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Took off the sway bar

1978Blazerk5 said:
I am confused:confused: Everyone says take the sway bar off now What i am readin it sounds like i should of left the Rear swaybar on
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I have never seen a rear swaybar on our style of trucks. Not saying it is a bad idea, just never seen it.

I would suggest you drive it first since it is all ready off and see if you like it. If you don't like it then put it back on.

Dik
 
I have been half tempted to take my front sway off but since the suspension will be stock for at least another year I don't think I will... it flexes into the wheel wells with it on just fine with 32's.

IMG_0491-smaller.jpg
 
Bumps should not make any difference with or without a swaybar. Uptravel on both sides (i.e speedbump etc.) will allow both sides to travel up the same amount (i.e. a swaybar, by definition, will do nothing).

Swaybars are there to keep your truck from leaning during high speed turns. They make the truck more stable on the road, in general.

There are companies that make off-road sway bars (to keep rigs with soft spring rates stable). That's whole different deal than the stock sway bars on a K5.
 
38377k5 said:
Think about how a swaybar would work.
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Do you have pot holes in Colorado? Do you have cracks that go diagonal across the road? Do you have frost heaves? We do in Maine.

If one tire hits a bump or hole, doesn't the sway bar transfer that movement to the other side of the vehicle making it stiffer? I think it does. I also think that makes the vehicle ride stiffer.

Mike
 
UPS said:
Do you have pot holes in Colorado? Do you have cracks that go diagonal across the road? Do you have frost heaves? We do in Maine.

If one tire hits a bump or hole, doesn't the sway bar transfer that movement to the other side of the vehicle making it stiffer? I think it does. I also think that makes the vehicle ride stiffer.

Mike
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Whats a pot hole :rolleyes:
 
A hole in the pavement. Some of them seem deep enough that you could loose a VW beetle in it.

Some of the roads in Maine are very rough.

Mike
 
UPS said:
Do you have pot holes in Colorado? Do you have cracks that go diagonal across the road? Do you have frost heaves? We do in Maine.

If one tire hits a bump or hole, doesn't the sway bar transfer that movement to the other side of the vehicle making it stiffer? I think it does. I also think that makes the vehicle ride stiffer.

Mike
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Trust me, we thoroughly know what potholes are.

Sway bars should have basically nothing to do with how the truck handles bumps, it will affect how the truck corners.

If said truck has a sway bar and one side of the suspension is influenced (i.e. it hits a pothole, the suspesnion, etc.) the other side will be affected if said truck has a swaybar.

A swaybar will affect articulation and body lean and will reduce articulation. It does nothing to counteract anything that happens to both sides of the axle at the same time (i.e. a speed bump, etc.)
 
Eh, you're forgetting something. The reason they have the bushings on swaybar is because they are a direct link from your suspension to your chassis/body.

It's common for people to take their swaybar off and the first thing they notice is a better ride. The road vibes being transfered to the cab from the bar are gone.

This is especially noticeable on older rigs where the rubber has hardened.

Leave them off. Unless you have a super soft suspension you aren't going to miss them. Drive like a normal person...no wait...a person who is aware and knows how to drive...and you'll be fine. Drive like an ass and you'll flip it...but then I've seen a bone stock Ford Taurus flipped by a moron in dry weather.
 
I have a really stiff suspension on the truck. I am a really good driver cause I understand my truck aint a nascar, so i dont even try I slow down for turns, people behind me get really pissed but oh well.

My friend in south carolina fliped his 85' chevy 3/4 ton 5 times just driving on the street, I dont think he understood how gravity works. It was a nice truck built 454, 4 speed, np205, like 4.88 gears detroits front and rear, on 38's. He junked everything, to this day i still call him a idiot.:doah:
 
my first K5 (76) had a MUCH nicer ride once i took the sway bar off. It may have been the rusted bolts or hardened rubber. In my opinion however, the real cuase for the rough ride on many of our trucks is the poor angle of the sway bar. new from the factory it was likely level at ride height, but due to lifts and other modifications, instead of the bar simply articulating and rotating at the bushings, it was transmitting JARRING vibrations into the body.

that is all
 
The bushings on mine were shot. It also took my angle grinder to get the endlinks apart. I still got the bar on there, but that will probaly come off.
 
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