Just got my leveling kit from Northridge4x4.ca.

Everything looks great, except that the zerks in the swaybar links are hand-tight, and when I tighten them in all the way (by hand... no tools) they dig deep into the rubber bushing.

I have to loosen them off a lot before the rubber bushing inside has free movement, so loose that the zerk itself would likely fall out.

Does anyone else have this problem? Should I use a dremel tool and cut the zerk threads shorter?

If I remove the zerk entirely, I can see a small circle etched into the rubber bushing from when it was tightened.

 

well that's lame. in addition to grease not being able to get up into the bushing, i would imagine that the zerk would grind into it as well. yeah, i would try to grind the end of the zerk down a bit to help give it a bit more clearance.

 

I will talk to production/R&D about this. I'll find a set of those links and check the zerts on them.

 

i had the same issue. we ended up losing 2 zerks.

 

Thanks for looking into this TF

Here are some pics for comparison.

Note that on the last pic, the zerk appears to be almost "proper" length, however the steel is concave, so it is indeed far too long.

 

looks like you could easily grind the end down without damaging the threads, as a last resort.

 

In a pinch, you could just hold it lightly with a vice-grip and run some 100 grit sandpaper across them a few times... brass will sand down pretty quick. Pump a bit of grease through them before reinstalling to get any shavings out.

 

Great pics! Maybe a small washer to space out a little?

 

So are they all going to be like this? I wonder if I should check, hmmmmm.

 

I also had the same issue when I installed mine last year. I just loosened them a little bit. I haven't greased them lately but I suspect they'll be missing and I'll have to buy some new ones.

I didn't even think of using a small washer