GON
$150 Site Donor 2025
This is the set I purchased off of Amazon..not heavy duty but worked well.
On a side note, the Moog sway bar links have grease fittings. I am a fan of that.
Thoughts on Clamshell-Style Strut Spring Compressor from Harbor Freight
- Thread starter GON
- Start date
On a side note, the Moog sway bar links have grease fittings. I am a fan of that.
I will check out that set on Amazon as it appears to have a wide assortment of metric and SAE sizes.
I also prefer grease fittings on suspension parts; however, we appear to be a minority on BITOG. I have found the Moog sway bar links to be thicker and sturdier (in appearance) than the Honda OEM parts. The only issue I have run into with Moog SBLs is that you sometimes have to use a 45 or 90 degrees angled Zerk fitting instead of a straight Zerk due to clearance issues on certain Hondas.
I went a little over 168,000 before I replaced the struts and shocks on my Rav4. I could really notice it was handling wonky by then.
My friend bought one, and 3 people tried to make it work. it was not big enough or wouldn't compress enough. Some old hook screw types were used, and they worked, scary as hell, but the job was done. We almost bought this but decided we were never going to use it enough. The price isn't that bad, at $400 Cal Van Floor Mounted Strut Compressor.
I think that might be the one Carlyle rebadges, too
GON
$150 Site Donor 2025
Update primarily for @Nukeman7.
Installed the Moog driver side sway bar link earlier today.
A few notes. The lower OEM portion of the link is more difficult to remove, as the axle boot is in the way. There was not room to get a ratchet on the#6 hex head. I used a little wrench on the #6 hex head and it worked. This is a very tight fit, subject to corrosion. I pb blasted the assembly the day prior. I also chased the threads. Had I not done those to things, I can see this job going south in a bad way.
The Moog arm went in well. Only issue, five miles into the test drive, when making a left turn onto a highway, a huge clunk was heard from the area I worked on. I did a visual inspection and could not identify what happened. I suspect some torque gave way from the sway arm, but very weird. I drove another 20 miles and no issues.
No issues with grease gun getting to the zero fittings.
Installed the Moog driver side sway bar link earlier today.
A few notes. The lower OEM portion of the link is more difficult to remove, as the axle boot is in the way. There was not room to get a ratchet on the#6 hex head. I used a little wrench on the #6 hex head and it worked. This is a very tight fit, subject to corrosion. I pb blasted the assembly the day prior. I also chased the threads. Had I not done those to things, I can see this job going south in a bad way.
The Moog arm went in well. Only issue, five miles into the test drive, when making a left turn onto a highway, a huge clunk was heard from the area I worked on. I did a visual inspection and could not identify what happened. I suspect some torque gave way from the sway arm, but very weird. I drove another 20 miles and no issues.
No issues with grease gun getting to the zero fittings.
That was a smart move to use the small wrench on the 6mm hex head. I will remember to chase the threads with a 12mm die the next time I replace any SBLs.
That is unusual. I've never experienced anything similar when replacing the SBLs with Moog units. However, if both ends of the SBL are tightened without partial loading on the suspension, the studs can be cocked slightly askew (i.e., not perpendicular with the holes) and not seat perfectly. You might want to partially unload the suspension and re-torque both nuts to spec.
Moog is somewhat inconsistent with the placement of the ports for their Zerk fittings relative to a specific vehicle platform. Sometimes they are perfectly positioned for servicing like on your RDX. Other times they are tapped in the most illogical location like on top of the Moog Problem Solver ball joint on my Honda Element...which completely prevents the installation of the CV axle.
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