I’m in the middle of replacing the rear sway bar end links and ran into a frustrating issue. When I try to tighten the lock nut, the entire stud just spins.



I’ve dealt with this before on tie rods where there’s usually a hex fitting so you can hold the stud with an Allen key while tightening. But to my surprise, these end links don’t have any hex fitting at all (seriously, why would a manufacturer leave that out?).



Has anyone else dealt with this problem? How did you manage to tighten them down? I’m even considering scrapping these links and buying a different brand, because if the stud spins freely now, I have no idea how I’d ever remove them in the future if I somehow manage to tighten them today.



Any tips, tricks, or recommendations for better replacement end links would be appreciated.

 

Maybe hit it with an impact wrench. It might spin a little but should begin to grab, then tighten up correctly. Might be an opportunity for a new tool (e.g. Dewalt 20V 1/2 inch impact gun). After it tightens up, the nut should be able to be removed normally, otherwise it might need destructive demolition.

 

Can't you place a vice grip on the shoulder just next to the blue boot, before the bracket? That might even have flat sections for a 3/4 wrench there IIRC.

 

You could use the LR bottle jack and just apply a little pressure to the sway bar link and it should allow you to tighten the nut.

 

Lots of good feedback, thanks for that. Just to close the thread. What I ended up doing is pulling back the rubber booth to create space for a vice, that locks the bolt enough to tighten it on the other side.