Urgent Help Needed with struts/swaybar

[peepsalot]

The endlink bolt hole on my drivers side rear strut is broken. What the hell should I do. I'm sick of this suspension crap. I got these godamn clunk fix brackets and they have given me more headaches and anguish than the clunk ever did.
I have to drive to work tomorrow.
Should I just remove the sway bar and endlinks completely, until i can get new struts, or what?
It was making some pretty bad noises on the way home today.
I think I remember reading someone on here was driving without a swaybar for a while and the handling sucked, but it is still not going to hurt anything as long as I drive easily?

What should I do with this broken strut? I guess a full coilover setup would be nice, but I don't have a whole lot of cash, so comething reasonably cheap. I don't know if I want to go back to these brackets again either. Isn't there some aftermarket swaybar setup that did away with the clunk without these crazy brackets?

 

[peepsalot]

Bump. I don't know what to do. I'm retareded. plz help

 

[peepsalot]

Anyone think this can be repaired without replacing the struts?

 

[peepsalot]

Morning bump.

I removed the swaybar and endlinks this morning then drove to work. I really have no idea what I'm going to do next. Does anyone have suggestions? Does anyone read this subforum?

 

[Stormtrooper77]

You might be able to get it welded? But then I would think that it would not be as strong. Other than that, you could get a new strut.

 

[peepsalot]

Yeah, I don't think I would trust a weld to held together well enough.

What options for struts are there. I know of tein, jic magic, tokico? Is that all of them? The stock struts are tokico HPs, right? If I just want to replace with the same struts, could I get just one strut, or do I have to get a set?

 

[peepsalot]

Anyone know what the main difference is between the tein basic and the tein super street dampers?

 

[122 Vega]

You can get a set of Tokico Illuminas on eBay for $420

Britt

 

[peepsalot]

Ok, I did a search and here are my options I think. I'm mostly typing this out so I can remember them later.

Tokico HPs ~$570
Nex SS ~$630 (anyone heard of these)http://store.rms-usa.com/nexssco99map.html
Tokico Illuminas ~$900
Tein Basic ~$900
B+G S3 Coilovers ~$975 (haven't heard of these before either)
Tein Super Street ~$1200
JIC Magic ~$1250

Then there are some unnamed coilovers($1500) and gas shocks(400) at shaneracing here:
http://www.shaneracing.com/Mazda_Protege_Performance_Suspension_Parts.html

 

[peepsalot]

You can get a set of Tokico Illuminas on eBay for $420

Britt

Hmm, that sounds like a sweet deal. It doesn't look like that includes the springs I guess. No problems with reusing the stock ones? The springs don't really wear out, just the shocks, right?

 

[low_psi]

call tokico and ask them if you can purchase just one strut. tell them what happened and why you need it.

 

[mauricec00]

just fix it as fast as you can. that might brake and screw up somthing you dont want to happen

 

[Stormtrooper77]

Your stock springs should still be fine. They do eventually wear though. You could also go with the Tokico's and some lowering springs, if lowering is what you want. I hear Goldline's are very good and cheap.

 

[peepsalot]

I don't really care for lowering. It is low enough for me already. I think I am going to go with the illuminas as 122 vega suggested.

 

[122 Vega]

The only way springs will change rate or "wear out" is if they have corrosion/rust or if they are heated to extreme temps. I have tested many sets (25+) of springs from my other cars (1975-1976) and they were all within several pounds of stock ratings. There was manufacturer's tolerances that allowed this. Some of these springs had weight on them for the entire 30 years, and others were NOS (new old stock) that had been on GM shelves for years. These days, the tlerances are not as great, so springs should be more accurate longer.

I wouldn't pay that much for unamed coilovers. That whole website just seems to be reselling other people's stuff. "We manufacture" and "we designed" stuff that is clearly AWR. So I wouldn't get anything from them.

But it doesn't sound like you need coilovers anyways. Or for that matter adjustable struts. You would probably be okay with just replacing the HP's. I have seen full sets on eBay for $380.

Britt

 

[ddogg777]

Peeps, you need to change the heim joints (ball joint) on those Delsing endlinks if you want to preserve your strut brace. You need a heim joint with a high misalignment spacer because it looks as if the links are binding with the bolts. Here's a pic of what I'm talking about.

 

[low_psi]

AH, integrated cone washers!!!

 

[peepsalot]

Peeps, you need to change the heim joints (ball joint) on those Delsing endlinks if you want to preserve your strut brace. You need a heim joint with a high misalignment spacer because it looks as if the links are binding with the bolts. Here's a pic of what I'm talking about.

That's cool, I didn't know they made stuff like that. I'm just going back to stock endlinks though, since I've already wasted enough money on my suspension.

 

[biochembruin]

Peeps, you need to change the heim joints (ball joint) on those Delsing endlinks if you want to preserve your strut brace. You need a heim joint with a high misalignment spacer because it looks as if the links are binding with the bolts. Here's a pic of what I'm talking about.

where to get these?

 

[DrummerJim50]

If you can't afford to buy new struts right now, I would just weld it as someone else said. I don't see why that wouldn't work as long as you don't damage the sway bar when you're welding (just weld a piece onto the strut so you can attach the sway bar to it). Put a lot of weld on it and it should be strong enough, as long as you don't completely deform the metal from the heat (which could be a problem).