Sway bar link Allen key size

I need to know what size the Allen key is that holds the bolt steady while I remove the nut on the sway bar links. Please and thank you for your help.

 

6mm

 

Thank you!

 

Starts as a 6, then gets rounded out so a 7 or 8 could fit. Then when those strip, vise grips on the back and impact that nut off. Then get pissed, rip the boot and go buy a new one.

 

Broke one side loose, can't get the other side to budge even after I hit it with penetrating oil

 

Cleaning the hole out with a pointy pick can help you seat the hex key all the way in so it's less likely to strip.

 

Vice grips over the boot to clamp on the shaft while you zip the nut off with an impact.

 

Got both off eventually. I had better luck with a T40 bit because the holes were so rusted. A whole lot of pb blaster and using vice grips on the back in the end is what worked. Those boots are more rigid than they look, I had to crank the vice grip down pretty hard to get it to tear the boot and engage the bolt.

 

Once you remove the bolts, keep going until the entire sway bar set up is gone.
Just my .02.

 

Sadly the front left link I had purchased is the wrong one and stores were already closed when I realized it... off to the store tomorrow to hopefully find the right o

 

Not doing any serious off-roading, just gravel roads and the like so I’ll keep the sway bar on.

 

Wasting your time , efforts and money. A Ferrari it's not.

Good luck.

 

I'm not sure what size allen key I used, but it was long and thin, with a bunch of teeth on one side.

 

How does keeping the vehicle in its stock configuration equate wasting time, effort and money? I’m not an off-roader, this is my everyday vehicle and it is a valuable experience to me to learn how to work on it myself and in the process learn more about the truck and how it works. If the way I work on my vehicle isn’t the way you would work on yours, good for you!

 

Taking a guess at what @Ritchie meant -

If you keep the sway bar on, or even bother with things such as new sway bar bushings or end links, it'll be a moot point. It won't make much of a difference because our trucks don't handle "much better" leaving the sway bar on, and you gain more by taking it off.

Again, just a guess.

 

The only thing you gain from removing the swaybar is wheel articulation, but at the expense of increased body roll in corners. Doesn't sound like that's what the OP needs since he's not going off road much, if at all. As a daily driver, it seems kind of absurd to purposefully make it handle worse than it already does.

The $20 or so for some new links is kind of a no brainer, really.

And this is from someone who removed their swaybar entirely. I have Kings, and even with those expensive shocks there's still a decent amount of body roll, and it pretty much handles "like shit" on curves. Something I'm willing to live with because generally the only road time it gets is on the way to the trailhead. But with stock shocks, or 5100s and a swaybar, it handled much better.

 

Oh I know that and I didn't suggest that the OP remove his sway bar; I was more or less "translating" what the other member said.

Have to have thick skin and read between the lines on this fourm.

 

I wasn't directing the comment at you per say. I would guess your translation to be correct, too. Just adding my piece to the topic.

Ritchie seems to think dealing with swaybars is a waste of time. Even I, someone who took his swaybar off, disagrees with that notion.

 

I am only looking to replace the pats are getting old and worn out. I’m not trying to make it handle better and/or differently just getting it back to spec. One of my links was worn out and loose and making a popping noise whenever the sway bar was actuated. New links solved that problem so mission accomplished! I understand where people are coming from when they suggest removing the sway bar; a majority of people on this forum take their trucks off-road. Since I don’t and opt to leave the sway bar in, because it makes more sense to if I’m not off-roading, I just don’t understand how that means I’m wasting time, money and effort. Not everyone has a Tacoma to go off-road!

Regardless, my question was answered, problem was solved and my truck now is back to working order, as far as the sway bar/links are concerned. Thank you!