Sway Bar Link Fiasco

Not Tundra specific but I'm dealing with this on a first Gen.
Almost got the damn thing off until the 6mm Allen key slot stripped at the last moment. Fucking typical. Looks like I'll have to cut the bolt off.
Wish me luck folks.

 

They really are a bad design, they're under tension in odd angles and tend to get stuck if not well lubricated. An impact gun will get it off if you have one, if not its time for the Sawzall to do its thing.

 

Yeah I dealt with that the first time I removed mine. Decided to go with Moog which has the lifetime warranty and zerk fitting to grease. They last about as 1/2 as long but I got a free replacement.

 

Same happened to me. I gave up tho and tighter it back up because I didn’t have a cut tool with me

 

Push it through and grab the backside with some channel locks or Knipex

 

I just did mine on a Camry yesterday. Looks the same. Stripped out the hex, vise grips got me nowhere, ended up sawzalling it off. Total PITA.

 

Had to use a cutting wheel to get mine off as well after 20 years of water and dirt there was no other way but to mangle them to hell.

 

Doesn't anyone us the old nut removal trick where you use a tool (cutoff disk ideal) to notch the nut top to bottom, then use a steel chisel to crack the nut? Once cracked or split, they spin off easy, or you can continue spreading the split and the nut will fall off.

Much easier and less expensive to spent a few cents on a suitable grade 8 replacement nut than anything else.

They even make nut chisels for less than $15 to do the job. Everyone should have one of these in their toolbox for how cheap it is and what a lifesaver it is for rusty shit.

 

No because the new sway bar end links come with new hardware, this would just take more time. But in other situations yes.

 

Dunno, cracking a nut is usually a 3-5 minute ordeal for me, tops. Looks like OP might've spent at least an hour or two trying not to cut....

 

I think heather used that trick on her O2 sensor nuts.

 

Easier to replace a nut than to mangle shit. For some reason I thought the O² sensor nut was welded on, though, and the sensor threaded into it. I didn't have time to replace my 1st one that went bad in 2019, had the work done by a local mechanic I trust instead. I couldn't beat his pricing on the time vs. money front.

 

The rear sensors have a flange and 2 studs stick off of the exhaust.

 

On the early best gens, I thought it was a stud welded on and then the weird bracket thing got the bolts to hold it down that the sensor threads into. I could be wrong, I’ve got 4 welded bung holes

 

Chopped this fucking thing off with a dremel. What a pain in the ass.

BTW same thing happened on the other side when I wanted to replace it with a new link. Big mistake, should've just left it alone. For all my efforts trying to prevent the Allen key hole from stripping, it stripped super fucking easily. I have it mostly unscrewed but now it's stuck with a stripped Allen hole and I'm just gonna drive it like this for now. Technically the sway bar is attached on both sides.

Pics of chopped one and new install.

 

If you have a good set of pliers you can grab the round 'seat' area that is tightened against the sway bar. Or rip the boot off and grab the ball joint directly with pliers. Then impact the nut the rest of the way off.

Only a good idea since your replacing it anyways.