2000 and earlier Proteges need new end links to work with Tokico HP's

[Pensfan]

I had ordered Racing Beat springs and Tokico HP's to put onto my '02 Protege ES. I have a friend that works on VW's in his shop, so we played around with my 2000 Protege LX to see how the suspension combo would look on it. Found out the bracket for the endlink has been moved upward on the strut body on the HP's, meaning you would need longer endlinks if you were going to install them on 2000 and 1999 Pro's. I called the local dealer to confirm, and the parts guy told me there is a vin split in the 2000 model year where the end link part numbers change. He had both in stock, and said the newer end links are about 3" longer in the front. I also called Tokico, and their technical guy seemed very surprised, especially since he stated they were the OEM supplier. He was going to talk to Jim Langer at Racing Beat to see if he knew about the different mounting positions of the sway end link bracket.

I compared the mounting position of the HP's with my '02 Pro, the fronts look like they will match up perfectly, but it was hard to tell at the rear. Has anyone put on the AFTERMARKET HP's (note, not the OEM MP3, or Mazdaspeed struts) on a 2001 or newer Protege ES, LX, or DX model? I would like to hear if the stock endlinks worked front and rear. From what I could garner from talking with Mazda Parts South, the rear end links for a Mazdaspeed, or MP3 are different than the stock Protege. So if you've done it, did the stock ones work? Thanks.

 

[Pensfan]

Nobody has installed Tokico HP's on a 01-03 Protege DX, LX, or ES??


Anyone...anyone...Bueller...Bueller (attn)

 

[ounkny]

I just had the Tokico HPs installed today on my 2000 Protege ES sedan. We have a major problem with the front, since the swaybar mounting tab does not match up. It looks like they were able to bolt the endlink down but it is absolutely horrible because the distance is not correct. It seems that the swaybar endlink is too short, or just positioned wrong, which is pulling the front of the car up and down during turns and bumps. Handling is compromised, the car is not as stable over bumps, and it makes some nasty noises.

It looks like Tokico goofed? Is the only difference in the front? Should there be no problems with the rears?

What exactly are the differences between the 99-00 and the 01+ swaybar mounting tabs? On my OEMs and the JICs, i noticed that the front tab should be pointing out horizontally (parallel to the ground), whereas on the Tokico HP, it is pointing up vertically (toward the sky).

I assume Pensfan is right, which means i'm going to have to get the 01+ front endlinks.

Nobody has installed Tokico HP's on a 01-03 Protege DX, LX, or ES??


Anyone...anyone...Bueller...Bueller (attn)

 

[Pensfan]

You definately need the end links from the 01-03 Protege on the front. Mazda Parts south will sell them for $19.50 each plus shipping. There is almost a 3" difference in where the sway bar bracket is mounted. On the Tokico HP's, it is mounted right below the bottom spring perch on the strut body. On the 2000 OEM, it is mounted at the bottom of the strut. I did not look at the back struts, but I will look later today and post what I've found. From just looking at the 02 Pro I have, it appears the mounting bracket on the strut is the same on the front, and ver, very close on the rear. (the bracket on the rear is shaped differently, but the hole for the link to go through appears to be in the same place).

When I spoke with Ray at Tokico yesterday, he didn't have anymore info, nor did he seem too concerned about it. I told him they should offer the updated endlinks for the front struts...I'll post more later as I get some more info...

 

[ounkny]

Please clarify what the brackets are like on the 02 Pro.

(1) Are you saying that the 02 Pro has the same front mounting bracket as the Tokico HP (pointing up) or the same front mounting bracket as the 99-00 Pro (pointing to the side)?

I called my local Mazda dealer, and he said there are two kinds of endlinks for the front, which explains the problems we've found

PART # B26R34170 9" endlink
PART # LC6234170A 12" endlink

(2) Have you found out about the differences in the rear?

My local Mazda dealers said there are THREE different part numbers for the rears, and so matching that up may be more difficult. However, the installer of my Tokico HPs did not indicate that there was any problem with the rears. The difference in those parts may be more subtle.

Thanks for following up on this, I'd like to get the correct endlinks as soon as possible so I can drive my car.

You definately need the end links from the 01-03 Protege on the front. Mazda Parts south will sell them for $19.50 each plus shipping. There is almost a 3" difference in where the sway bar bracket is mounted. On the Tokico HP's, it is mounted right below the bottom spring perch on the strut body. On the 2000 OEM, it is mounted at the bottom of the strut. I did not look at the back struts, but I will look later today and post what I've found. From just looking at the 02 Pro I have, it appears the mounting bracket on the strut is the same on the front, and ver, very close on the rear. (the bracket on the rear is shaped differently, but the hole for the link to go through appears to be in the same place).

When I spoke with Ray at Tokico yesterday, he didn't have anymore info, nor did he seem too concerned about it. I told him they should offer the updated endlinks for the front struts...I'll post more later as I get some more info...

 

[Pensfan]

-ounkny,

1) Yes, the FRONT Tokico HP has the mounting bracket mounted at the same place, and going in the same direction as the OEM front strut on my 2002 Protege ES Sedan.(Pointing up) This differs from the placement on the OEM strut on my 2000 Protege LX. The 2000 has the tab mounted 3" lower on the strut body (and pointing to the side) than the '02 OEM and the Tokico HP.

2) The rear shocks on both my 2000 LX and my 2002 ES have the mounting tab in the same spot. The 2000 has a longer rear end link due to the sway bar design, not due to the shock. If you are running a stock rear sway bar on your 1999 ES, it appears as if the rear end links on your car will work fine. Note, I'm no mechanic, this is just some measuring and peeking with a flashlight and a tape measure, nothing exactly specific.

I think the three different part numbers for the rears have to do with the different swaybars...1 for the 1999-2000 models, 1 for the 2001-2003 DX, LX and ES sedans, 1 for the MP3 and Mazdaspeed sedans. Hope this helps.

I'll let you know in about 10-14 days after I have them installed on my 2002 ES. Since nobody seems to know for sure, or hasn't seen/or posted to this...

 

[ounkny]

I believe everything you wrote is correct. Since the front mounting brackets are different, that is why we are experiencing problems with our 99-00 front endlinks. The 01-03 should be fine in the front. The rear mounting brackets appear to be the same across all models, which is why we're not experiencing problems.

Are you installing Tokico HPs in both your 00 AND your 02?

Thanks for all the great info. I am going to pick up the new front endlinks on Monday and they should be installed the same day.

 

[Pensfan]

Let me know how it turns out tomorrow.


I am only going to put the Tokico's on my 02 Protege. I'm pairing them up with Racing Beat springs. Hopefully the ride won't be too much stiffer than stock, PA roads are terrible.

 

[hi-perf]

they worked perfect for me. not a problem with them.

 

[ounkny]

I bought the revised front endlinks (12" long) from a local Mazda dealer and had my installer swap them in. It fixed the fitment problem in the front and the strut/spring combo has been working great since. Still need an alignment but that's normal.

 

[natedizzle]

i installed the tokico HPs along w/ an eibach pro-kit and didn't run into any problems w/ mounting them. everything matched up perfectly.

 

[Pensfan]

Thanks for the information!! Sorry I didn't reply sooner, but I've been out of town. Hopefully I will have the time to get them installed on my '02 ES next week.

 

[hi-perf]

i wish you guys would READ the title the original poster set..

they said 2000 and earlier...no wonder yours works, because its newer than 2001!

anyway yes i had problems at the beginning, i had the same problem initially, but me and my friend like internally turned the piston rod around, and it worked.