Allen Key Options

[Celicam8]

I was about to remove the rear suspension when i noticed the hole with the allen key on the sway bar was rusted, i put the allen key in it and it didnt catch... is there a way to remove the nut or am i screwed

[bccentaur3]

you are some what screwed. Its going to be a B*tch to get it. I'm sure there have been plenty of us who has gone through this ordeal. I say do the bottom allen key. Then worry about the top allen key hole after you take the strut out. Hold on are you using a box end wrench while turning the allen key?

You can always pry on it so it will catch and screw the bolt.

[Celicam8]

Im using a clamp wrench, and as far as turning it, the nut turns with the little screw...

http://www.innerauto.com/store/?N=1725+11785+4294967008+5892
or this
http://www2.partstrain.com/v5/products.php...4294967008+5893
will that rear sway bar link work for our car? it says it will, i need to be sure. I can unscrew the bottom key and replace the link.. and will i have to replace the one on the other side?

This post has been edited by Celicam8: Nov 20, 2007 - 8:22 PM

[bccentaur3]

You might as well. You can actually go to any autoparts store and get them. Try asking for the st185 endlinks. A lot beefier than ours.

[Valo666]

use a set of vice grips on the rubber boot, pretty much, if your replacing them, cut the boot, take the grease out, clamp down the vicegrips as much as possible, put some heat on the nut and take it off. Its a pain in the ass, but it works. Theres a write up that Dustin *Batman72* did on the site using that method

[Celicam8]

thanks valo...

bccentaur3, i went to AutoZone and they cost 52 $ for 1 Duralast endlink... not worth it.. and as far as beefier... does it matteR?

[bccentaur3]

Well there are numbers of members from here who use them and say that they are stiffer.

[Celicam8]

stiffer in what sense? does the car feel harder when hitting bumps.... and what is the st186 ... 5th gen?

[bccentaur3]

The st185 is the 5th gen gtfour or alltrac

[Celicam8]

do you by any chance have a link to where i can buy it, and what years is the 5th gen, ill try to google it

[bccentaur3]

5th gen years 90-93. I forgot the link search on here.

[bccentaur3]

link for the endlinks
http://www.twosrus.com/catalog/product_inf...products_id=254

Read this too

http://www.6gc.net/forums/index.php?showto...=st185+endlinks

[Celicam8]

I read the 6gc endlinks one, the endlinks that are on the twosrus is different than what we have... ours is more like a "Z" not a "U" will they work though? and what is the real difference.. i cant see a difference in feel, it will still be same height and everything else...

[azian_advanced]

the "U" one you're referring to are the front end links, the "Z" ones are for the rear. i have the TwosRUs endlinks, i love how they don't require an allen key..

[illneversellmyce...]

im lucky i was trying to take those off a parts car, i just used a dremel and cut it off then cut the bolt off, it pissed me off lol

[Celicam8]

love how they don't require an allen key..

I like that statement, bccentaur talked me into getting the am oem ones from two

[Celicam8]

I finally got the endlink off... took almost 2 hrs to do it... now i have to do the suspension replacement...

Can the car be lowered without endlinks and not doing any damage to it

[LewFX]

just dont drive it without the endlinks, you will slide and lose control

[Celicam8]

i dont really want to drive it, just lower and move it to other side of garage so i can take other suspension off and replace it, so Im not wasting time waiting

[azian_advanced]

i'm sure you can... if you have some wire then use it to tie it together temporarily...

[Celicam8]

lol... you guys don't sound convincing... ^^

[bccentaur3]

I finally got the endlink off... took almost 2 hrs to do it... now i have to do the suspension replacement...

Can the car be lowered without endlinks and not doing any damage to it

Gosh finally man. How long do you think its going to take to get the endlinks?

[Celicam8]

i dunno... whenever i get around to order em... in other words.. when the insurance check clears, ill buy that the vapor canister and bumper

This post has been edited by Celicam8: Nov 21, 2007 - 2:41 PM

[Valo666]

most new style endlinks now dont have the allen key feature to them anyways. Like, i got the twos'r'us on my GTS, but i just have carquest regular ones on my gf's st coupe and the endlinks i bought for it now have the similar style as the twos'r'us ones. They have a nut on the back side of the threaded part. made it alot easier to install. But if you can afford em, get the twos'r'us links. No worry about blowing them again, adjustable for tension on the swaybars, easy to install and they look good too.

[Celicam8]

thanks Valo, I read the topic about endlinks, and as far as I read it doesnt matter how tight they are on stock sways... and as far as cost... 75 for a pair compared to 51 for a single...

[Celicam8]

holy ****, i cant get those damn nuts off the suspension(the one behind the breaks) it just wont come loose... i tried wd40, rust ****, heat ...force... the thing just doesnt want to budge... anyone have any other ideas

[njccmd2002]

wd 40 and let it soak for a couple of hours, be patient then do this....



if it does not come out. Use a breaker bar to put it loose....

believe me, there is no need to cut. or heat. it just requires the right comb of tools.. The breaker bar, exerts the greatest amount of torque....

[Celicam8]

I removed the damn endlink took 2 hrs, the 2 nuts and bolts holding the strut was so F***ing rusted took me about 3 hrs to get it unscrewd... ****... that wasnt fun, and I dont have a breaker bar ^ ^ I did it using a electrical conduit and my ratchet... it finally gave... now i have 1 wheel left

[njccmd2002]

15 bucks at advance auto parts. , it sure did help to remove the struts, the clutch and even the motor mounts. Well worht it....

[Celicam8]

for now i dont see any other big projects like this coming up... so no need... i wanted to go rent one but they dont rent em... and i can get one with a grip for 12 at AutoZone... just not worth it for now

btw, its not as much as Im worried about breaking the ratchet... I dont want to break the bolt or nut

This post has been edited by Celicam8: Nov 21, 2007 - 10:32 PM

[Valo666]

if you had that much trouble, just heat the crap out of it...like when i did the front ones on the coupe, i dont think they were ever changed. I had heat on each bolt for about 3 or 4 min, then quenched it really quickly to distort the metal a bit, smacked it with a hammer on the nut, and it came off easily. I also used PB Blaster

[Celicam8]

lol i heated it for about 10 min a few times, sprayed wd40 right away then hit it with a hammer and tried to remove it... took about 4 times for me to get it loose 3 hrs later after starting

[Batman722]

haha you should of done this and been done with all of them in 15 minutes.











next time check the stickies

[Celicam8]

i did do it that way, and i did read the stickies, if you read the posts before

lol i heated it for about 10 min a few times, sprayed wd40 right away then hit it with a hammer and tried to remove it... took about 4 times for me to get it loose 3 hrs later after starting

you would know im talking about the bolts holding the strut

[azian_advanced]

taking the two strut bolts are so fun, especially when they're rusted... cuz my dad has this 40" ratchet that i use like a breaker bar and i add a long 5 foot pipe to it as an extension.. then see it turn with ease. lol

[Celicam8]

my pipe bent ^^ i bent 2 3 foot poles... and i was pulling by tge ratchet..

[azian_advanced]

then you should probably find a stronger and longer pipe, one that won't bend as easily (careful, as you're ratchet might shear right off from too much torque). I've sheared off a ratchet at the wrecker yard trying to get rusted lug nuts off and used a 2' pipe and put all my weight to it..
either that or you can borrow a breaker bar from someone you know.. make sure you're putting WD40 or some lubricant and heat it up with a torch.. just avoid heating up the strut cylinder. it helps.

This post has been edited by azian_advanced: Nov 22, 2007 - 11:07 AM

[Celicam8]

yea i know, so far did 3 of the 4 wheels, and havnt broken either ratchet... *knocks on wood* I used all i know to remote the nites, the back is 10times harder than the front

[Celicam8]

IM DONE!

[bccentaur3]

yea i know, so far did 3 of the 4 wheels, and havnt broken either ratchet... *knocks on wood* I used all i know to remote the nites, the back is 10times harder than the front

LOL, lucky you. Congrats on finishing up on the project. Hows the ride now? Could you tell the difference between the new endlinks and the old one?

[Celicam8]

I dont have endlinks yet... i had 5guage single stranded wire i used to attach it.. just wanted to make sure no noise....

and I almost broke my ratchet as i was finishing unscrewing, it started skipping, isnt busted yet... i used my tire iron to tighten the bolts... and i forgot that little ring the first time (one that goes under the nut that screws in the strut) and i removed the one on the passanger side because i thought it would be better... what a mistake... had to remove everything and remove the nuts (took about 30 min... melted the plastic on the ring, took clams and clamped a cloth thing to the strut so it stays and doesnt turn... anyways done and looks nice

BTW... IM F**king tired!!!! =) it was fun though, and I think I learned a way to replace the boot breaks with roters. I'll try to get some breaks

7th generation ones work... correct?

This post has been edited by Celicam8: Nov 23, 2007 - 9:48 PM

[Celicam8]

hey centaur i ordered the sway bar links they will come in tomorrow or thurs i cant wait

[bccentaur3]

DANG finally. Its taking such a long time. Well since thanksgiving was last week i guess it would take a while.

[Celicam8]

i dont celebrate thanksgiving... i didnt have enough $

[Celicam8]

btw, it seems like a stiffer ride than stock... then again my struts were shot.... is it stiffer or is it me... for example if i go over a bump if feel it more than i would normally... and how tight should the nuts that are holding the spring be... i tightened it till it wouldnt go anymore, seems like it should be more loose....

This post has been edited by Celicam8: Nov 29, 2007 - 12:58 AM

[bccentaur3]

you lowered the car too right?? if so then of course its supposed to be stiff.

[Celicam8]

yea, 1,5" but it seems... stiffer than should be.. i feel every bump, might be that i need a 4wheel alligment now, but... either way... to add to that my steering wheel is shaking in a weird way.. where its making noises.... i think its the alligment, but when im standing still its also happening...

[bccentaur3]

WHAT???? Your steering wheel is shaking at idle? what did you do?

[Celicam8]

i didn't do ****.... its weird... never done this before, but than again not much is different since been changed, and nothing was changed that would do that

[Celicam8]

I JUST GOT THE LINKS!!
wow, that was a quick install.... about 5 min each one fun

btw, i know it says 2:00 but i was back and forth talking to people... install itself was quick...

This post has been edited by Celicam8: Nov 29, 2007 - 2:02 PM

[bccentaur3]

So hows the celi riding now?

[Celicam8]

fu*king awsome... doesn't feel like a celica anymore. I need to get an alligment bad though, i took the car on a turn at about 45 and it started hopping then again i was going a little fast

but yea, those swaybar links are great i like them, made everything in the back stiff... next would be replace the swaybar and the arms that connect to the frame i wanna get full suspension done before putting new engine... and i need rear breakpads not boots...

[bccentaur3]

Nice you have the right thought in mind. I am doing the same thing, but sucks because its going to snow soon and I dont have a heated garage.

[Celicam8]

same here, but im looking at the positive, its going to be better... btw dont do things like this in winter (i wont be either) you need to test your car and take it for a "drive" and winter isnt the safest time to do that