please keep us updated!

 

Are you gonna try those Powergrind Endlinks? I'm really thinking about ordering a pair for the rear in the next few days. Seemed to work for BhashaZ

 

he has the newer design

 

No defo the newer ones, but the problem is they still allow about 3/4 inch play either side of the bushes it seems, enough to make a clunck thats for sure

no probs with rear though

'horizontal deflection' ha. . ? nice to have a name for it, i coudlnt come up with a description for it

Its going on a ramp tomorrow, ill keep u updated

 

UPDATE

OK well a little update. Basically my mech had it up on ramps today and took alook. There seems to be nothing we can do to reduce the space and thus the play between the welded rings and the Brackets/bushes, so the side to side movement can be reduced. The problem is going to continue.

I dont understand why Hotchks have not either: -

1) welded rings on BOTH sides of the bushes so there is no side to side play

2) stuck with their original design (?) which used adjustable rings to reduce play ( i dont know if this was the case but as suggested by someone is this what the original 3 hole version had.


I will be talking to Adam and hopefully HotChkis to make them aware of this issue, im sure i am not the only one.

May be there is another way to reduce the horizontal movement


350Zenophile how are you getting on?

regards

Jamie

 

The collars seen on earlier bars was an owner upgrade to the bars, I believe they were bought at McMasterCarr.

You shouldn't need collars on both sides of each bushing. Putting them on snug on either the inside or the outside should keep movement to a minimum.

For all the problems everyone else seems to be having with these. My front has always been silent and the backs silent since the new endlinks.

 

I emailed hotchkis and this is what they said,

"We recommend using loctite on the bolts"

 

oddly, since i have had my car back i havtn had ANY chunking, which is really odd, considering the mech didnt mention he had done any bolts up or any thing, he just confirmed the issue about the washers not being flush with the mounts/bushes, and being able to replicate the movement with a pry bar, and , that i should take it up with the manufacter.

Something has obviously changed, i might ask him next week. The 'thud' that i got when the bar was moving slowly left/right and then SUDDENLY reaching a point and almost snapping over, maybe he released the brackets abit enough so it didnt like 'bind', but is still moving side to side, though now just silently perhaps . . .

of maybe as Adam at Z1 mentinoed, maybe this time he had all the wheels on, and had it up on a ramp, and loosed the endlink bolts while the suspension was under load and re-tightened, where as maybe before it did them up with the wheels off supported on the jack points only.

Hope it doesnt come back. . .ill try and find out what he may have in-advertantly done to fix it

Jamie

 

I'm confused... I dont have aftermarket sway bars. Do I still have rear endlinks? Obviously I'm not a suspension guru.

 

Yes you do, your stock sways are connected to them

 

My rear has been making clunking noises for awhile now. Any updates basha on the powergrid endlinks?

 

check his other posts, I am sure he isn't following every single thread

 

ordered mine yesterday. how do you know what angle to set them at?

 

they need to be set perpendicular to the ground

 

please One Of The Young Lawyers That Jus' So Happens To Drive A Z... Look Into Filing A Lawsuit For The Rear Suspension Also

 

Hey fellas! I just recently installed my Tein Flex and I'm also experiencing the same clunking noise in the rear. I didn't drive the car for 2,000 miles or anything before hearing the noise. It happened right after I was finished with the installation. I took the Z for a test drive around the block and "clunk, clunk". While driving on flat surface, no noise. The noise only happens when driving at slow speed over a dip or bump and sometimes i hear it when I'm doing 75 or 80 on the freeway going over bumps. I mean the car handles fine but its just the "clunking" noise that is annoying the crap out of me!

Could it be my end links as well? (But there was no noise before the installation) I also hear my shocks absorbing when going over bumps. Is that normal? Please any feedback or suggestions out there would greatly be appreciated. Thanks!

 

UPDATE: Wanted to try setting my sways to a softer setting to see if that fixed the geometry/alignment issue and therefore the clunk but I can't remove the damn bolts now!

Early on, I had the bolts work loose and fall off so after I bought replacements I used some thread lock to make sure they stayed put. Problem is, now I can't break them free. Just looked up on the loctite website and they say you can apply heat to break it down so I still have to try that but with the stock endlinks how are you guys keeping the endlink from just spinning? I tried using some locking pliers but I think they might destroy the rubber seal. Any tips?

 

Apply copious amount of liquid wrench/pb blaster and let it sit for a while. Then use a breaker bar to break it loose. I would only resort to heating it if all else fails. Which loc-tite did you use?

 

I may not be explaining it well enough so here is a pic:


The rod that attaches the end link to the sway just spins whenever I apply force to the nut, so applying more force with a breaker bar won't help. I need to somehow stop the rod from spinning but there is no counter-nut or flat edges on the backside of the rod to grab hold of...only a soft, round rubber boot. The boot is there to prevent debris from ruining the spherical connection so I don't want to tear it by using locking pliers but that may be my only option. Oh, and I used the red-type thread locker.

Is this rod not supposed to spin?

 

sounds like you stripped the link...you might have to just cut it apart and buy a new one