Identify these front suspension parts please:

[fymbscu]

After the driver's side front wheel made an awkward lurch through a pothole in the rain, I discovered a bolt that is missing its bushings. I believe it is called a front stabilizer bar according to the Haynes manual but it has no pics. This is what I have, driver's side first, passenger second:

Have I correctly identified this part? Is it enough to replace the bushings or do the whole unit? I saw a Moog version,
MOOG W0133-2357374, which looks like a hexangonal bolt and omits the fluted sleeve. Does the sleeve move to the replacement part? I would presume it is best to replace both sides given the vehicle age.

Any help greatly appreciated.

 

[C420sailor]

Front stabilizer bar END LINKS

Aka sway bar links

 

[J_C]

Unless they have changed the Moog (again), I have them on my '98 but wouldn't buy again. Somewhere on this subforum is a topic I made about their questionable, hollow thermoplastic bushings.

If you're losing bushings due to dry rot or wear-out, yes you should replace them all, but by the time you get a set, it's not much more expensive to just get the whole sway bar end link kit. Yours don't look very rusty but mine were so bad that the factory set had rusted the bolt in two, and years later the 2nd set, rust seized the nuts on so I had to cut them off with an angle grinder. Point being that they may not come off non-destructively, except yours look like they don't have much rust.

The hexagonal spacer sleeve on the Moog is usually just a metal tube sleeve on other brands and that is fine. You do not need the factory plastic sleeve cover moved to the new end links. There are topics about sway bar end link choices but if you were happy with what you had and given how long they lasted, you may not need to bother doing anything special, could just buy something cost effective on Rock Auto. Local auto parts stores are going to charge about 4X as much for what you can get on rock auto for under $10... except if inflation has risen prices and at Rock Auto there's the shipping charge so you might check Amazon and work some free shipping deal from them.

 

[fymbscu]

Thank you both for the clarification. I believe my sway bar links are OEM although I have had the lower control arms replaced once or twice over the years.

Regarding rust, I think I benefit from the SoCal weather. Hopefully, they won't be bound up--knock on wood!

How easy are the links to replace? The Haynes manual suggests the truck doesn't even need to be jacked up to replace the actual sway bar but I'm wondering if there is enough clearance to lift the bolt out at the top of the wheel well.

Thanks again. I am also troubleshooting a P0125 code before ordering parts...

 

[J_C]

IDK if there are any clearance issues with it not jacked up. Think I jacked mine up just because it's a lot easier to get to, from the wheel well area with the tire off, rather than lying on your back to do it. I don't recall all the finer details because it was a pretty straightforward repair, no surprises besides the rust factor.

Don't over-torque the nut and overly compress the bushings or else they will fail prematurely. I don't recall exact torque but the bushings just barely compress so maybe around 10 ft-lb.

 

[410Fortune]

I cut the old sway bar links off with a grinder it is much faster, they hardly ever come loose due to rust