Sway Bar Link question

Sway Bar Link question

I discovered a broken sway bar link on my 2003 Miata LS with 12K miles. I
ordered a new one online, but now have concern over whether I ordered the
right part.

My question: my car came with what was termed 'sport suspension.' Are all
OEM replacement links the same? I didn't see any questions relative to
optional suspension packages. The OEM sway bar link looks 'terribly
designed.' It has 4 little pins pushed through a cup affixed to the link
end - and essentially 'peened' over. I'm thinking sway bar link breakage
must be common?

Thanks - james

Re: Sway Bar Link question

I believe they are all the same and while I'd agree with you that it doesn't
seem like the best design (and I happen to have a broken one too at 8 yrs /
80k and many autocrosses w/ upgraded swaybars) I don't believe it's a common
problem.

Many aftermarket upgrades are available for mas dinero' ;-)

Chris
99BBB

"James" <jc55@roadrunner,com > wrote in message
news:47fc253b$0$22865$4c368faf@roadrunner,com ...
>I discovered a broken sway bar link on my 2003 Miata LS with 12K miles. I
> ordered a new one online, but now have concern over whether I ordered the
> right part.
>
> My question: my car came with what was termed 'sport suspension.' Are all
> OEM replacement links the same? I didn't see any questions relative to
> optional suspension packages. The OEM sway bar link looks 'terribly
> designed.' It has 4 little pins pushed through a cup affixed to the link
> end - and essentially 'peened' over. I'm thinking sway bar link breakage
> must be common?
>
> Thanks - james
>
>

Re: Sway Bar Link question

Thanks Chris. I'll rest better tonight - james

"Chris D'Agnolo" <cdagnolo@alltel,net > wrote in message
news:217bd$47fc34d3$4b594264$10743@ALLTEL,net ...
> I believe they are all the same and while I'd agree with you that it
doesn't
> seem like the best design (and I happen to have a broken one too at 8 yrs
/
> 80k and many autocrosses w/ upgraded swaybars) I don't believe it's a
common
> problem.
>
> Many aftermarket upgrades are available for mas dinero' ;-)
>
> Chris
> 99BBB
>
> "James" <jc55@roadrunner,com > wrote in message
> news:47fc253b$0$22865$4c368faf@roadrunner,com ...
> >I discovered a broken sway bar link on my 2003 Miata LS with 12K miles.
I
> > ordered a new one online, but now have concern over whether I ordered
the
> > right part.
> >
> > My question: my car came with what was termed 'sport suspension.' Are
all
> > OEM replacement links the same? I didn't see any questions relative to
> > optional suspension packages. The OEM sway bar link looks 'terribly
> > designed.' It has 4 little pins pushed through a cup affixed to the
link
> > end - and essentially 'peened' over. I'm thinking sway bar link
breakage
> > must be common?
> >
> > Thanks - james
> >
> >
>
>

Re: Sway Bar Link question

On Tue, 8 Apr 2008 19:09:04 -0700, "James" <jc55@roadrunner,com >
wrote:

>I discovered a broken sway bar link on my 2003 Miata LS with 12K miles. I
>ordered a new one online, but now have concern over whether I ordered the
>right part.
>
>My question: my car came with what was termed 'sport suspension.' Are all
>OEM replacement links the same? I didn't see any questions relative to
>optional suspension packages. The OEM sway bar link looks 'terribly
>designed.' It has 4 little pins pushed through a cup affixed to the link
>end - and essentially 'peened' over. I'm thinking sway bar link breakage
>must be common?


James, the stock ones, even with the 'sport suspension' are pretty
tame and still allow for a lot of body roll. The upgrades from Flyin
Miata are much more fun, solid, and are adjustable to fine-tune it the
way you want it. They do a lot toward increasing the turn-in response
and transient handling and have no ride penalty. As long as you are
under there, it might be worth a look. In general it took me more
time to pull the tools out than to swap front and rear swaybars.

Re: Sway Bar Link question

Thanks for the info. I've copied it for future consideration. 'Stock'
doesn't look all that impressive - james

<adventuremyk@yahoo,com > wrote in message
news:joeov3d3frvsjnf30q2kgt1epb2rguf7ie@4ax,com ...
> On Tue, 8 Apr 2008 19:09:04 -0700, "James" <jc55@roadrunner,com >
> wrote:
>
> >I discovered a broken sway bar link on my 2003 Miata LS with 12K miles.
I
> >ordered a new one online, but now have concern over whether I ordered the
> >right part.
> >
> >My question: my car came with what was termed 'sport suspension.' Are
all
> >OEM replacement links the same? I didn't see any questions relative to
> >optional suspension packages. The OEM sway bar link looks 'terribly
> >designed.' It has 4 little pins pushed through a cup affixed to the link
> >end - and essentially 'peened' over. I'm thinking sway bar link breakage
> >must be common?
>
>
> James, the stock ones, even with the 'sport suspension' are pretty
> tame and still allow for a lot of body roll. The upgrades from Flyin
> Miata are much more fun, solid, and are adjustable to fine-tune it the
> way you want it. They do a lot toward increasing the turn-in response
> and transient handling and have no ride penalty. As long as you are
> under there, it might be worth a look. In general it took me more
> time to pull the tools out than to swap front and rear swaybars.
>

Re: Sway Bar Link question

One other thing James, I don't recommend driving the car with one end link
attached. You probably already thought of this but you definitely want to
remove the other end link until you get the new and then re-install it at
that time. In easy driving, you may not be able to tell any issue (don't
know, didn't try it) but I'd be concerned about how the car would react if
you had to make an emergency maneuver or went into a hard / fast corner.

Chris
99BBB


"James" <jc55@roadrunner,com > wrote in message
news:47fc451d$0$22845$4c368faf@roadrunner,com ...
> Thanks for the info. I've copied it for future consideration. 'Stock'
> doesn't look all that impressive - james
>
> <adventuremyk@yahoo,com > wrote in message
> news:joeov3d3frvsjnf30q2kgt1epb2rguf7ie@4ax,com ...
>> On Tue, 8 Apr 2008 19:09:04 -0700, "James" <jc55@roadrunner,com >
>> wrote:
>>
>> >I discovered a broken sway bar link on my 2003 Miata LS with 12K miles.
> I
>> >ordered a new one online, but now have concern over whether I ordered
>> >the
>> >right part.
>> >
>> >My question: my car came with what was termed 'sport suspension.' Are
> all
>> >OEM replacement links the same? I didn't see any questions relative to
>> >optional suspension packages. The OEM sway bar link looks 'terribly
>> >designed.' It has 4 little pins pushed through a cup affixed to the
>> >link
>> >end - and essentially 'peened' over. I'm thinking sway bar link
>> >breakage
>> >must be common?
>>
>>
>> James, the stock ones, even with the 'sport suspension' are pretty
>> tame and still allow for a lot of body roll. The upgrades from Flyin
>> Miata are much more fun, solid, and are adjustable to fine-tune it the
>> way you want it. They do a lot toward increasing the turn-in response
>> and transient handling and have no ride penalty. As long as you are
>> under there, it might be worth a look. In general it took me more
>> time to pull the tools out than to swap front and rear swaybars.
>>
>
>

Re: Sway Bar Link question

Thanks for the heads-up re one broken link. Actually, back in November, I
was rear-ended by a 'big wheeled' 4x4 while waiting for the light to turn
green at an intersection. "You were so low, I just didn't see you. I'm
sorry!" My unexpressed response: "If you weren't up on stilted wheels, you
would have seen me."

Anyway, about a week after the bodyshop completed their work {$3,350.00},
I'd occasionally hear a 'clunk' coming from what sounded like the left front
side on the car. I 'assumed' it resulted from the bodyshop's work. I hate
to admit, but I just NOW decided to crawl under and see what I could see -
before returning to the bodyshop. Viola, broken driver's side front sway
bar link. I can't really see how I could/can lay blame on the bodyshop.

The pick-up truck being so high up, hit the back of the Miata 'high.' The
trunk lid was demolished. The bodyshop claimed ALL damage to be cosmetic.
No structural damage noted. So maybe, the 'shock-force' of the blow caused
the separation of the 4-pins from the link-end cup. I dunno. I can't
really prove it was accident related{?}

Point being {back to your question/comment Chris}, I drove the car from
November til now with one broken link. Only when I hit a bump just so -
would a 'clunking' noise manifest.

However, as we speak, the Miata is up on jack-stands awaiting the new link
to arrive - james

"Chris D'Agnolo" <cdagnolo@alltel,net > wrote in message
news:4b259$47fd7d93$4b594264$22033@ALLTEL,net ...
> One other thing James, I don't recommend driving the car with one end link
> attached. You probably already thought of this but you definitely want to
> remove the other end link until you get the new and then re-install it at
> that time. In easy driving, you may not be able to tell any issue (don't
> know, didn't try it) but I'd be concerned about how the car would react if
> you had to make an emergency maneuver or went into a hard / fast corner.
>
> Chris
> 99BBB

Re: Sway Bar Link question

On Wed, 9 Apr 2008 21:51:39 -0500, "Chris D'Agnolo"
<cdagnolo@alltel,net > wrote:

>One other thing James, I don't recommend driving the car with one end link
>attached. You probably already thought of this but you definitely want to
>remove the other end link until you get the new and then re-install it at
>that time. In easy driving, you may not be able to tell any issue (don't
>know, didn't try it) but I'd be concerned about how the car would react if
>you had to make an emergency maneuver or went into a hard / fast corner.

If it is a rear link then leaving the second connected will not cause
any real issue. It just means that the car will be far more likely to
understeer UNLESS there is something pinching/limiting the
anti-swaybars travel. That is the only way in which it would have a
detrimental effect. The rest of the suspension would be unaffected by
having the loose/broken link.

Basically the anti-sway bar ties the two sides together in balance and
limits their independant travel and limit body-roll. They also balance
(through effective dynamic engineering) the front to rear handling of
the car dialing in (or out) understeer, etc. Removing the rear on the
Miata dials in plenty of nice boring understeer.

I did play with the adjustable Flyin Miata ones on my '93 including
leaving the rear disconnected (and then the front) at an autocross as
an experiment. Having only the rear on sure made it interesting for
those watching the slide fest, but it was the slowest way around the
track. ;)

Re: Sway Bar Link question

This makes sense because the bar is not actually secured by it's two
mounting brackets, it actually is allowed by the bushings, to slide back and
forth. So, effectively, the brackets simply keep it in place and sort of
'guided' for lack of a better term. Having the one end link broken, the car
should handle just like there is no rear bar attached (but noisier). Good
point!

Chris
99BBB

>
> If it is a rear link then leaving the second connected will not cause
> any real issue. It just means that the car will be far more likely to
> understeer UNLESS there is something pinching/limiting the
> anti-swaybars travel. That is the only way in which it would have a
> detrimental effect. The rest of the suspension would be unaffected by
> having the loose/broken link.
>

Re: Sway Bar Link question

On Fri, 11 Apr 2008 18:13:04 -0500, "Chris D'Agnolo"
<cdagnolo@alltel,net > wrote:

>This makes sense because the bar is not actually secured by it's two
>mounting brackets, it actually is allowed by the bushings, to slide back and
>forth. So, effectively, the brackets simply keep it in place and sort of
>'guided' for lack of a better term. Having the one end link broken, the car
>should handle just like there is no rear bar attached (but noisier). Good
>point!

That is essentially how it works. At the moment I only have one front
link on my Wrangler attached and it allows for a lot more flexibility
at the cost of some handling. I didn't do this on purpose, mind you,
it's just that as with any other part of this stupid Wrangler it's yet
another item that broke! <grin>

14 years with the same Miata, including numerous upgrades,
autocrosses, track days, etc, and yet a stock Wrangler with half the
miles has cost me 5x as much to keep on the road!

Re: Sway Bar Link question

>Sorry to hear that but it seems to match what I've heard. I'd love to know
>if you agree. Basically; there's a decent % of Jeeps (my impression is that
>it's a higher % for Wranglers than for other Jeeps) that will be nearly as
>dependable as a miata but that if you don't get one of these, watch out,
>it's going to cost you.

Sounds to me like good design, poor quality control.

Chris
99BBB



> 14 years with the same Miata, including numerous upgrades,
> autocrosses, track days, etc, and yet a stock Wrangler with half the
> miles has cost me 5x as much to keep on the road!
>

Re: Sway Bar Link question

adventuremyk wrote:

> 14 years with the same Miata, including numerous upgrades,
> autocrosses, track days, etc, and yet a stock Wrangler with half
> the miles has cost me 5x as much to keep on the road!

My Jeep has been fairly reliable, my Miata would have disintegrated in
less than a mile on the roads the Jeep has been over.

I really suspect terrain has something to do with it....?




--
XS11E, Killing all posts from Google Groups
The Usenet Improvement Project:
http :// improve-usenet.org

Re: Sway Bar Link question

No doubt on Jeeps that get driven as Jeeps are intended, that's to be
expected but I'm saying that it refers equally (maybe more) to those lesser
Billy goats, the ones that pretty much never leave the same paved roads the
Miatas traverse.
What's your gut feeling on that?

Chris
99bbb


"XS11E" <xs11e@mailinator,com > wrote in message
news:Xns9A7F94505D1xs11emailinatorcom@85.214.90.236...
> adventuremyk wrote:
>
>> 14 years with the same Miata, including numerous upgrades,
>> autocrosses, track days, etc, and yet a stock Wrangler with half
>> the miles has cost me 5x as much to keep on the road!
>
> My Jeep has been fairly reliable, my Miata would have disintegrated in
> less than a mile on the roads the Jeep has been over.
>
> I really suspect terrain has something to do with it....?
>
>
>
>
> --
> XS11E, Killing all posts from Google Groups
> The Usenet Improvement Project:
> http :// improve-usenet.org

Re: Sway Bar Link question

"Chris D'Agnolo" <cdagnolo@alltel,net > wrote:

> No doubt on Jeeps that get driven as Jeeps are intended, that's to
> be expected but I'm saying that it refers equally (maybe more) to
> those lesser Billy goats, the ones that pretty much never leave
> the same paved roads the Miatas traverse.
> What's your gut feeling on that?

We don't know where "adventuremyk" drives his Jeep do we?

I've had several Jeeps and none have been troublesome.


--
XS11E, Killing all posts from Google Groups
The Usenet Improvement Project:
http :// improve-usenet.org

Re: Sway Bar Link question

On Sun, 13 Apr 2008 16:36:27 -0700, XS11E <xs11e@mailinator,com >
wrote:

>"Chris D'Agnolo" <cdagnolo@alltel,net > wrote:
>
>> No doubt on Jeeps that get driven as Jeeps are intended, that's to
>> be expected but I'm saying that it refers equally (maybe more) to
>> those lesser Billy goats, the ones that pretty much never leave
>> the same paved roads the Miatas traverse.
>> What's your gut feeling on that?
>
>We don't know where "adventuremyk" drives his Jeep do we?
>
>I've had several Jeeps and none have been troublesome.

I have had a pair and the family has had another pair. My first was a
'93 ZJ (Grand Crappokee V8) and it was totally used up at 70k miles.
If it was ever the same items breaking more than two times I'd have
lemon-lawed the darned thing. Then came my '99 Wrangler which gets
mostly highway (used to ferry the kayaks) and at one point was used as
a well maintained work vehicle (street only). There was some mud
running and soft-roading in there with a bit of technical stuff, but
that is not the cause of the particular parts failing. The two the
family had? Both newer grand cherokee's, and BOTH were lemon lawed
with combined less than 25k miles on them.

This Jeep makes the last 'american' vehicle I am ever likely to waste
my money on again. I just wish there was a competing vehicle in a
similar class out of one of the Japanese companies. It's the only one
where you can yank the doors and top off and get out and play, but
that just isn't enough to compensate for the other continuing
problems.

I've owned 3 Miata's, the first leased ('89.5 as a '90) and then the
second ('93 which I kept for 14 years), and the last ('96M that my
roomate bought from me when her lease expired on another car. She
drove that one for 160k miles needing only basic maintenance and
eventually a top before she traded it on an '07 Miata). ALL THREE
combined, including two replacement tops and in one case setting the
car up similar to Spec Miata, have cost me LESS than just the Jeep
Wrangler during the cost of ownership. That's pretty pathetic for the
domestic brand don't ya think? And with two of those Miata's having a
heck of a lot more miles, not to mention being driven harder AND being
considerably older, than the 80k that my '99 Wrangler currently has.