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I Going to Ace My Sway Bar

broc944

broc944

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I am in the process of moving my front axle forward. I have sway bar disconnects installed, they are a real pain in the butt to unhook and hook back up, and actually this time I can not even get the pin out on one side. I have four inch lift springs in the front. Do I even need the sway bar? Since the truck only sees 25 percent highway usage anyway, I am going to take it off and see what happens. Opinions anyone?
 
Take it off man!!! I drive mine on the highway without my sway bar and its not really that big of a difference... 4inch TC springs in the front... then there was this time i tipped it over,,, but that had nothing to do with the sway bar... so in my opinion, take it off and never look back. I know i wont
 
It really depends a lot on the spring and shock stiffness. I've got disconnects on my K10 and I really can't tell much of a difference if i leave them unhooked on the road. But it's got a dual shock kit for each wheel, so it's a stiff ride... not much sway to begin with. Vehicles with a softer ride will easily feel if a swaybar is unhooked cause going around corners your suspension will give easier and that's where you get the sway...
 
No sway bar on my dd K5.4''tuff country e-z rides up front.I really don't notice a difference.Maybe a little on those windy days.......DITCH IT!!!
 
Took mine off a while back and I love it!!! Wish I would have done it sooner. Way better ride with out. Mine also isn't used for towing anymore and is not my dd.
 
I took mine off last weekend. The big bolts that go into the spring plates were easy to get off. It was the wicked little bolts that go through the front crossmember that were kinda a PITA. I think it flexes better with no sway bar, even with stock suspension.
 
i agree it depends on shock/spring rate. my truck w/ 3"EZ rides was a handfull with cheap shocks and no swaybar. with rancho 9000's turned up all the way it was pretty good, but still alot of roll if you take corners like i do.

i've got bilstien 7100's upfront now, been driving around a for a week or two without it. ride is better than the ranchos i think, but i can notice it being a little squirrely on the freeway going 80. with crosswinds and whatnot. if i take a real hard corner it'll roll quite a bit as well. if you already have disconnects, why not just leave it unhooked and hang it from the bracket? drive it for awhile and see how you like it.
i dont think i'd ever take it off completly, no swaybar just plain sucks on switchback mountain roads.

BTW i always squirt a little wd40 on the disco pins before i put them back in. they always slide in/out with little effort. if you dont lube them they are a PITA.

edit : just noticed you said your moving the axle forward two inches. you'd have to move the swaybar mounts anyway if you wanted to keep it.so might as well just take it off
 
roadnotca said:
And don't leave open holes in the crossmember. .:D
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Hmm, I didn't really think of this... So are those holes really a big weakness/ rust spot? just the 4 ones where the sway bar bolted up? Should I put some bolts and nuts in them to fill in the holes? I think I'll try to find some new bolts and nuts if this is necessary, as the old ones were a crusty PITA to remove.
 
78Suburban said:
Hmm, I didn't really think of this... So are those holes really a big weakness/ rust spot? just the 4 ones where the sway bar bolted up? Should I put some bolts and nuts in them to fill in the holes? I think I'll try to find some new bolts and nuts if this is necessary, as the old ones were a crusty PITA to remove.
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The front ones clamp two pieces so yea. I used grade 8. Mine are 7/16-20(UNF) so I torqued to 75 ft. lbs. You'll start seeing the rivets loosen-up, need to fill those with bolts too, or weld. You can see I started with the spring bracket.:D

sb.jpg
 
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Since my truck use is 80% street and 20% off road, I like having my sway bar on. It keeps the body roll down while going around corners at street speeds. I have a set of ORD sway bar disconnects, and they are a little bit of a hassle to connect and disconnect, but that is the nature of the beast because those sway bars are a heavy piece of sprung metal, tryind to hold together a large piece of moving steel. To remove and install my sway bar disconects on the trail, I just carry adjustable pliers, hammer, line-up tool, and a piece of carpet to use, in order to crawl under the truck without getting dirty.
 
Well the sway bar and disconnects are officially retired. Going out for a test drive in a matter of minutes. Axel is moved forward, steering is adjusted, all systems are a go. Thanks for all the input!
 
So how'd it go? Worst money I ever spent was the ORD disconnects. Great product, don't get me wrong, but I disconnected right after installing, and never connected again!:doah:
 
fireplug said:
So how'd it go? Worst money I ever spent was the ORD disconnects. Great product, don't get me wrong, but I disconnected right after installing, and never connected again!:doah:
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same here
 
fireplug said:
So how'd it go? Worst money I ever spent was the ORD disconnects. Great product, don't get me wrong, but I disconnected right after installing, and never connected again!:doah:
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I agree, the disconnects seemed like a good idea at the time. As far as the test run? With the axle moved and the sway bar gone, the sway on the highway was barley noticeable. I usually disconnected when I went off road anyway so I am used to that aspect, so far no regrets what so ever. The axle moved forward was well worth the effort, surprised it is not discussed more, really seems to have done wonders with my rig, maybe not on the next guys, who knows.
 
broc944 said:
I am in the process of moving my front axle forward. I have sway bar disconnects installed, they are a real pain in the butt to unhook and hook back up, and actually this time I can not even get the pin out on one side. I have four inch lift springs in the front. Do I even need the sway bar? Since the truck only sees 25 percent highway usage anyway, I am going to take it off and see what happens. Opinions anyone?
Click to expand...
I've posted on this subject before - SWAYBARS ARE FOR CARS!!! Loose it you'll be happy you did!! There are no swaybars on any of my 3 chevys.:D
 
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