2013 F53 CHF done w/ Hellwig adjustable links

[SLOweather]

I spent the last 3 afternoons under my Sunstar doing the CHF.


Well, not so "C"hf as in Cheap. I've looked at my front links a lot and just could not see how the stock links were going to work. There would be almost no angle between the link and the sway bar. Based on a post on the Winnieowners forum, I ordered a set of Hellwig 11"-14" adjustable links from Summit Racing. $111 or so.



The nuts are very tight, and room in the front is limited, so it took some finagling to get everything loose or removed. 2 nuts on each side are difficult to see, and only a combination wrench would fit, blind.




(You probably don't want to know what I cobbled together for a ratchet cheater...)





My F53 chassis is metric. The Hellwig hardware is inch. So, I had to press the new bushings into the eyes with my machinist's vise, and then press out the old sleeves and press them into the new bushings.


After a trial fit, the new polyurethane bushings were too fat, wider than the sleeve and the frame mounted bracket, so I ground them down with a belt sander until they fit. Then I adjusted them to length to keep the sway bar at the same angle with respect to the frame. Another possibility would be to match the angle of the link to the sway bar with the stock link's angle.


The front took 2 afternoons, with copious rest and thinkin' breaks. The rear went faster. More room, so I could use an impact wrench. I used the stock links, so I had to loosen the sway bar brackets to adjust the angle a little bit. It took maybe an hour, hour and a half with breaks.


Sorry, no test drive feedback yet. I still have the dash cowl off for another project.

[Matt A]

Three days, are you me?!

Do you have any photos of the hellwigs?

[HarryStone]

Hope you used blue locktite. How did your sway bushings look?

[Fiesta48]

I did the same on my 11 Bounder. But no problems. On my 05 Fiesta I did not use the Hellwigs. 3 hours on each.

[DFord]

After I did the CHF, I tore up the OEM bushings and replaced the with the blue poly bushings. No problem since then. I reused the old links. I bought the adjustable links for a previous V-10 F53 but ended up adjusting them so close the length of the originals, I didn't use them. It made a HUGE difference in the ride. Before the fix, I felt like I'd tip over going around a curve. Afterwards, it hugged the road like a race car.

[jtvacc]

I also used the Hellwig links to do the CHF on my 2001 18k f53. I measured the distance from the center of the top bolt on the original link to the center of the inside bolt on the sway bar It was 11 5/8. Original link was 9 3/4. I also measured the original link, it was at 90 degrees, when I installed the Hellwig link it was at 80 degrees. I also did not use the Z bracket on the sway bar end, looked to me it would be not enough clearance with the new link when the suspension traveled up and down. Hope this helps.

[Jyrocharlie]

The bolts with the extensions are
std. the bolts on the RV are metric, if you use the new sleeves and bushing, use the metric bolts. I ground mine to fit the brackets.