Ford Escape front end links--excellent alternative to stock!!

R

RMW Guy

Ok, I replaced my end links about 8000 miles ago with stock replacements from Autozone. All was great until about a week ago when I noticed the telltale clunking over bumps. I was not convinced it was the endlinks until I removed them. The ball end sockets were loose as heck!!!

I installed them correctly, BTW.

I purchased new Ford Escape AWD parts(Car Quest part# PCH 545-1349CQ) this morning and the difference was obvious.

Thanks to this forum for finding alternative parts that are better made than OEM
 
So hows the handling with the ford links? What year escape did you get your links from? A pic of the stock Mazda links and the ford links side by side would be sweet if you have one.

JT
 
end links mazda 1.jpg2002 Ford Escape AWD V6 is what I told them.

I only had time to drive a few miles tonight but it feels "tighter" and ,of course, it doesn't clunk over every little bump.
 
Here's another pic. Not only is the rod beefier, the ball sockets are larger and greasable.
 

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Cool, and I'm lovin the grease zerk included. Is the length an exact match and how do these price out?
 
RABID_MP5 said:
Cool, and I'm lovin the grease zerk included. Is the length an exact match and how do these price out?
Click to expand...

Length is exact and they cost $35.15 total at my local CarQuest. I believe I paid around $25 each for the stock Moog parts.

The instructions say that they are greased from the factory so you don't even need to do that.
 
Are those for the front or rear? I notice the Escape one are a tad smaller...any effect on the handling?
 
azoblu3 said:
Are those for the front or rear? I notice the Escape one are a tad smaller...any effect on the handling?
Click to expand...

Front only. They fit perfectly. The ends are extremely tight so you may have to work a little to get them to fit. I turned my front wheel a bit to get more more room. i didn't notice any improvement in handling this morning on the way to the office but the front end feels "tighter".
 
Thats why I love this site :) I'm on my way out now to pick up a new pair and put an end to the damn clunking.
 
DV8ion said:
Thats why I love this site :) I'm on my way out now to pick up a new pair and put an end to the damn clunking.
Click to expand...

Let us know how they feel after you get them done. Im on my second set on my P5 in the last six months. Crappy autovalue parts i guess. Even if they just last longer im all about um..

JT
 
jtlinna said:
Let us know how they feel after you get them done. Im on my second set on my P5 in the last six months. Crappy autovalue parts i guess. Even if they just last longer im all about um..

JT
Click to expand...

Well, I don't feel so foolish now that someone else experienced the same issue with them wearing out soon. :)
 
I can't seem to find them on the carquest website. I've been trying to google different things to find those 02' ford escape awd endlinks, but I can't seem to find anything :\
and searching for the product # PCH 545-1349CQ shows nothing on their site, and only this thread comes up on google :\

Has anyone had any luck finding them online?
 
SocialStealth said:
I can't seem to find them on the carquest website. I've been trying to google different things to find those 02' ford escape awd endlinks, but I can't seem to find anything :\
and searching for the product # PCH 545-1349CQ shows nothing on their site, and only this thread comes up on google :\

Has anyone had any luck finding them online?
Click to expand...


ROCKAUTO.com- http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/raframecatalog.php Part # 5451349

RockAuto is great but I wanted to get them without waiting so I got them locally.
 
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Will these work with the racingbeat swaybar? Or are they different lenghts between the p5 sedan and stock sway bar
 
Just installed them with the Racing Beat Front Sway Bar...perfect fit and insane tightness up front.
 
RMW Guy said:
Front only. They fit perfectly. The ends are extremely tight so you may have to work a little to get them to fit. I turned my front wheel a bit to get more more room. i didn't notice any improvement in handling this morning on the way to the office but the front end feels "tighter".
Click to expand...

so they are not the same size?? how tight are we talking about??? can it cause possible damage?
 
They are an exact match. By tighter I meant the ends are difficult to move by hand to line up the mounts The factory versions were easier to get into place. It may have been just the way I had the car jacked up but I had to push down on the sway bar to get the bottom mount in place. I don't see how any damage could occur if you tighten them down correctly.
 
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