Visitor # 29985 since 28.AUG.2001
Every time I do any serious off-roading, I like disconnect my front sway bar to increase the articulation of the front axle. The solid front axle sway bar is not too difficult to disconnect; a wrench to hold the bolt and a socket to remove the nut. But you still need (the right sized) tools and while taking the end links off is straight forward, putting them back together is a bit time consuming, getting the right sequence of washers, bushings, etc. Also, I worried about the nylon lock nut wearing out after many off/on cycles, so I went looking for a better solution. I've seen wing nuts used to facilitate easy removal, but I didn't think this would hold well enough. There also seem to be a number of commercial units on the market, but I didn't see any for the solid axle trucks.
After a bit of research, I determined a standard turn-buckle could be adapted to this use. I located a stainless steel turn-buckle at a local hardware store that suited my needs. It had 3/8" eye bolts on each end, the same diameter as the stock sway bar end link bolt. Furthermore, the length of the center portion was just a bit shorter than the spacer sleeve on the end link. A turnbuckle is built with one right-hand and one left-hand thread, so I also purchased a pair of left- and right-hand 3/8" nuts.
Place the right-hand threaded eye-bolt on the sway bar end, using polyurethane bushings, cupped washers and a nylon lock nut. On the bottom (axle end) I used the left-hand eye-bolt, bushings and the left-hand threaded nut. Put some paint on both the LH eye-bolt and the LH end of the turn buckle to help orient the ends for assembly. I tightened the nuts until the bushings were slightly compressed and provided enough friction to allow the turn buckle to be tightened and loosened without the need of tools.
There is no fabrication involved in this design. All the parts are available off the shelf at most hardware stores. Here's what the installed disconnect link looks like in place:
2 3/8" S/S turn buckles
2 3/8" left hand nuts
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A set of polyurethane swaybar bushings is a good idea
If you would like to install this on your truck and are unable to locate the parts, I can supply the hardware for about $40 (add $10 for a set of poly end link bushings), works fine for a 3"-5" front lift (its adjustable for length). Contact me if interested in a kit. there is no cutting/drilling/welding/grinding invloved in the install, just screw the parts together and its ready to go.
To disconnect the sway bar, unscrew each turn buckle by hand. I find that I can unscrew one side up until it is nearly off, then unscrew and remove the other side (releasing the tension on the sway bar), and finally finish removing the first side. Throw the turn buckle sections into the glove box and you are ready for action. Connection is just the reverse, I find it easiest to start the left-hand threaded end (bottom) a few turns then engage the right-hand threaded end (top) and hand tighten, first one side then the other. For either operation, no tools are required.
With the tension in the sway bar, the turn buckles seem to be quite snug. If one were to loosen (i.e. lengthen) it would quickly pick up spring tension from the sway bar and stop. So far, I've not had any trouble with them loosening and they go on and off in less than a minute.
I also took this time to swap the worn out rubber sway bar bushings for some nice red polyurethane (ProThane) sway bar end link bushings and pivot bushings. On road, the poly is much stiffer and provides more positive anti-sway action. Off-road, I find the poy bushing will hold the bar twisted up to the frame. It seems to stay in place without the need to tie it off. Perhaps as the poly bushings wear, the bar will loosen up and require restraint when disconnected. If that were to happen, I was planning on adding an eye-bolt through the fender well to accommodate a short bungee cord to tie the sway bar end up.
However, after being lazy and not re-connecting the sway bar a few times, I found that the handling is more predictable on-road with the sway bar disconnected. So, I've completely removed the sway bar all together. With leaf springs front and rear (no rear sway bar), the bar in front causes the two axles to behave differently in turns. Under load, the spring shackles will pivot back, making the wheel on that side also move back, in effect turning the axle to the outside of the turn. With the sway bar attached, this is lessened (at least in front). What I found was happening was that the front end would stay level, while the back leaned, causing the rear axle to oversteer. With the front bar out, the whole truck leans, making both axles skew a similar amount. Before I pulled the front bar, crosswinds were wicked (the wind would in effect push the rear end out), now the truck is much more stable. If I ever get around to installing a rear sway bar, I'll re-install the front one, with the disconnects, so I'll get the best of both worlds.
So, with no front sway bar, I picked up a Addco rear sway bar. I had it installed for a while and it seems to work great, however, it doesn't have quick disconnects and with the lift I have, it'll need extra long versions. So I've come up with a simple design for a quick disconnect end-link that can be adapted to almost any end link length as needed:
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| A: Assembled end-link | B: End-link disconnected | C: Right Angle Adapater |
Now that the components speced and jigs made, 4Crawler Offroad can make end links to meet your specifications. As pictured, the end link length can be changed with a longer center tube, made of heavy wall aircraft grade aluminum tubing. All other components are either stainless steel, aluminum or zinc plated steel for long life. Right angle end link brackets can also be adapted with a bolt-on bracket. The end links are very quiet in operation, due to use of a compressed polyurethane bushing and the tight fitting stainless steel pins.
If interested in obtaining a set of end-links, feel free to contact 4Crawler Offroad. We'll need to know the center-center length (indicated by dimension "L" in photo A above) you need and whether both ends are straight or one is a right angle (as shown in photo C above). Bushings are std. 3/8" ID to match the 3/8" end link hardware and approx 1" OD.
Cost will vary with length:
Removal and installation is as simple as sliding the center tube over the end link, sliding in the hitch pin and pop the retaining clip over the end of the pin. Often, it is only reqired that one side of a sway bar be disconnected for off-road use. As long as the free end of the sway bar will not make contact with any of the other suspension components, it'll be OK to allow it to move around. Since one end is disconnected, the sway bar is rendered inoperative, that is it will allow the two sides of the axle to move independently. You'll probably find the tubes line up best on one orientation, at least in initial use. If so, one option is to spray a bit of paint on the mating ends so that you can keep the tube on the ends that it matches best. As the parts wear in over time, they will loosen up a bit to allow for easier installation and removal.
So, why is it important that the sway bar end link matches the suspension lift? Ideally, you want the arms on the end of the sway bar to be sitting horizontal to the ground and the end links sitting vertical at rest. This ensures that you get equal up and down force on each side of the bar when the body/frame tips to the side. This is because as the bar twists under load, the arms will bend up and down at equal angles from horizontal. If the arms were at an angle below horizontal (as would be the case if the suspension has been lifted) the two bar end angles would not be equal, resulting in a lessened anti-sway affect.
As you can see in the sketch below, on the left hand side is a sway bar set up with the ends parallel to the ground (the dotted bar outline in the center shows the rest position). Under cornering load, the bar is twisted up by the suspension loads, F1 is the force of the outside side being compressed upward, F2 is the force of the inside side pulling the sway bar downwards. If the bar starts out horizontal and then the two effective bar end lengths (L1 and L2) are equal, since one end is twisted upward to the same angle as the other end is twisted downward. On the right had side is an illustration of what happens if the sway bar does not start out horizontal. This would be the case if a suspension lift were installed (thus raising the frame and the sway bar attached to it) without extending the end links. In this example, you can see that as the one end of the bar twists upward, it's effective length, L1, gets longer and longer as the angle is decreased towards horizontal. And the effective length of the end of the bar twisting down, L2, gets shorter as it's angle increases. Since the torque in the bar must necessarily be balanced, F1*L1 must equal F2*L2. Since L2 is less than L1, F2 must be higher than F1 to maintain the equality of the torque in the bar. This means that there is less force supplied by the sway bar to the outside suspension component in the turn so the vehicle will lean farther than it would if the forces and lengths were equal, as they are on the left side of the sketch. Thus if the purpose of a sway (or anti-roll) bar is to resist body roll, then the most efficient setup is to have the ends of the sway bar as close to parallel to the ground at rest as possible.
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| Sway Bar and End Link Geometry |
So, when measuring for new end-links, be sure and place the sway bar ends in the proper orientation (usually horizontal) and measure the distance from the center of the bar to the center of the attachment point on the axle or suspension arm. The other option if you do not want to replace the end links, is to install drop spacers on the sway bar frame brackets to lower the bar down to restore the angle. Drop spacers for some applications are available here...
No hard and fast rule that says yes you must have them, in fact that even goes for the sway bar itself. Only you can decide and the only way to make that decision is to try the various combinations and see how they work. So what combinations are there?
Now for on-road with the sway bar off, this is optional. If you do choose to test this setup, try it on a quiet street or parking lot to get the feel of it first. Some folks find a huge difference with the sway bar on and off on the road, others do not. A lot depends on how your truck is set up and your driving style. You especially want to test evasive manuevers and see if there are any unexpected handling quirks with the sway bars off.
So now, armed with your test results, fill in the following decision table:
| Sway Bar | On-Road | Off-Road |
| Connected | -A- | -C- |
| Disconnected | -B- | -D- |
For example, in box "-A-", if the ride on-road was better with the sway bar connected, put a "YES" there. However, if you noticed little or no difference on the road with the bar disconnected, then put a "YES" in box "-B-" instead. Same way with boxes "-C-" and "-D-", if your truck worked better off-road wth the bar disconnected, put a "YES" in box "-D-", and if you noticed little or no difference with the bar connected, then put a "YES" in box "-C-".
So, to analyze your findings:
And if you decide swar bar disconnects are for you, be sure to use them. Disconnect the sway bars any time you go off-road. Also, consider disconnecting them when doing maintenence work on your truck, such as changing a single tire. Twisting up the suspension does put extreme loads on the sway bars (afterall their job is to resist suspension articulation) and having the sway bar end links connected allows those forces to build up. Disconnected, everything will move freely and greatly reduce wear and tear on the components. The bushings will last longer, the end links will last longer, even the sway bar will last longer.
[Last updated: 23.June.2008]
