Every car has at least one Stabilizer Bar (Sway Bar). Many of them have two: front and rear. Stabilizer Bar helps the car to be more stable on the road: not to swing, not to wander while driving, and to turn with less body roll. But for this Stabilizer Bar must have some free movement, so it needs links – Stabilizer Bar Links with movable ball joints.
Unpacking Masuma Stabilizer Link
Masuma Stabilizer Link design
Stabilizer Link has a ball joint at one or both sides. Many of Ball Joints construction features are similar to links.
Links’ ball joints are under permanent load, that’s why they must have a margin of safety. Masuma Links’ ball joint studs are made from 40Cr steel with vacuum heat treatment. Mirror treatment of the ball surface provides roughness no more than 0,4 micron, it minimizes friction and guarantees a long service life. Ball bearing pouring is done by durable polymer with smooth surface — POM 500P polyoxymethylene made by DuPont.
Well-developed Stabilizer Links design simplifies the replacement: every link has a mark at the installation side, an arrow on the body shows the upward direction, ends of ball joint studs have a hexagon slot — it helps stud not to rotate if the thread rusted.
Ball joints dust boots have a direct impact on Stabilizer Links service life. Masuma Stabilizer Links are protected by neoprene dust boosts, which keep elasticity at a temperature of −40… +80 °C.
Inside the dust boot there is a high-quality lithium grease Apolloil Autolex ะก with high viscosity. It minimizes friction of the ball stud with the polymer bearing and makes the joint hermetic.
When to replace Stabilizer Bar Links
Stabilizer Bar Links must be replaced if free movements and beats are found on service check. If you skip this moment, Stabilizer Links to make noise on turns and road pits.
Stabilizer Links service life in heavy duty conditions is about 30.000 km, but it is recommended to check them more frequently. Don’t forget that Stabilizer Links are always replaced in pairs for Stabilizer Bar correct work.
By the way, Stabilizer Links wear out is not the only reason to replace them. If you make a suspension lift, you need to install elongated Stabilizer Links, which help Stabilizer Bar not to limit the suspension travel.
Stabilizer Links replacement