Sway bar links are integral components of a vehicle’s suspension system, connecting its sway bar to its suspension. They play an essential role in stabilizing car performance through turns and uneven road conditions by reducing body roll, providing smoother handling, and stabilizing vehicle turns.
Gaining an understanding of these components will aid you in diagnosing and addressing issues pertaining to stability or control when driving.
In this article, we review the top signs of a damaged suspension bar. We also provide you with the location of the link and its function to help you more clearly understand why the links are necessary. If you are looking to fix the issue yourself, you should be able to check the sway bar’s links and then look up the typical cost of replacement.
If you’re planning to do the repair yourself, we will provide you with a few basic procedures to follow. After the conclusion of our post, we’ll answer your most frequent questions about the sway bar link in general.
Symptoms Of A Bad Sway Bar Link
As soon as sway bar links begin to break or wear out, they may manifest several symptoms. Here are the most telling ones:
#Clunking or Rattling Noises
One telltale symptom is hearing clunking or rattling noises while driving over bumps or rough roads, especially over bumpy or unpaved surfaces. These can indicate loose or worn-out sway bar links.
#Increased Body Roll
Worn or broken sway bar links may contribute to excessive body roll when taking corners or turning, impacting vehicle stability and handling. This may significantly decrease safety on the road.
#Poor Handling or Steering Response
Failing Sway Bar Links Can Lead to Poor Handling or Steering Response: Faulty sway bar links may lead to diminished handling characteristics, making steering less responsive or unstable during sudden maneuvers or lane changes, leading to decreased stability for your vehicle and increased instability for sudden maneuvers or changes.
#Uneven Tire Wear
Failing links in your suspension system could cause uneven tire wear patterns. As soon as they stop functioning correctly, tire contact with the road might change resulting in inconsistent wear patterns that result in uneven tread wear patterns.
#Visible Damage or Play
Upon closer examination, it may become evident that there is visible damage or play to the sway bar links such as rusting, corrosion or physical wear and tear. Excessive play or movement when lifting the vehicle could indicate wear or failure and require further evaluation.
#Knocking Sounds when Steering
Knocking Sounds When Steering: Failed sway bar links may produce knocking noises when turning the steering wheel, particularly around corners or sharp turns.
Function of Sway Bar Link
Sway bar links (also referred to as stabilizer bar links) connect sway bar (or stabilizer bar) to the suspension system, serving the primary function of stabilizing vehicle during turns by reducing body roll and maintaining proper balance and control between wheels when driving corners or uneven terrain surfaces. Sway bar links play an integral part in improving vehicle handling and stability.
How to Check Sway Bar Links
Here are steps for inspecting sway bar links:
- Park on a Level Surface: Make sure that your vehicle is on an even, flat surface and engage the parking brake to protect itself from being moved during parking.
- Safety Precautions: Use jack stands to firmly support the vehicle. Raise it using a jack until its lift points match up with manufacturer recommendations.
- Examine Sway Bar Links: Locate and inspect the sway bar, which typically runs horizontally under both vehicles and connects them with their suspension system at each end. Sway bar links connect this component of suspension (control arms or struts).
- Visual Inspection: Visually inspect the sway bar links for signs of damage such as rust, corrosion or physical wear and tear. Look out for loose or missing bolts, excessive play in the links or movement within them.
- Physical Examination: Give each link of your sway bar a careful inspection by hand, applying pressure and checking for excessive play or looseness. Any visible movement or play may indicate wear or potential failure of its components.
- Examine for Noises: While your vehicle is raised, gently rock it side to side or apply pressure to its suspension components and listen out for any unusual sounds such as clunking, rattling, or knocking from sway bar links when loaded and unloaded by swaybar links.
- Check Bushings: Carefully inspect the rubber bushings that connect sway bar links to their respective suspension components, including any signs of wear, cracking or deterioration in their bushings. Damaged bushings could impair both stability and performance for your sway bar links.
- Repeat for Both Sides of the Vehicle: Follow the same inspection steps on both sides of your vehicle; both sway bar links should be checked for consistency.
If you discover any signs of damage, excessive play, noises or visible wear during this inspection, it is advisable to have the sway bar links examined further by a qualified mechanic. They will conduct an in-depth assessment and recommend whether they require adjustment, lubrication or replacement in order to maintain vehicle stability and handling.
Replacement Cost of Sway Bar Link
The cost of replacing sway bar links typically ranges between $75 to $150 per link, depending on the make and model of your car and whether you’re replacing both front or rear links. Labor costs may also vary based on the shop’s hourly rate and the complexity of the job.
Location of Sway Bar Link
Sway bar links are typically located between the sway bar itself and the vehicle’s suspension components, connecting the sway bar to the control arm or strut. They’re situated near the wheel assembly, both at the front and rear of the vehicle. You can find them by tracing the sway bar, as the links will connect it to other parts of the suspension.
How to Change Sway Bar Links by Own
Here’s a general guide on how to change sway bar links:
- Lift the Vehicle: Use a jack to raise the vehicle off the ground, and secure it with jack stands.
- Locate the Sway Bar Links: Find the sway bar links at the front or rear wheels.
- Remove the Old Links: Use appropriate tools to loosen and remove the bolts securing the sway bar links.
- Install New Links: Attach the new sway bar links, aligning them properly, and tighten the bolts securely.
- Lower the Vehicle: Carefully lower the vehicle back to the ground.
