Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting End Links bushing missing?

I just changed out my rear-end links to try and get rid of the rear-end clunk and when I pulled off the old one, I noticed that the design was different. The old one has a rubber bushing inside the "eye" of the link, but the new one did not? Was this something I was supposed to get from Ford? The parts guy told me the part was "complete" (other than the bushings I had to buy separately that go by the threaded end).

Here is a pic of the old and new part side by side.

Links

As long as the eye is a good fit to the sway bar arm, it should work well. The sway bar is mounted to the body through rubber bushings, and the end links are in rubber as well. The direct fit might actually improve the handling by eliminating a little mush. I would put them in. Good Luck.

Al

A WARNING.!!!!!....NEVER tighten the link arm bolt to the sway bar with the wheels OFF the ground...ALWAYS do the upper bolt with the weight of the vehicle on the suspension..if you do not YOU WILL TEAR THE NEW/OLD BUSHES IN THE END LINKS........

Ok, I did everything with the back-end on ramps.

I used garden hose for new bushings. Worked like a charm. Very tight fit