the top mounting hole on the endlink doesn't line up very well with the mounting hole on the sway bar....the sway bar is mounted on a 2003 WRX wagon. I did the rear also with Perrin rear end links and it was cake walk....super easy, everything lined up. I have heard now that the sedan and wagon endlinks are different, could this be the problem? I just don't like how the top bolt is cocked like that, it looks weak and not right.

Please advise.

 

yes, the bar is in the right way. When the stock one was removed, the Cusco bar was set next to the stock one to get the orientation right. The end links are installed correctly and everything. I found out later this morning that the Cusco bar is designed for the sedan with a slightly wider track...you can make it work on the wagon (as a lot of people have) but you need to run solid front endlink like the Helix or Noltecs. This will take the strain off the end link itself and allow the bolt to pivot such to align to the Cusco bar's mounting holes better.

I have been on the net and on the phone pretty much all morning trying to figure out what the deal is with this sway bar and the major issue is that the bar is meant to go on a sedan, not a wagon....I ordered the Helix front links:

so we will see if this cures the issue.

 

the bar is mounted correctly as I have looked at pics of other WRX's now that you guys had me all freaked out that it was mounted wrong. The U-shape does point down like that. I have found out that the end link does mount to the sway bar like this if the Cusco bar is used on a wagon. The narrower front width of the wagon and the sheer end link design difference contributes to the wierd mountng position of that top bolt.

I purchased Helix solid front end links with a pivoting bearing in them to better align the bolt to the sway bar mounting hole. Its seems to work fine now and the feel from the solid front end links is quite nice. More solid feelings.

Thanks for your advice but believe it or not thats how the Cusco bar is going to mount up to the OEM end links on a wagon. (from what I found out)

J

 

awesome man....when you say old-style, what does that mean? Was it a different design or something? My solid front endlinks use metal spacers to better align the link to the bar. The top spherical bearing is tilted upward towards the sway bar but the bolt goes right through. The solid feeling now in the front end from the solid endlink is crazy. Feels a lot more stiff and precise.

 

Oh OK, I have seen those. I will post pics when I get a minute of the Helix front links installed now on my wagon. They seem to be working OK. I have done a few sprints of spirited driving the past couple days and they are very solid. The front end feels a lot more solid now.

 

I had the same problem on my wagon and just installed the Hotchkis FEL's. As a note, the Hotchkis links will not directly fit the wagon. The lower bolts where they attach to the control arms are too big. Also, the spacers that fit on each side of the rod end bearing will not fit between the two sides of the lower bracket. The only way these links can be installed is to drill out the holes so the bolts will fit, then figure out where you want to use the available spacers. It is, however, nice to be able to adjust the length of these links so you can mount them in a no-load condition.

 

cool thankx....I got my Helix end links on and they seem to work fine. I haven't had time to snap a shot of them (too much working, not enough driving the car) but yeah they seem to be cool on the wagon too for reference

 

Did you have to make the holes larger or did the helix links fit like they are?

 

the Helix fit just the way you get them, no modifications needed at all. they are a spherical bearing type end link so they are very solid. Then they come with spacers also to fill up the gap between the link and the control arm mounts for the end links. Very straight forward install and I have been running them for probably a month now (or close to it) and no problems. I would recommend them.

J