new suspension problem
 

installed my eibach pro kit and tokico blues this weekend. everything looks great, but one problem. as you can see in the pic below, there is only about 1/8 of an inch clearance between the front sway bar and the steering arm(i think) when the wheels are straight. when turning hard left or hard right they rub and make a horrible sound. i've checked and double checked but can't seem to figure out why. any ideas? do i need longer endlinks? help!

ps - the problem is identical on both sides of the car.

http://www.bryanjd.com/images/swaybar.jpg

If those Tokico's are adjustable... cause I can't remember if the blues are or aren't... you might want to just raise the front end up to help take some of the weight off of the CV joints... I had a friend with a 91 Integra LS that had the same problem with the front sway bars and it almost looks identical to your problem...

This is for everybody... make sure you don't lower any car too much because then you won't be able to get the jack underneath the car to release some of the pressure off of the struts so you can "screw" them up or down... auto shops love to charge a pretty penny to raise a car up on the lift just to adjust struts...

thanks, but they are not adjustable. and if they were, i don't think it would help because these parts would remain in the same position no matter what the ride height.

you have to get the adjustable endlinks from protege5online.com
(by AWR) in order for the fronts to work.

i would suggest not driving it like that if at all possible until
you get the endlinks....they are too short.

damn, that's what i thought. wanted to make sure it wasn't something i did wrong. too bad they don't tell you that when you buy the struts... :wtf:

Are these Mazdaspeed Protege OEM struts? If so, you don't necessarily need the adjustable AWR endlinks- you need some stock endlinks from a mid-2000 or later Protege.

In mid-2000, Mazda moved the endlink mounting tabs on the struts upwards and started using correspondingly longer endlinks. For some reason, the MP3 still used the early short-endlink setup, but Mazda may have moved the mounting tabs upwards to the "normal" 2000.5+ position on the MSP struts. If so, this is a good thing for us 99 Protege owners to know. :)

However, I will say this- DO NOT drive your car this way! You could do serious damage to the steering gear or suspension. If I were you, I would disconnect the front AND rear swaybars until you fix it. If the endlink mounts ARE different, you may also have a TTL link clearance problem in the rear and you haven't noticed it yet. :eek: You need to get some longer endlinks from a 2000.5+ Protege or P5, and a junkyard may be able to hook you up- all non-MP3 models have the correct endlinks.

Good luck! :D

these are the tokico shocks on the MP3, not the MSP. i think you may be right, though. in this pic of the racing beat MP3, the endlinks are definitely longer. they almost look like they would be too long.

http://www.racingbeat.com/Protege/Parts/parts1.jpg

anyone have a pic of the stock front setup on a '99? i put mine in storage, so i'll have to dig them out to compare.

i just checked the rear and there is plenty of clearance, looks the same as stock.

thanks for the info, i never would have known about the change in the 2000.5+ shocks. and you are right, good for all 99 owners to know... wish i had!

ive also hear from mitch that the rear endlinks off of a pro5 may
work for the front. i can't proove it though since i dont have
those shocks.

for the pro5, i believe tokico started making the HR's...but
tokico is yet to get back to me on this one.

i just picked up a pair of '01 front endlinks from a dealer for $50. they are definitely longer and should do the trick.

thanks carguycw :bt:

new endlinks installed
 

the new endlinks are about 3" longer and provide plenty of clearance:

http://www.bryanjd.com/images/newendlink.jpg

thanx to everyone for the help :)

Hey, do you have the part # for the front swaybar endlinks for the 01+ Protege?

no, sorry, threw it out. but i just called the dealer to get it. just make sure it's for an '01 - '03.

Oh ok, I guess that will work too. Thanks anyway..

2001+ Front Swaybar Endlink Part Number
 

Does anyone have this part number? I need these two pieces for my MP3 strut set and the local dealer here didn't give me a part number, only a price, wtf.

BTW - did a search and nothing came up.