I must have been lucky, then. I stuck a wrench on the upper nut to wedge it against something nearby -- I forget what -- and when I turned the lower bolt head with a big-a** -- um, large-butted socket wrench handle, it sheared the old link bolt, right underneath the nut. Got both old ones out this way.

Another thing you might try if you don't have a torch handy (although hey, you can get a basic BernzOmatic at Wal-Mart for something like $12) is to drill a hole in the old bolt head, end on, then keeping drilling a larger and larger hole until the bolt head isn't there anymore. I haven't tried this technique on link bolts but I used to do it on the top nuts of front shocks when I couldn't get a good angle on them any other way. (I know, you can wiggle those with a deep socket to break them, too...)

Or simply use a reciprocating saw, and enter the bolt through one of the old bushings. I almost did this on the passenger side, after battling the driver'* side. Andy, I had your shear idea in mind when I did this, but couldn't find a 15mm nut anyhwhere.

???

It'* the nut on the upper end of the link bolt -- not sure if it was 15mm now, but something like that. The washers compressing the bushings allow the nut to be recessed a little, so it might be hard to find (especially if some gorilla overtightened them at some point in the past, or if the whole bolt is now seriously rusted) but it'* up there.

You get new bushings and spacers with the link bolts anyway, so however you can cut the old bolts will work for you...

Some misc pics while beating up my knuckles (also installed a crossover pipe heat shield, new plugs/wires, a cheap do-it-yourself ceramic coat on the ADTR intake, and repainted my strut bar):

This is the 'Zilla prepped for surgery (after doing a few other jobs):


Old stabilizer frame bushing (driver'* side) and old endlink assembly. You can see the CAI in the background (pay no attention to the bottle:


New Energy Suspension polyurethane endlink installed on the driver'* side:


Location of the (removed) stab-frame bushing on the driver'* side:


This is the new Energy Suspension Stab-frame bushing. It WILL NOT work on our cars, as the subframe crossmember has a step in it. Not a flat mounting location. I cleaned and greased the old bushings/clamps and re-installed them. The rubber was in good condition:


You can see the passenger side bushing/clamp at the bottom center of this pic. Loosen the bolts on the clamp at least 1/4" each to aid in installing the endlinks. This will allow you to simply push up on the stabilizer bar to gain enough clearance on the endlinks:


Similar shot as the one above. Sorry. Too many beers while doing this:


Better view of the passenger side bushing. Two 15mm bolts to loosen it:


Passenger side endlink before replacing. Use a 13 mm wrench and socket to remove. Energy Suspension replacement endlinks are 9/16".


All in all, it would have been a much simpler job had I NOT removed the frame bushings and clamps, but I'm glad I was able to clean them up and re-grease them at least.

No more suspension noises on rough roads, and the suspension response is firmer all around, not just in cornering. Much quieter, firmer ride. Well worth the time spent. This is only a 2 hour job taking your time.

i used a impact to take mine off which the twisted and snapped then i used a air chisel to ge them out

If you look at the pic below, my endlink assemblies are completely different. The driver side one has black rubber (or something like rubber) in the middle, while the passenger side is all metal in the middle. Plus the sizes of each are different. Just look at each carefully.

I noticed this last year when painting my calipers, but didn't know what these parts were called technically speaking. I know my struts need replacing probably wheel bearings, but these things should be done too. I get A LOT of rattling when driving over bumps and things. I really want my car to ride like new again. :(

Yup yup, you've got one of GM'* one-size-fits-all replacements (rubber with a plastic spacer). On the other side is the original polyurethane link that comes standard on the SSE/SSEi.

I just had two of the rubber ones taken out, and polyurethane ones put back in.

When I replaced the originals three years ago, that'* all GM had for sale, so I assumed the rubber ones were the right ones...

I couldn't have found this thread at a better time. Thanks Bill!! Saved me money I'm sure. I will head to Autozone and find these Energy Suspension endlinks. I hope it isn't a huge struggle to get the old ones off. But for under $30 I don't care if it is.

Thanks Bill and all you gearheads! This has been a big help!

When you get to AZ, just turn your steering wheel all the way to the right, and go in. You can bring out a couple endlink kits and compare them for length. You can't miss

Yeesh. That'* a ridiculous "repair" on somebody'* part. You're supposed to replace them in pairs to balance the load; I can't imagine that that mismatched set had anywhere near the same compliance on both sides.