Rear Sway Bar Links? - 96 GS- Canadian Source?

[Gro Harlem]

actually it costs me $61-64 dollars to make and ship 4 links. I charge between and $91-94 depending on where I'm shipping too. Stainless steel isn't cheap. Because I buy in bulk I can a discount on parts, and make a small profit. If you were to use the same suppliers I use(I shopped around for literally days to find the best prices) it would cost you at least $95 to make a set of links. I've said it before, but I'll say it again. In all honesty I could make 4 links for about $20 then turn around and sell them for $80 and believe me people would buy them, but I'm not in this for the money. (all ~200 or so I've made) Those $20 links would squeak, rust, and disintigrate in a year, my links won't.

(mods if you feel that came off as advertising, I appologize and you may delete/edit this post)

Surrree....sure. The ones I bought are STAINLESS. I don't know where you can't buy stainless links.

Each end of my links cost $4.50 from grainger supply (grainger.com is their site and they do ship). I went to a grainger shop near my house and they ordered everything I asked for.

1 female end, 1 male end. Went to autozone to buy the proper thread nut to "lock" the link once aseembled. Then I used some high-tensile strength bolts from my massive collection of engine swap bolts.

The shitty home depot bolts used on those links in that link won't hold up to any road race action, they'll shear straight off. How do I know? I was stupid/foolish enough to use them for my "links" when I made them over a year ago and POW one broke when I was cornering deliverying pizzas last summer. Made a horrible scraping noise against my control arm .

So lets elaborate the actual cost of these things:

Teflon-coated link ends (male or female): $4.50 each

2 per side x 4 sides = 8 for the whoel car = 36.00

A baggie of autozone "HELP!" brand nuts to lock them. (couldn't find the proper thread at home depot or lowes) Comes with 5 nuts, need 4 = $1.79

High-tensile stregnth bolts: Not really sure where you can get em, but I believe home depot or lowes sells them for about 1 dollar each. You need 8 so figure about 8-10 dollars.

Total cost w/out tax: $50 tops I paid about $40 in the end b/c I used bolts I already had

[mm2587]

People like you are the reason there are few parts made for the mx6 and mx3. If you don't like my price or my product, thats fine. But don't you dare question my honor. I have no reason to lie and I haven't lied. I'd go through my recipts later, scan them, and host the pictures for all to see if it would make you happy.

Surrree....sure. The ones I bought are STAINLESS. I don't know where you can't buy stainless links.

Each end of my links cost $4.50 from grainger supply (grainger.com is their site and they do ship). I went to a grainger shop near my house and they ordered everything I asked for.

Well I know one place you can't buy stainless links, Grainger. Check the site yourself, they don't list a single stainless steel link. the 4.50 links you mention can be found here: http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/produc ... 10&ccitem=

hmm what does that say? low carbon zinc plated?? Maybe at one point grainger did offer stainless links, they don't now. You also forgot to mention grainger won't sell to the public, only to businesses. So unless you want to lie, you need to find a local supplier of grainger parts, and I'm sure they're not going to mark up the price at all I mean why should they make a profit?

1 female end, 1 male end. Went to autozone to buy the proper thread nut to "lock" the link once aseembled.

Proper thread nut? I'm confused? what is imporoper about my setup? Are you reffering to the fact that I use a lock washer instead of a nylon lock nut? I guess mazda did it impoperly then too, considering they didn't use any kind of locking mechanism on the stock links.

Then I used some high-tensile strength bolts from my massive collection of engine swap bolts.

Thats nice, most people don't have that luxary.

The shitty home depot bolts used on those links in that link won't hold up to any road race action, they'll shear straight off. How do I know? I was stupid/foolish enough to use them for my "links" when I made them over a year ago and POW one broke when I was cornering deliverying pizzas last summer. Made a horrible scraping noise against my control arm

your right home depot bolts are crap. but 18-8 stainless steel bolts are pretty good. Compareable to grade 8 bolts (10.9 metric scale) in tensile strength. They're also, more expensive, and less likely to squeak.

A baggie of autozone "HELP!" brand nuts to lock them. (couldn't find the proper thread at home depot or lowes) Comes with 5 nuts, need 4 = $1.79

the mx-3 requires 5 nuts per link, so 20 total. The mx6 requires 24 total. I'm very interested to see how you did it with just 4. Again by chance are those autozone nuts stainless?

High-tensile stregnth bolts: Not really sure where you can get em, but I believe home depot or lowes sells them for about 1 dollar each. You need 8 so figure about 8-10 dollars.

but home depot bolts are crap, remember we established this earlier. At a good hardware store it's actually about 1.50-2.50 per bolt. Its a bit cheaper if you want to use grade 5 bolts.

Again I am complety willing to show you my recipts, I've already told you exactly how much it costs me to make them and what my profit margin is. That doesn't count the time it takes me to make these, or the hours I spent finding the highest quality/best priced parts. If I wanted to rape people I would have made them from mild steel, sold them for 2/3 the price and made double the profit. I have nothing to hide. I'm not trying to rip anyone off.

Perhaps locally you personally can make them cheaper, or perhaps I'm getting ripped off by my suppliers, or then again perhaps your just wrong.
But I am being completly honest about my costs and profits and I'm incredibly offended that you would openly call me liar with no proof to back up your case.

[Gro Harlem]

You aren't even a member here. WHy are you advertising your wares without contacting our administrator?

And yes I do think your links are "improperly designed' you can buy one male end to fit into a female end. Yours shows 2 females w/a peice of threaded rod stock of god knows what material in the middle TWO locking nuts. Sure you can get more legnth this way but you don't need it. Only newer proteges have really long links that would require 2 female ends held together via a peice of long threaded rod stock.

factory links on mx3 are about 3" in legnth. The links I fabricated from the parts I bought can be adjusted from 2.7 to 3.5" in legnth.


This is how mine look male + female & some bolts:




And yes grainger sells to anyone. Walk into their shop and the prices are the same as on their website.

And mine were marked "stainless". I don't know if they sell them now it was over 1 year ago when I bought mine. Either way, It isn't hard to find stainless links.