Suspension/Sway Bar Questions

[Luken10]

So I decided to buy some new bushings for my rear racing beat sway bar only to run into one issue after another. It would be much appreciated if you all could help me figure this out. I am trying to make my rear sway bar work as effectively as possible on the cheap.

To start, I would like to confirm if I have the MSP suspension on my P5. I bought the car with all of it's mods already installed, so I just need to confirm.
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Here is the state of my rear end links. The rubber is completely torn all around on all four end links. When I rotate them, they feel smooth, no grinding of any sort. Although they don't have very much resistance. To be honest, I have no experience replacing these bits and am unsure how they should feel. If I can get away with not replacing them for a few months, that is what I will do.
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This whole ordeal started with just wanting to replace the bushings on the rear sway bar. I ordered some Beck and Arnley, however I was sent a 15mm bushings which I can only assume are for the stock P5. To be clear, I did order them for the MSP. I was told by another member that I would have to use stock bushings if I used the OEM brackets. Here are some pictures of the parts that came off the car.
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I am assuming previous owner did this on the install. Does it need to be changed?
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There is a bit of a gash, with a matching print on one of the trailing arms. Not exactly sure how this was caused, or how to stop it from happening again.
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What I am basically asking is, what is the bare minimum that I need to fix/replace/buy in order for the rear sway bar to work like it would from the factory on a MSP.

A couple other questions as well.
-Are there any consequences to running no rear sway bar for the time being?
-Assuming I have MSP suspension, am I still able to use the Ford Escape front endlinks?
-Is there anything stopping me from getting an alignment to MSP specs as seen here?

Once again, Thanks for your help everyone!(thumb)

 

[The_big_dill]

Here are my 2 cents on sway bar links:

The stud should be stiff in place and hard to move around, it looks like the ones you pictured are sagging under their own weight, only a matter of time before they pop out of their sockets.

I ran my moms dodge caravan without the front sway bar links for at least half a year, but remember, that's not a sports car. They aren't required, but your handling might suffer without them.

 

[Luken10]

It was definitely very easy to move around, almost to the point of sagging under its own weight. I didn't realize they could pop out because they are worn. Those are the type of informative answers I am looking for, thank you!

I am driving it right now without the rear sway bar till I can decide what to do. Way more understeer, and noticeably more body roll. I definitely won't be keeping it like that for long haha.

 

[The_big_dill]

It was definitely very easy to move around, almost to the point of sagging under its own weight. I didn't realize they could pop out because they are worn. Those are the type of informative answers I am looking for, thank you!

I am driving it right now without the rear sway bar till I can decide what to do. Way more understeer, and noticeably more body roll. I definitely won't be keeping it like that for long haha.

Nothing lasts forever, and if your sway bar link studs are not seized you are 2 steps ahead of the game. I am not familiar of how bad these things seize on these cars or how bad the weather where you live is, but I have to tell you that the reason I replaced the sway bar links in our family van was because they popped out of the sockets. And removing the stud was damned near impossible, I destroyed a pair of vice grips, emptied a can of pb blaster and a can of propane from a torch to get 1/4 of those stud and nut combinations. In fact, I ended up trying to cut one off.

You do need to replace those sway bar links, but you could throw them back on for now, worst that can happen is that they pop off. All you have to do is grab a pair of vice grips on the ball end and a wrench on the nut end and take it off, no biggie.

 

[Luken10]

Nothing was seized, and the nuts actually came off quite easily. There is no snow, and barely any rain where I live, so it is practically the best case scenario for making parts last. I hate when a simple job turns into something much larger. Glad you got your situation worked out!

I am doing a track day with my car in two weeks, hence the suspension work now. Sounds like I better replace them, as I would hate for one to pop out while doing laps. I wouldn't take this car near a track without the rear sway bar connected.

I found this super informative thread about the different lengths of endlinks on Proteges. Looks like I am good to go using the Ford Escape endlinks on the MSP suspension. I am having trouble deciding which to buy for the rear of my car. Does anyone know how endlinks are measured on rock auto? Some are listed as 7.5, others at 8.5. From post to post it should be 7.5, but from end to end it is 8.5. Makes it difficult to choose which one is correct.

One more thing to add. With over 100 views, some people must have information about anything in the first post. I am open to all comments, don't feel like you have to answer it all in one post. Thanks!

 

[Luken10]

Quick update on what I have figured out.
-The sway bar brackets are the MSP version
-The sway bar bushings are generic energy suspension 20mm
-I still have the P5 rear subframe

I'm not even sure how the sway bar was installed previously. The MSP brackets don't line up with the P5 subframe holes. The energy suspension bushing is also too wide for the bracket and does not fit snugly against the subframe. As of right now I am just trying to figure out my options.
1.Buy a MSP rear subframe
2.Buy CR3 Motorsport's relocation bracket and the accompanying energy suspension kit
3.Just buy the energy suspension kit and bend the brackets (can I do this?)
4.Buy AWR's relocation bracket, along with the P5 swaybar bracket
5.Buy P5 brackets and bore out OEM bushings

Obviously 3 and 5 are the cheapest, and to be honest I really don't care about the clunking or squeaking. What I do care about is handling. If those set ups will negatively affect the potential gains of the sway bar I will go a different route.

I also ended up buying new endlinks for the front and rear. Just over $62 shipped. Figured at that price it is worth it. I bought the 2002 Ford Escape endlinks for the front. Moog part# K80104. MSP endlinks for the rear. Moog part# K80869. The rears are listed as being 8.5 inches long, when they are actually 7.5 inches center to center. I confirmed this with Moog's parent company who realized it was a mistake in their blueprints.