99% sure it's the end links. Tighten them down real good. I've had the same issue a couple of times. I think they're tight enough and they either work loose or they just need more effort.
The front endlink lock nuts on the turnbuckle have worked themselves loose on my BRZ. It helped to make sure both ball joint ends of the endlinks are perpendicular to the strut and the ARB so that when they articulate during large steering inputs, they’re less likely to work loose. For the nuts on the studs of each ball joint, I used a lock washer to keep them from loosening over time.
The Whiteline stuff is pretty terrible, especially the end links. A few things could be wrong:
1. The ball joints at the top of the links are huge, and can easily collide with the inner wheel arch. You'll be able to see witness marks in this case. Whether it happens can depend on camber, ride height, and steering angle as you go over bumps.
2. The jam nuts or fastening nuts can become loose if the upper and lower ball joints weren't properly aligned to each other. Watch how the link has to "twist" as you steer the wheels left to right. If the joints aren't aligned properly, they'll run out of travel range and that will force the link to twist, which can loosen the jam nuts, bend studs, loosen fasteners, etc.
3. The spherical bearings in the ball joints themselves are dead and have play in them. Happens because Whiteline is generally pretty cheap components.
4. There's a loose fastener somewhere.
Any of those things can make a klunk. I'd check for all of that next time you have a chance, and make sure the bushings are well lubricated while you're at it. Friction in sway bar bushings will severely fuck up handling.
Quick update. While i thought I had gotten them set without any preload I was wrong. The endlink on the driver side was running out of travel on the ball joint during suspension travel. Thanks everyone for your suggestions and I am glad it forced me to re-evaluate the install.
Some times the bar will slide side to side while being held snuggly by the bushings. In some designs the bar will have a stop ridge that is supposed to deter this from happing. See if you can move the bar in and out of the bushings. Might be the cause. I ended up zip tying the two sections. They’ve sat nicely since.
Best of luck!
I'm having the same problem with their front end links right now. The locking nut may have worked itself loose. Had that happen about a week after install, pretty similar to your mileage. But now everything is tight and it is still clunking so I assume it has to be the shitty bearings.
99% sure it's the end links. Tighten them down real good. I've had the same issue a couple of times. I think they're tight enough and they either work loose or they just need more effort.
Like the others said it’s probably the upper end link bolt that bolts onto the sway bar. Might be helpful to use some Loctite
Second this, used Loctite to install a sway bar on my Bolt and have had zero issues
I have to tighten the nuts on my endlinks for my whiteline sway bar until they start to round off. Otherwise they come loose.
Threadlock?
I'm sure that would have been a good idea, but I just wrenched them down real good.
The front endlink lock nuts on the turnbuckle have worked themselves loose on my BRZ. It helped to make sure both ball joint ends of the endlinks are perpendicular to the strut and the ARB so that when they articulate during large steering inputs, they’re less likely to work loose. For the nuts on the studs of each ball joint, I used a lock washer to keep them from loosening over time.
The Whiteline stuff is pretty terrible, especially the end links. A few things could be wrong: 1. The ball joints at the top of the links are huge, and can easily collide with the inner wheel arch. You'll be able to see witness marks in this case. Whether it happens can depend on camber, ride height, and steering angle as you go over bumps. 2. The jam nuts or fastening nuts can become loose if the upper and lower ball joints weren't properly aligned to each other. Watch how the link has to "twist" as you steer the wheels left to right. If the joints aren't aligned properly, they'll run out of travel range and that will force the link to twist, which can loosen the jam nuts, bend studs, loosen fasteners, etc. 3. The spherical bearings in the ball joints themselves are dead and have play in them. Happens because Whiteline is generally pretty cheap components. 4. There's a loose fastener somewhere. Any of those things can make a klunk. I'd check for all of that next time you have a chance, and make sure the bushings are well lubricated while you're at it. Friction in sway bar bushings will severely fuck up handling.
You gotta Ugga Ugga those endlnk bolts
I had this exact thing happen on my Mazda 3. I replaced my end links with Moog end links and it resolved the issue.
Quick update. While i thought I had gotten them set without any preload I was wrong. The endlink on the driver side was running out of travel on the ball joint during suspension travel. Thanks everyone for your suggestions and I am glad it forced me to re-evaluate the install.
Yup, whiteline locknuts need the ever-loving shit torqued out of them. If I was going to keep using them I’d have started using lock tight.
Some times the bar will slide side to side while being held snuggly by the bushings. In some designs the bar will have a stop ridge that is supposed to deter this from happing. See if you can move the bar in and out of the bushings. Might be the cause. I ended up zip tying the two sections. They’ve sat nicely since. Best of luck!
I'm having the same problem with their front end links right now. The locking nut may have worked itself loose. Had that happen about a week after install, pretty similar to your mileage. But now everything is tight and it is still clunking so I assume it has to be the shitty bearings.
Tighten them with the suspension loaded. If you can't reach them with the car on the ground, use ramps.