pairs. The other side may have snapped since it was weaker than the newer one. You also want to change the LBJ's in pairs.

 

[duffbeer911]

thanks for the fast reply. Before the first snap I had replaced both sides at the same time. Previously the ones on there had been "fixed" up by a guy just cutting some pieces of leather to the right size ... so I replaced both with these poly ones. Then just a week or so later the driver's side one snapped.

Also, I did replace the LBJ as a pair. Would worn LWJ have anything to do with the end links breaking?

 

[T4R2014]

I haven't really heard of bad LBJ's causing these links to go bad on this forum specifically, but I would not rule them out as the cause. These parts are meant to be replaced after time anyway. The brand of parts is important as well. OEM is best for these suspension/chassis components. I would imagine that OEM 3rd Gen 4Runner parts would be harder to find in Sierra Leone. However, many of these parts can be found on any similar era Land Cruiser Prado 90 series. You can check the cross fitment of these part numbers on Toyodiy.com if need be.

 

[MStudt]

thanks for the fast reply. Before the first snap I had replaced both sides at the same time. Previously the ones on there had been "fixed" up by a guy just cutting some pieces of leather to the right size ... so I replaced both with these poly ones. Then just a week or so later the driver's side one snapped.

Also, I did replace the LBJ as a pair. Would worn LWJ have anything to do with the end links breaking?

Do you have a lift on your 4runner? If so, are your links a longer to accommodate the lift?

 

[white_n_slow]

I have also had two sway bar endlinks go out due to age. The link snapped right off towards the top bushings. Nothing to be too worried about, I think they just give up after a good many miles. Assuming your new ones aren't junk, they should last you for another decade

 

[audiness]

My sway bar bushings were trashed along with my end links. Make sure your bushings are in good shape.

Also - post some more pictures from Sierra Leone !!

 

[turbo8]

Please be safe when working on your vehicle and use jack stands.

 

[Nelsonmd]

thanks for the fast reply. Before the first snap I had replaced both sides at the same time. Previously the ones on there had been "fixed" up by a guy just cutting some pieces of leather to the right size ... so I replaced both with these poly ones. Then just a week or so later the driver's side one snapped.

Also, I did replace the LBJ as a pair. Would worn LWJ have anything to do with the end links breaking?

No, the LBJ's wouldn't affect your sway bar links. The links are one of the weaker parts of the suspension, tons of guys have had them break. You can consider just removing the sway bar if you don't want to spend the money, lots of us have done that. Otherwise just replace them when they break.

Since you are in Sierra Leone, I am guessing that your roads are not very smooth. Lots of bumps and articulation puts more stress on them, so you may simply wear through sway bar links faster than most of us. Don't worry about it too much.

If you do have one break though, you might disconnect the other one and tie them up out of the way. I think some guys had issues of a disconnected sway bar hitting some other components.

 

[xcmtb83]

If you break the new ones you may have them tightened too much. Compressing that bushing too much takes out a lot of cushion that the link may need in order to not break.

 

[duffbeer911]

thanks for all the replies. quite relieved to hear that it isn't too serious if these do break while I'm away from town ... the one that broke the first time had only been on for a couple of weeks but I'm sure it wasn't OEM. And yeah, the roads here are not smooth at all... I'm on pretty bad dirt roads almost every day.

My sway bar bushings were trashed along with my end links. Make sure your bushings are in good shape.

Also - post some more pictures from Sierra Leone !!

I did go through and replace all the bushings when I noticed previous owner had replaced the bushings with their own homemade pieces of leather!
More pics of Sierra Leone ... see below some 4runner pics below and here is a short video I made if you are interested (without the 4runner): Sierra Leone 2012 - Timelapse and video compilation on Vimeo

Do you have a lift on your 4runner? If so, are your links a longer to accommodate the lift?

No lift ...

Please be safe when working on your vehicle and use jack stands.

The guys who work on the car think I am the crazy foreigner when I suggest taking any kind of safety measures. The compromise is that when the wheels come off I lay them under the vehicle so at least it will land on those if the jack fails!

pics from SL:

 

[duffbeer911]

dang, broke another one on the weekend! Was about 12 hours away from town on some pretty rough roads and recognised the clanging noise of the broken link. Thanks to your advice I felt comfortable disconnecting the other one and we still made it back all ok.

So, I couldn't even tell the difference driving without them ... so I'm thinking I'll just remove the sway bar and not replace the links. Is this a good/bad long term thing to do? Will it put more strain on any other parts? What is the disadvantage??

Thanks!

 

[MStudt]

dang, broke another one on the weekend! Was about 12 hours away from town on some pretty rough roads and recognised the clanging noise of the broken link. Thanks to your advice I felt comfortable disconnecting the other one and we still made it back all ok.

So, I couldn't even tell the difference driving without them ... so I'm thinking I'll just remove the sway bar and not replace the links. Is this a good/bad long term thing to do? Will it put more strain on any other parts? What is the disadvantage??

Thanks!

I won't mess with anything, just give you some body roll. The majority of your body roll is going to come from the rear. So, if you're at least running the rears, then you shouldn't have that much. I do make beefy links for 3rd Gen's. Unfortunately your location puts you at a disadvantage.

 

[duffbeer911]

yeah its not easy to ship parts here .... so, the sway bar goes. thanks for clarification.