took off sway bar and put on steering brace. WOW!!!!

[01maroonz71]

what a difference this makes. i took off my sway bar(bushings were hardly there) and i also put on the steering brace and now steering feels way better. and also, the ride over speed bumps and isht is 10x better in my opinion. the truck was lifted when i bought it, but there was no type of drops for the sway bar, so im assuming it was only a 2in lift or soemthing like that. dunno though. great mods, and worth every penny. i can't wait to put my shackle flip/bds 8in springs on.

 

[kontradictions]

nice, i have been thinking about removing my sway bar too. Just might have to go out and do that tomorrow!

 

[01maroonz71]

it's well worth the 20 or so minutes it took. rides way better IMO.

 

[walla2k5]

This is the general concencise around here,I agree. I removed mine long ago.

 

[1fastchevy]

I am sorry what the hell is a steering brace, Picture or link, Dave I am haveing horrible steering with my latest build, 12" lift

 

[87BrnRsd]

A steering box brace is a piece of metal that welds or bolts or both to the frame where the steering box is mounted. This area is notorious on older GM trucks with large tires to crack.
-Harrison

 

[Avery4jc]

I've got an 8" lift and my sway bar is still on w/o any drop brackets...so does this really improve the ride over bumps and stuff? My truck rides insanely bad but I always attributed this to the 8" lift springs...
I tried to unbolt my sway bar when I did the 3/4 ton swap but it ripped my vise out of my work bench b/c the bolts were so tight and I hit that big bolt w/ an impact wrench...


So now that its all bolted back together could I hit that bolt that holds the sway bar to the side of the spring plates w/ the impact or would it put a crap load of strain on the u-bolts b/c it'd try to twist the spring plate with it?

I'd really like to ditch that stupid thing.

 

[W7NB]

When I did my 4" lift I tried to run without the sway bar. With the Blazer alone it was pretty decent to drive and rode nice, but with my boat on I was all over the place. I put the sway bar back in with drop brackets and new bushings. Pretty decent with the boat now but I do loose some flex.

 

[87BrnRsd]

I've got an 8" lift and my sway bar is still on w/o any drop brackets...so does this really improve the ride over bumps and stuff? My truck rides insanely bad but I always attributed this to the 8" lift springs...
I tried to unbolt my sway bar when I did the 3/4 ton swap but it ripped my vise out of my work bench b/c the bolts were so tight and I hit that big bolt w/ an impact wrench...


So now that its all bolted back together could I hit that bolt that holds the sway bar to the side of the spring plates w/ the impact or would it put a crap load of strain on the u-bolts b/c it'd try to twist the spring plate with it?

I'd really like to ditch that stupid thing.

Your bad ride is most likely a result of the 8" springs. Removing the swaybar will soften up the front suspension a bit and large bumps wont be as pronounced. A lot of people on here just run without them. Personally, I have the ord swaybar disconnects. My truck is driven to the trail, not trailered, and without the swaybar hooked up I notice a huge difference in the handling characteristics. My suspension setup is fairly soft (shackle flip in the rear and bds springs up front)...so that may contribute. Without the swaybar hooked up, I dont feel comfortable driving 2 hours down the highway to a trail. Its not that I cant, its just that the added sway when making turns makes me not want to have to make an evasive maneuver going 70 mph. Anyways, if you want to take yours off, just take out the bolts you are referring to. It shouldnt cause the u-bolt plates to turn unless your u-bolts are extremely loose. I have taken those bolts out of numerous chevy trucks with no problems. They can be a pita sometimes though. Oh...and you will gain a noticeable amount of flex without it. I know when I forget to disconnect mine on the trail when I lift a tire in a spot that I would normally easily articulate through.
-Harrison