Appreciate all the feedback I received from my earlier post. Thought I would
share my experience replacing the left front stabilizer link on my 81
Vanagon:

Refer to the Bentley section on Front Wheel Suspension (page 40.2 in my
book) for an illustration.

INGREDIENTS
2 Washers (251-411-043)
1 Nut (N-011-010-11)
1 Spacer Sleeve (251-411-047)
2 Bushings, Strut bar (251-411-039)
1 Bushing, Stabilizer bar (251-411-045)
1 Stabilizer link (251-411-051)

UTENSILS
Socket wrench
16mm socket (for the nut)
17mm socket (for my gear puller tool)
Gear puller
Torque wrench
Knife (sharp)
Screwdriver, Flat blade
Dishwashing liquid
Penetrating oil
Spare car jack (I used the one in the trunk of my Jetta)

RECIPE
A. Jack-up Vanagon and remove wheel.
B. Remove old stab link parts: Use the gear puller to easily remove the old
stab link. Cut old bushing off with sharp knife. Use flat blade screwdriver
to pry-off upper strut bar bushing. Squeeze some penetrating oil in there to
loosen things up a bit. Use the gear puller to force-out the old lower
bushing and spacer sleeve.
C. Attach the new stab link: Soap-up the new stabilizer bar bushing, and
twist it into the new stab link. Slide the upper strut bar washer and
bushing onto the new stab link, and place the threaded end of the stab link
in the strut bar hole. Soap-up the end of the stabilizer bar real good, and
the stabilizer bar bushing, and push the new stab link onto the end of the
stabilizer bar (this requires some effort).
D. Fasten it all together: Take your spare car jack, and jack-up the lower
control arm to compress the suspension a bit. This will enable the threaded
end of the new stab link to protrude through the hole in the strut bar. Be
real careful when working with suspension components under tension! Slide
the spacer sleeve, bushing and washer onto the protruding threads of the new
stab link, and fasten it all together with the nut. Torque this nut to 30Nm
per Bentley. Slowly release the tension from the suspension components by
backing-off your handy-dandy spare jack, ensuring that your new stab link
parts are seated properly. Now remove this spare jack from under your
Vanagon!
E. Reinstall your wheel, jack-it all down, and go for a test drive.

The entire process cost me about $100 (not including the cost of my tools
and consumables), and took me about 1.5 hours to complete. If the other side
breaks, I figure it should take me no more than an hour to do the job. Hope
this is useful for someone else on the list.

CHRIS HIGGINS
chiggins@bellatlantic.net
'81 Vanagon L