Kartboy front endlink install! Aluminum means lightweight right?!
If you have upgraded your swaybars or lifted your Subaru and found your endlinks aren’t too happy with their new forces, angles and parts being added around them. I tested shorter adjustable and didn’t find them lasting any longer., then I tried another set of Oem style.. which also didn’t last long. Well it’s time to find a suitable replacement and that can be the Kartboy aluminum front end links.
Old versus new… which are you choosing?
When I upgraded my Sti sway bars I found his drop links to be the answer for the auto-x course. Then when I lifted my Forester I tested and tried many options sphereical bearings, adjustable and oem before finally coming back to Kartboy which ended all my end link woes. These appear to be the swiss army knife of the Subaru community being excellent on your stock, lifted or lowered Subaru.
Time frame
For the front endlinks you should be looking at less than an hour determined by rust and your tools at hand. An extremely rusty stud and nut can take extra time if you don’t have a tool to cut them off with.
Tools
The tools for the removal of the factory links will be a 14mm socket/ratchet or wrench. Then a 5mm allen key to hold ball joint from spinning and if that doesn’t work a nice set of pliers or vice grips can hold it in place.
Allen socket set makes this job that much easier. 13 Piece Hex Bit Socket Set
The installation of the Kartboy links will be 17mm wrench/socket and ratchet. Gearwrench ratcheting wrenches
If you find your links rusted and unable to be removed by hand tools, I always step to my trusty spinning wheel of death or cutoff wheel. When you drive in the snow and salt this is pretty much a necessary item.
Parts
Well this should be pretty obvious but were going to need some Kartboy endlinks! I would highly recommend his aluminum spacer kit to help you line everything up. Otherwise you can use a few washers for the same result.
Kartboy Sedan endlinks. Don’t let the name fool you, these will get the job done.
These are Kartboy’s aluminum spacers that I used. I only needed to use one per side, the lift on the Forester causes a bit of angular deflection that needed to be remedied.
Installation
If you have a lifted vehicle this can be easily done with all four wheels on the ground. If not the best way to tackle this is with the wheels on lift ramps to allow you to tighten the links down with the suspension loaded. If neither of these options work for you, you can just lift your vehicle and support it with jack stands. Later we will look into your options for proper torquing of your new links.
The Forester awaits it’s new parts!
Next up we will locate our first victim/ end link. My first step is to always try and loosen them with just a wrench on the nut. This can give you an idea of what difficulties await you. If it breaks free easily you can see how long the nut will spin off time it sticks in the threads.
Sometimes all it takes is a wrench and a good amount of force. But you will likely be using an allen wrench inside the link while holding it still with the wrench.
When that starts it is time to use the allen key and ratcheting wrench. Hopefully your threads are pretty clear of rust and they are easily removed with this method. Otherwise you may need to step to a cutoff wheel to finish the removal process.
Both nuts removed and ready for removal.
Having the old link removed you can start to situate your Kartboy links into place. Determined by your setup you may need to use spacers to attach them as straight up and down as you can. I always use a supplied washers on the nut and bolt side just my personal preference.
For my lifted setup this seems to work the best. One spacer on the outside of the swaybar.
If you are flat on the ground you can now go ahead and torque them down, if you are on jack stands you need to place the jack under your control arm and lift it up to simulate it being flat on the ground aka loaded suspension. This keeps the bushings from being preloaded and causing accelerated wear and not allowing the end link to work it’s highest capabilities.
You can now tackle the other side in the same manner. Once both sides are torqued down you can turn the wheels side to side to make sure nothing is binding or contacting. Then we can set off a short test drive to make sure everything is working as it should.
Just a little product testing! These bushings can take a beating.
Congratz! Your super lightweight but durable end links should now shave a maximum second off your quarter mile time! But with the high likely hood of not doing that. Your sway bars on the other hand will thank you for the new additions that help keep you glued to the road. Enjoy your next winding road, track day or auto-x event!