AVO Solid Front Endlinks install

[apexjapan]

Todays task was one of the simple ones. The stock front endlinks were coming out, and heavy duty AVO endlinks were going in. This is one of the easier jobs to do, especially if you are using ramps. It's actually harder to do if you jack the car in the air, as that causes the swaybar to twist, and can make it difficult to get the endlinks on and off. When the car is sitting on it's suspension as normal, there is no tension on the swaybar, making this much easier.

 

The standard endlink in all it's glory.

http://www.avoturboworld.com/images/stories/2010/07_july/endlinks/endlink_install_01.jpg

 

You will need a 14mm wrench and a 3/16 allen head to get the stock endlink off. The Allen head goes into the top of the bolt, then the 14mm wrench to slowly take off the nut. It's the hardest part of the job because of the buildup of rust and gunk.

http://www.avoturboworld.com/images/stories/2010/07_july/endlinks/endlink_install_02.jpg

 

Despite the height of the Outback suspension compared to a Legacy wagon, it still uses the 50mm front endlink.

http://www.avoturboworld.com/images/stories/2010/07_july/endlinks/endlink_install_03.jpg

 

Use the supplied grease packet to grease up the polyurethane on the endlink, this is to keep it from binding. The AVO endlinks come with two different sets of nuts/bolts and metal sleeves. This is because some Subaru models use the same 50mm endlink, but have a smaller bolt size on the suspension. You will be using the larger one. The endlink has a notch in it - this goes on the bottom, towards the front lower arm. It provides the necessary space to keep it from hitting the suspension.

http://www.avoturboworld.com/images/stories/2010/07_july/endlinks/endlink_install_05.jpg

 

The actual install went a lot faster and smoother than the removal of the OEM endlinks, mainly because you can use a 14mm socket at this stage to tighten it all down. I found after the removal that both the passenger side and driver's side OEM endlinks had broken their ball joint at the top. This made them rather loose, and was allowing a lot of movement on the front swaybar - I could rattle it around with ease with one hand. I will get a drive report later, but I'm already anticipating that it'll feel a bit tighter in the front end now.

 

http://www.avoturboworld.com/images/stories/2010/07_july/endlinks/endlink_install_04.jpg

 

http://www.avoturboworld.com/images/stories/2010/07_july/endlinks/endlink_install_06.jpg

 

 

Regards,

 

Paul Hansen

http://www.avoturboworld.com

[meier motor sports]

are the bushings replaceable separate? how much for the links and how much for repair parts down the road. i think the +$100 price on most of these aftermarket links is amazingly steep. you can usually get end links from $20-25 aftermarket. just no parts stores carry them for the lgt

[apexjapan]

If the actual bushings fail, which is rare, we just replace them under warranty.

 

I wish we could even get them made for that cost! The problem is we can't make 1000+ sets of them at a time, which would bring costs down tremendously - the market for the Legacy isn't large enough.

 

Regards,

 

Paul Hansen

http://www.avoturboworld.com