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taking off sway bars, hows it drive on the road?


nakta
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which sway bar are you talking about?, front or rear? i took my front off and did'n't notice a difference. front sway bar, you won't know the difference. rear, you'll notice it. when i installed my rear locker. i decided to keep the rear sway off. went around the block and immeditely put it back. when i made a left turn w/out the rear sway, my rear left tire went up in the air. i'm also lifted 3inch with 33's, maybe that has something to do with it.

 

but i hear some guys here don't have their rear sway on and don't have problems, if you take it easy, you'll be fine. if you'r going to be dashing out of one lane to another, keep it on. take it off when you go wheelin'

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I tried leaving the back off when I had a really sloppy steering setup and it wasn't fun. Maybe not a good idea if you're experiencing a lot of steering play.

 

I've taken both of mine off now. I'm totally used to it. To me, it wasn't worth taking them off/putting em on all the time. Taking the back off is probably the best free mod you can do for trail performance. It seems my axle drops at least an extra 6" when its off, but maybe that's not a fact.

 

It takes some getting used to. Expect some different characteristics. For example, turning on a HWY ramp I can feel a little shift/wander when I cross the expansion joints; stuff like that. Not too much difference around town though.

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got em from www.4X4parts.com,I cant remember the price, BUT I had to take the sway bar off, take it to a machine shop, and have them drill the holes to 0.5 inch cuz the factory holes were like 0.25 inch,I tried drill em myself (with titanium bit) and it aint happnin, hard arse steel. Not hard to do but the instructions dont tell ya u gotta drill the holes bigger for em to fit, let me know if ya have any questions

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If I get a chance to go wheelin this weekend I'll take an after pic to compare to one I already had at the same spot.

 

Haven't you seen those pics of 88 humpin that hump? That's some major flex.

 

Disconnecting the rear won't do much for flex if your shocks aren't long enough. Stock shocks won't give you much stretch.

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I have both of mine off and only have a little more sway than before. Nothing scary or uncontrollable. I took mine off in stages and notice absolutely no difference with the front sway bar removed. Removing the rear sway bar allowed for more travel in the rear, which accounts for the slightly greater lean.

 

As far as I can tell, if all the other components/bushings are in good shape, the sway bars don't do that much. But they have been known to mask other issues (loose steering components).

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All mine are off, but I'm reconnecting my 93s rear since the wife will be driving it more. I like the gentle roll you get without them, sway bars like to snap you back to level too hard (my opinion).

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i left the front sway bar on the took the rear off... it was noticable difference but i got used to it pretty quick. impressed with how much easier it flexes off road though.. i went up to lytle creek and had some fun up there just the other day.

Edited by SteeevO
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  • 2 months later...

retarded question......i took my front off, no difference. i want to take off the rear.........whick one is it? there is a straight bar behind my rear axle, and what i think is the sway bar more to the front of the rear axle? what are both, and which do i take off?

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The sway bar is the long ass funny shaped bar that runs paralel to the axle. It connects in two places. The other bar that connects the axle in one spot and runs diagonal to the axle is a part of the suspension that I can't remember the name of right now. :aok:

Edited by SC88Pathy
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Also called a track bar by some people, the panhard rod is in the rear of the axle.

the sway bar is U shaped and connects to the axle with rubber bushings and to the frame with vertical rods.

 

I have both of mine off with 6" of lift. and the truck does sway! but you get used to it just corner slowly. also if you are running wide tires your sway is not as bad without the bar, compared to near stock width tires and no bar.

Even with stock shocks you will notice an improvment.

the disconnects are a good way to get the best of both worlds, but drilling the holes is a PITA. The directions are wrong about the size of the hole needed it actually needs to be bigger than specified (sorry I cant remember how big, but I think it's 5/8"). Get a good drill bit and go SLOW and oil frequently.

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:confused: Um if you're getting 35 inch tires you're in for a big surprise, namely that they won't fit, unless you'v got the 4 inch trailmaster lift plus Calmini, rough country or superlift UCAs, plus JGC springs in rear PLUS a 3 inch body lift. Or a solid axle swap. And even then it's going to be sketchy and the V6 is going to be straining to turn them. I hope you meant 33's which fit much easier with only 6 inches of lift (3 inch body and 3 inch suspension).

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OK, so those of you that have the disco's. How do you keep the sway bar out of the way when its disconnected? I made some disco's and found that since the sway bar is conected to the axle it moves around and falls to the ground. I tried roping it off (no good). Finally, I completely removed it. If you could turn it around so that it disconnects from the axle would be ideal. Same problem on the front too. Any pictures of your answers?

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OK, so those of you that have the disco's. How do you keep the sway bar out of the way when its disconnected? I made some disco's and found that since the sway bar is conected to the axle it moves around and falls to the ground. I tried roping it off (no good). Finally, I completely removed it. If you could turn it around so that it disconnects from the axle would be ideal. Same problem on the front too. Any pictures of your answers?

I read here once, (I believe Diesel Boy posted it) that you only need to disconnect 1 side for the sway bar to do nothing. Makes sense to me, as if 1 side is disconnected, the bar can flex/sway as much as it likes, but it's still hanging, up, and out of the way.

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Yes, I have done that in quickie situations. But the bar pokes down and bumps into the trail sometimes too. I need to get a welder and make a REAL fix. Then I can sell it to you guys!

I can't give up the sway bars permanently because I love how it corners with them on.

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