Whiteline

[93forestpearl]

So I'm buttoning up my front suspension, and I needed to lube my ALKs. They were a nightmare to get off, and the pins didn't come off at all. The long and short of it is Whiteline uses some seriously crappy steel. The pins are rusted on, and they left all kinds of crud stuck to the insides of bushings themselves. I didn't know better when I put them on three years ago, but they did not come lubricated. I should have pulled them apart and lubed them.


The bushings are made by SuperPro, which was evident from the unique crosshatch pattern on the inside. I used some silicone grease I had left over from my Energy Suspension kit, and now they are decent.


Anyways, if you live in a salt state and plan on using anything from Whiteline that is made of steel, be aware that it will rust like crazy compared to an OEM part.

[kimokalihi]

I just installed a brand new whiteline rear adjustable swaybar on my car and I will add that the kit was missing 2 washers and the bolts that those wasers go on that bolt the endlink to the swaybar are too short. They should be about another 1/4" longer. May not seem like a big deal but the nuts are those locknuts with nylon in the ends to hold the nuts in place but the bolt is so short it doesn't even extend far enough through the nut for the nylon to grab the threads and hold it from coming off. The only thing you can do at this point is tighten the nut down so tight that it squeezes the bushings out by compressing them too much. In the instructions it clearly states that you should be carefuly NOT to do this as it preloads the bushings and will cause premature failure. It says to tighten them until the washer stops spinning and then tighten it 2/3 of a turn more. Yeah right, like 4 turns more.

So I will be removing the bolts, taking them to valley nut and bolt or tacoma screw and buying longer bolts.

[Legacy777]

Dan,

Yeah, I'm not overly impressed with WL's stuff. They supposedly went to better coatings (gray vs. the old light blue) for better corrosion resistance, but I don't really have much issues with my stuff here in Houston.

[93forestpearl]

I'm sure they don't have much of an issue in Australia either. Anywhere with salt has been an issue though. Up here can call them "Rustline."

[kimokalihi]

When I replace my bolts in the endlinks, what kind of metal should I go for so it doesn't rust? Stainless? Or aluminum. Or something else? I really like the OEM bolts that are used on subarus. They're kind of a dark army greenish color and they never rust and last forever. They're really strong as well and just top notch quality. I wish I could buy those kind of bolts.

[Legacy777]

Stainless or zinc coated steel if you don't want to spend the money for stainless.

[evolutionmovement]

Yeah, you don't want aluminum. Another thing you could do is spray all the metal with zinc to give it even longer. I noticed the other day that Autozone was selling it now.

[93forestpearl]

Stainless won't rust, but the threads eventually gall up.


I recommend using a flange bolt of some sort. They typically have a black finish, and are harder than grade 8 bolts.