Reido Posted September 18, 2004 Share Posted September 18, 2004 Alright I've been fiddling around with this for a while and I think I got it to a form I am happy with, so it is time to share. This is a homemade suspension mod. so dont do it if you aren't comfortable with it (read: don't blame me ) But it isn't a real critical part and I have faith in it. You will need: 2 Grade 8 3/8" bolts 7" long 2 Wing nuts 3/8" 4 Grade 8 nuts or 2 Nylock (your choice) 3/8" 2 Nylock nuts 3/8" Dye to match the bolts (standard thread count seems to be 16) Grinder Wheel Original Sway bar Equip. Ok first thing is to take apart the original sway bar link setup. You will only need the rubber doughnuts and washers but keep the rest in because you can always switch back to the original setup if you would like. Next grind the bolt starting from where the original threads end (or 1 and 3/8" from the end of the bolt) towards the head of the bolt for 2" to start with. Grind it as much as the threads are deep so if you were to put a nut at the bottom of the threads it would be able to slide up and down the section you just ground down. Starting from where you finished grinding use your tap to thread the bolt up to at least an 1.5" from the head of the bolt. And be sure your threads on the dye match the bolt... they may look close enough but trust me they are not Two of the doughnuts on each side should be ground down into a cone shape on one side to reduce the force put on the bolt when the links are connected and the suspension is compressed or at droop. Now to put it all together. The bolt goes head side down through the LCA. The stack of all the equipment will go like this from bottom to top: bolt head, washer, rubber doughnut (unmodified), LCA, rubber doughnut (unmod), washer, nylock nut, washer, modified rubber doughnut (coned side towards sway bar), sway bar, modified rubber doughnut (coned side towards sway bar), washer, wingnut, space, two nuts (one as a jamnut) or one nylock (if you are comfortable with that). Finished product minus top nuts. The nylock just after the LCA shouldn't be all that tight. The tighter it gets the less the link will be able to flex around which means more wear on the swaybar / bolt and threads. Not to mention a loss of suspension flex when disconnected. The wingnut should be nearly as tight as you can get it and this nut should be checked a couple of times a week as it does slowly loosen and the rubber compresses. Thats all there is to it. Your new swaybar links are disconnected by loosening the wingnut and tightning it down on the opposite threads. You will notice that later on there are a lot more threads you could grind off because the rubber compresses and the 2" mentioned earlier is just to make sure you dont get to carried away and ruin the bolt. I've been thinking of ways to increase the travel on these and I got a few ideas; let me know if you have ideas too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reido Posted September 18, 2004 Author Share Posted September 18, 2004 While I'm posting pics heres another homemade mod I'm pretty proud of Not quite done. I need to move the whole thing back about a 1/4" and somehow hide that mess of wires :oops: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hardwaretoad Posted September 20, 2004 Share Posted September 20, 2004 Is that a relocated CPU ? :confused: If so, I guess that'll get it up out of the water ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reido Posted September 20, 2004 Author Share Posted September 20, 2004 Yes it is. I kinda did it on a whim cause I realized that the wires are just the right length as they are. It ended up being a little more work than I planned on, but should be real handy if some puddle happens to be deeper than I think Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Pickles Posted September 21, 2004 Share Posted September 21, 2004 Add some waterproof electricals under the hood, maybe some mounted dive tanks behind your seats, you'd be ready for just about anything. -alcohol- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flnl Posted September 21, 2004 Share Posted September 21, 2004 By the way, does anyone have the quick disconnects from AC? Are they easy to install? And easy to connect / disconnect? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deadkennedys Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 yeah those ac rear disconects would be handy sence im on the street more than im not. i would also like to find how good they are? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Pickles Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 yeah those ac rear disconects would be handy sence im on the street more than im not. i would also like to find how good they are? Perhaps the better question would be: who makes those "AC" quick swaybar disconnects, and where is the cheaper place to get them??? sssh :X Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reido Posted September 22, 2004 Author Share Posted September 22, 2004 Well if there is a cheaper place to get the rears then I might have to do that. I was just about to try out another crazy idea like this one on the back.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramithepimp77 Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 ... if some puddle happens to be deeper than I think. Happens to the best of us. Wouldnt mind relocating that bad boy either. Rami Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 Dooohh Rami, that sucks !! I'm actually suprised it didn't roll over on its side and play dead... Glad it didnt for your sake Did you soak your ECU, and how in the world did you bend your front plate like that ? Bernard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramithepimp77 Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 I was REAL scareed about it rollin over too. My ECU was toast I guess. I took it out, cleaned it for 2 days straight (while at work) dryed it and I got nothin! I went to U-pull it and got another ECU for $135 (10 dollar core) and put that bad boy in. I didnt get any codes either so I was happy. The reason my plate is bent like that is it seems to cool the radiator alot. JK JK JK JK! I, along with my buddy Darrick with an 86.5 hardbody went down a trail earlier that day and I ended up comming down on somethin that was under water. So the damages for that day was bent plate, cracked fog light, power steering belt came off, and ECU was done for. It was worth it though. Im gonna start to post more and more pics now that im learnin how to upload and update sites and stuff. Its not as hard as I thought it would be. Rami Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reido Posted September 23, 2004 Author Share Posted September 23, 2004 My plates always bend up... I think its just from the water spraying around in puddles. Rami, if you're serious about relocating the ECU and want to do something like mine PM me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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