Endlinks

[300zxrb26dett]

I was wondering if someone could do me a favor and tell me what the center to center length is for the rear endlinks.

[stepchyld]

about 3-3/16"
I don't have a caliper, so that's best I could do with a measuring tape.

[300zxrb26dett]

Thats close enough for me, thank you very much, and I see in your other thread the MX6 ones are 5/16 longer and work just fine as well, correct?

[stepchyld]

You're welcome.
I haven't driven it yet, so can't say for sure. Even when I do, I'll have a mismatched set for a little while, so results may be skewed.
Only issue I could see with mx6 links is link being 5/16" closer to the ground. It changes the angle of the bar just a bit, but I don't think that in itself would be a problem.
Just make sure and get a matching pair, lol

[300zxrb26dett]

Oh they will be matching, I am making my own.

[stepchyld]

Cool. I've thought about doing the same thing.
There's a few threads here about doing it.
Let us know how it goes!

[300zxrb26dett]

Forgot all about this thread, follow the link to see a picture of the rear ones:

http://www.clubprotege.com/forum/showth ... s&p=751454

[stepchyld]

Looks a little long, compared to the MX3's and MX6's, but they do look nice!
I've dealt with McMaster-Carr before; all work-related, so i can't say much more than they seem to be a good company to do business with.
Curious about handling with them and their endurance to long-term use/abuse.
also, are you using jam nuts to 'lock' the turnbuckles? I'd be concerned about them possibly rotating from your preset length due to vibration (maybe not highly likely, but a turnbuckle can rotate and possibly change the length)

[300zxrb26dett]

Yes they are a little long, I should have got the shorter 2" turnbuckles. In the picture they are threaded in as far as they will go. I drilled out the right hand thread side a little more and tapped it so the rod end would go further in to shorten both of them more then is pictured but not by much.

I totally forgot about a jam nut, thanks for reminding me.

In my climate they should last a long time, and the ones that are already on the car for my current setup are doing just fine after 6+ years.

[stepchyld]

Them being a little long may not even be an issue, especially if there's good roads around where you live and you rarely drive on dirt roads.
Looks like the setup wasn't cheap, but was it cheaper than factory replacements?

Did the rod ends come with jam nuts? often, the male rod ends do, but I can't say always...

[300zxrb26dett]

I dont think it will cause the bar to hang far enough to be an issue.

The price was not that bad, but I dont know exactly how much for those since I bought a bunch of stuff at one time.

Off the top of my head the turnbuckle is the most expensive part, and they are about $15 each, so I would say around $50 for the pair.

All the rod ends and cone spacers came from here: I just got economy rod ends since there is no salt/moisture here.
http://stores.ebay.com/qscomponents

The 3/8" grade 10 nuts and bolts came from Ace hardware.

No jam nuts came with the rod ends, but I am sure I can find a 3/8"-24 nut easily enough

[stepchyld]

I've never priced new rear end links, but the cost of your setup seems pretty fair.

A 3/8-24 jam nut won't be hard to find, the reverse threaded one may be tricky though. They make rod ends with reverse threads, so a jam nut for it will be out there.
A company called Fastenal may be able to help. They even have jam lock nuts, but may require a bulk purchase.

Looks good! I've thought about doing something very similar.

Is your current setup similar to these as well?

[300zxrb26dett]

Ace hardware may even have some left hand thread nuts, havnt checked yet.

The current setup is this: Keep in mind this is on a Ford Escort

The swaybar is disconnected in the front, and I am using the discontinued 22mm ZXtuner sway bar in the rear, which has swayber ends like the MX3 does, combined with my stock escort lateral links. Basically my rear endlinks look like the other ones in the picture on the link provided. Escort/protege/323 swaybars have the ends 90 degrees from the MX3 ones, and the control arms use a cup to hold a bushing and sandwich the swaybar end between 2 busings --> (OIO)
cupped washer-bushing-swaybar-bushing-cupped washer

The new setup will be:
Pierce Motorsport front road race control arms, rear crossmember and lateral link (toe adjust side), MX3 lateral link with ES poly bushings, on the front side to connect to above mentioned swaybar. Thats what all 4 of the endlinks will be for in the picture. The front control arms are adjustable for the swaybar stiffness, and I will be starting with the one that is less stiff then stock.

[stepchyld]

That's quite a setup! I checked out Pierce Motorsport. Looks like they don't offer the front control arms anymore.
You're definitely building a unique Escort. bravo!

Ace might have them, I've never checked. Good luck!

[300zxrb26dett]

He doesnt have everything on his store, but if you contact him he will build them for you. They are built to MX3 specs.

Thanks, I think after its all in I will be done with the suspension...finally...I hope.