Repair Lane

Sway Bar Link Replacement

Replacement of a worn sway bar end link — one of the most common causes of front-end clunking, and one of the cheapest fixes.

Difficulty: easy~0.51 hrsAbout an hour
Estimated total
$85–265
Parts$25–90
Labor$60–175
Labor time0.51 hrs
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What's involved

What this repair actually is.

Sway bar links connect the sway bar to the suspension and keep the body flat in corners. Their small ball joints wear out and start knocking over every bump. We replace the worn link with a new one and torque it to spec — a quick job on most vehicles, though rusted links sometimes need to be cut off.

Symptoms

How you can tell.

  • Rattling or clunking over small bumps
  • Knocking sound from one corner on rough roads
  • Sloppy or vague feeling when cornering
  • Noise goes away briefly after hitting a big bump
If you delay

A worn link only gets louder, and if it separates completely the sway bar stops working and the vehicle leans noticeably harder in turns.

Educational estimate. Real pricing depends on your vehicle, the inspection, parts availability, taxes, and shop rates. Use this as a guide while you shop quotes.
Related

Often done together.