Replacing Rear Sway Bar Links on a 1999-2002 Mercury Cougar

There was a clunking sound coming from the back when the car would hit a bump, especially when one side ran over the bump. Looking at the suspension, I found that one of the rubber bushings on the sway bar link had come apart. So I decided to replace the entire link on both sides.

To take the link off, all you need to do is remove the nut on the bottom side, then remove the nut and bolt on the top side. Pull the link upwards out of the lower control arm. Then remove the bushing (or what's left of it). If the bushing is still intact, you can tear it out with pliers.

Installation isn't too difficult if you spray WD40 on the bushing before installing it on the lower control arm. Without some kind of lubrication, it won't go in. Push the bushing in until it's in the middle slot, as shown here. It will take some strength, but can be done by hand.

Lower control arm with stabilizer bushing installed

Then when you install the sway bar link, the bushing is locked in place and won't move. Tighten the top nut and bolt first, then tighten the bottom nut until it's tight. The nut will stop on the metal. The bushing will be squeezed while you're tightening it. Here's what it looks like with the new link.

New Mevotech MK80458 rear stabilizer link installed

Now it rides so much nicer without clunking over bumps.

Update 
15 August 2015 (ten months later)

The Mevotech sway bar bushings are already worn out. The rubber was too soft. The replacement bushings were less than six dollars, so I'm not going to bother to warranty these.

Mevotech sway bar bushings after 10 months of use

I replaced them with AC Delco part number 45G0103. These have much harder rubber, and were more difficult to install. So I used a long 8 mm bolt to compress it while poking it from the side with a screwdriver.

Here's a picture of the setup. I used large fender washers on the top and bottom of the bolt.

Installing stiffer bushings

Being basic black, the new bushings aren't as pretty as the blue ones, but they will work better being harder.