[mweisdorfer]

I just installed Whiteline Adjustable Swaybar Endlinks because the Hotchkiss endlinks I had on the car were toast. The rubber boots were ripped, and I was getting a clunking sound from the front.

Preliminaries -

I ordered them from FCP Euro because you get a lifetime warranty. Two years ago I spent $160.00 for the Hotchkiss front and rear set. So, I am not interested in paying for sway bar links again

They were $119.00 plus shipping.

Model Number - KLC 154

Interestingly on FCP's site it DOES NOT list the e90 3-series as a car that these particular endlinks fit. However, on Whiteline's website the e90 3-series is listed as a car that will work.

I believe the length of the OEM links are 11.5". The length of the Whiteline links is 12.5" right out of the box. So, that's probably why FCP doesn't list this endlink as a part that will fit on an e90 3-Series. I think Whiteline is assuming you are buying their product because you have a lowered car. This would make sense because you must add length to the front end links, on a lowered car.

I have the Bilstein B12 lowering kit on my 07' e90.
This set up lowers the front end around 1.25" give or take an 1/8" either way. So, the Whiteline end links being 12.5" right out of the box makes things VERY EASY TO INSTALL.

Process -

Drive the car up on ramps & then put it up higher on jack stands.

I took the Hotchkiss endlinks off. They were oh so fun to get off, after only being on there 2 years and some change. I just Love Michigan winters and frozen bolts, which result because of the 4 seasons we have and the fact that we use salt on our roads, in the winter.

I put the new Whiteline Endlinks on.

You need a small set of vice grips. Like tiny ones. You need these to grab onto the inner bolt, so you can use your ratchet to put the nut on. Otherwise the bolt will just spin and you won't be able to install them. The inner bolt DOES NOT have slots so you can slide a wrench on it.

You need to put a washer for each side, for a total of 8 washers total. Put some anti-seize on the threads of the new nuts, especially if you live in the mid-west or NE part of the county.

Torque down each side to 43#, per Bentley Repair Manual.

You'll need a 17mm & a 15mm socket. Yep, there are two different sizes.

Leave the end nuts loose.

Put the tires back on & lower the car down on the ramps. Torque down the lug bolts to 89#.

Slide under the car. You will need a 18mm & a 16mm in order to tighten down the end nuts.

Before you do that, rotate the orange bar clockwise & counter-clockwise, until you feel no resistance. Then and only then do you tighten down the end nuts.

You can use blue loctite on the end nuts, in order to proactively ensure the end nuts don't come undone. I didn't. The directions Whiteline gave did not mention too, but I have read that people have done so, on this forum. It's not a bad idea really. I will drive the car around for a week and double check the end nuts. If they come loose, I'll apply some blue loctite at that juncture.

Again, because I only had to account for a 1/4" I only needed to basically fine tune the endlinks. Therefore, I wasn't concerned with finding or using ride height.

When rotating the orange bar, in order to find no resistance, that's when you know for sure the swaybar has absolutely no pre-load on it.

[BMSE92_Harry]

So on a lowered car, the adjustable endlink will be longer than stock (11.5)?

Did you install the rear end links as well?

[mweisdorfer]

Originally Posted by BMSE92_Harry

So on a lowered car, the adjustable endlink will be longer than stock (11.5)?

Did you install the rear end links as well?

Yes, you would add to the front end links about as long as the drop is. So, for example if the front has a drop of 1.25", then you would make the adjustable end links about 1.25" longer than 11.5" (12.75").

You fine tune the length by putting the car on ramps so the sway bar sits in its natural position and then crawl under the car and turn the gold rod clockwise & counter-clockwise, until you feel no resistance. At that juncture, you tighten down the end nuts on both ends.

The Whiteline adjustable end links are 12.5" long right out of the box. So, in my case, because the B12 lowering kit drops the front end around 1.25" in the front, I only had to account for .25". This made installing them and fine tuning them really easy.

I had Hotchkiss endlinks in the front and back. I left the Hotchkiss endlinks in the back for now. Whiteline does not list an adjustable endlink for the rear.

I emailed them, but I have yet to hear from them.

In the rear, you'd subtract the drop distance from the length of the OEM link. For example, if the OEM link is 6" and the drop is 1.5", then you need to make the adjustable end link 4.5" for starters.

I will be replacing the Hotchkiss endlinks in the rear, at some point; I am hoping Whiteline gets back with me and gives me part number.

[BMSE92_Harry]

I currently have Hotchkiss in the front for over a years it’s starting to clunk when I back out of the driveway.
I may need to change them out soon.

[mweisdorfer]

Originally Posted by BMSE92_Harry

I currently have Hotchkiss in the front for over a years it’s starting to clunk when I back out of the driveway.
I may need to change them out soon.

Yep, mine were clunking. That's what led me to check them out and I found that the boots were both torn. Go with Whiteline. You can get them at FCP with a lifetime warranty. You won't regret it.

[BMSE92_Harry]

Sounds good. It’s either white line or ground control. I took my hotchkis endlinks out tonight and the top boot is ripped.

[BMSE92_Harry]

I installed them last night, it was a pain as I did not have a thin vice grip, the vice grip that i have is too wide, and there is still a little play.

Unlike the Hotchkis one, you can just hold the bolt down with a wrench. I don't get why there is so many washers as well.

Clunk is gone for now as the Hotchkis one was so worn.

[Daniel08E93]

Great DIY mweisdorfer this will help a lot when I get my car lowered a lot of great information and a great deal on this links especially with that lifetime warranty. I totally forgot to check this out but I'm glad I did because I'm the next month or 2 the car will be lowered so I'm excited to get this done!

[BMSE92_Harry]

Which washers are you end up using?

[mweisdorfer]

Originally Posted by BMSE92_Harry

Which washers are you end up using?

I went with 4 flat ones per side. One inside and one outside. High & low. It doesn't come with that many flat washers, so I reused the washers from my Hotchkiss set up. I wasn't too keen on the other washers. I double checked the tightening bolts after about 300 miles. They are still tight. Blue loctite isn't necessary.

[gjm120]

Does Whiteline make adjustable endlinks for the front? I couldn't find any in their catalog.

[BMSE92_Harry]

Ok, so you didn’t use any of the washer with a lip?
They sent 12 washers total.

[mweisdorfer]

Originally Posted by BMSE92_Harry

Ok, so you didn’t use any of the washer with a lip?
They sent 12 washers total.

Correct. I used flat washers only.

Matt

[gjm120]

From the advice on this thread I got a pair of the front Whiteline endlinks.

You do not need a thin vise grip to tighten them - there is a 5mm hex in the end of the rods.

[mweisdorfer]

Originally Posted by gjm120

From the advice on this thread I got a pair of the front Whiteline endlinks.

You do not need a thin vise grip to tighten them - there is a 5mm hex in the end of the rods.

I used a wrench.

[sonicnofadz]

I know this thread is super old (5 years), but just wanted to say THANKS A MILLION because I installed the whitelines on my e90 335i and it made a world of difference. My car was lowered on eibach springs + koni yellow's, had brand new M control arms + meyle HD tie rods, so front end suspension was completely 100% new, except the stock sway bar end links. I noticed the steering was now much stiffer compared to the factory suspension (to the point the power steering was sometimes whining when turning in parking lots), and the suspension felt very stiff going over bumps, and when cornering the front end would push (understeer) quite a bit. Worst of all, the steering now has NO feedback whatsoever, I couldn't feel what the front wheels were doing, it felt completely and utterly "numb" almost like the car had electric power steering. After reading a lot of posts about sway bar preload on lowered E90's (including this post) I was convinced my car's front suspension was binding due to too much bar preload. After installing these whitelines (I just went with the min length, which is about 1" longer than factory) while the car was on ramps (at ride height), there was zero preload on the front sway bar. The car now feels amazing, the steering feels like stock again, no more heavy steering input required, no more powersteering whining, no more noises going over bumps, the front feels much more "compliant" going over bumps/potholes, I can feel every little road imperfection through the steering wheel, and the front end doesn't understeer through the corners. All with just 1" longer sway bar links!! I was honestly dumbfounded by the difference this simple part made to the car. I am very surprised by this, it doesn't seem like this is a popular modification, there seems to be a lot of people with stock length links on lowered e9x,f3x,f8x etc....

[Shoooter_j]

Originally Posted by mweisdorfer

Yes, you would add to the front end links about as long as the drop is. So, for example if the front has a drop of 1.25", then you would make the adjustable end links about 1.25" longer than 11.5" (12.75").

You fine tune the length by putting the car on ramps so the sway bar sits in its natural position and then crawl under the car and turn the gold rod clockwise & counter-clockwise, until you feel no resistance. At that juncture, you tighten down the end nuts on both ends.

The Whiteline adjustable end links are 12.5" long right out of the box. So, in my case, because the B12 lowering kit drops the front end around 1.25" in the front, I only had to account for .25". This made installing them and fine tuning them really easy.

I had Hotchkiss endlinks in the front and back. I left the Hotchkiss endlinks in the back for now. Whiteline does not list an adjustable endlink for the rear.

I emailed them, but I have yet to hear from them.

In the rear, you'd subtract the drop distance from the length of the OEM link. For example, if the OEM link is 6" and the drop is 1.5", then you need to make the adjustable end link 4.5" for starters.

I will be replacing the Hotchkiss endlinks in the rear, at some point; I am hoping Whiteline gets back with me and gives me part number.

This thread has convinced me that I need to look into these, thanks all!

Did you ever hear back on Whiteline for the rears? (Guessing no since I couldn’t find them on their site yesterday). If you still have the Hotchkis rears on, how are they still holding up?