hydraulic ram sway bar?

[cody c]

Just curious, I'm looking at getting some sway bars together for the 80.

Can i take a pair of hydraulic rams, one at each side, connect top of one to the bottom of the other, and same for other ports, and maybe a couple accumulators and make a hydraulic sway bar system?

I could simply put a solenoid valve between the two systems to have an electric disconnect.

It works in my head, maybe it would need some sort of cooler, but for highway driving firmness and then off road-ability Id think it would be fine.

Also, before I get any "just buy a xxx brand system it would be cheaper" I've got the 6BT and one tons on it and location is tight. I'm almost considering notching the oil pan to get one tucked up there alternatively.

 

[aztoyman]

A sway bar is basically a spring or torsion bar isn't it? I get your logic but would you have to have some sort of resistance or an orifice in the circuit?

A regular sway bar is simple and effective but, I'd follow along to see how it worked out if you try.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

The accumulator is the resistance.

It'd take some tweaking, but it might work. In industry it's called an "active sway bar", although that term encompasses hydraulic and electric active sway bar styles.

 

[Zjohnsonua]

If I'm understanding you correctly, the premise is already out there in Mr. T's KDSS in so far as how they tie the front and rear axles together. You'd be tweaking the design a bit is all.

It'll be a super slick solution once you get it working. Just have to keep the heating down as you already mentioned.

 

[cody c]

I did a bit of reading, the closest thing I can find is what’s called cross linked hydraulic anti sway.

Our 07 4Runner has a similar system called XREAS, which is “cross reactive energy absorption system” and links only the top of the shocks to opposite corners.

Apparently some RV’s in maybe the 70’s and later had something similar to what I’m talking about, being basically hydraulic rams which are linked top of left to bottom of right, and used accumulator bottles.

The issue is they need to work with compression, and as the rams collapse the shaft takes up volume/space in the ram body.

I’m not sure if I will pursue, it’s a fair bit of engineering and tweaking things. I see on company called BWI shows a anti sway ram similar to what I’m talking about, but even then it would probably take a fair bit of tweaking to get it working properly.

I’ll look over things again this week and see if I can come up with a better way.

 

[mano002]

I just removed the XREAS from my wife's 2013 4runner. It connected the front left to the right rear (and vice versa) shock hydraulically. It had sway bars, and Fox recommended taking the front sway bar out, when you install their coil-over suspension.

The big sprinter vans have some active anti-sway, and apparently it makes big difference in the overland world. Maybe have a look at how they do it.

 

[cody c]

I just removed the XREAS from my wife's 2013 4runner. It connected the front left to the right rear (and vice versa) shock hydraulically. It had sway bars, and Fox recommended taking the front sway bar out, when you install their coil-over suspension.

The big sprinter vans have some active anti-sway, and apparently it makes big difference in the overland world. Maybe have a look at how they do it.

I’ll dig into the sprinter setup. Thanks for sharing.

The 4Runner Xreas just links the top of the shocks on opposite corners. It’s actually quite a smart way to do things, and there’s probably some huge potential for a rock crawler that wants articulation and stability, but not need a suspension that functions like high speed off road so much. Though you could maybe add that function with cab controlled valving. I think there’s some opportunities for tech development there for real.

 

[mano002]

The 4Runner Xreas just links the top of the shocks on opposite corners. It’s actually quite a smart way to do things, and there’s probably some huge potential for a rock crawler that wants articulation and stability, but not need a suspension that functions like high speed off road so much. Though you could maybe add that function with cab controlled valving. I think there’s some opportunities for tech development there for real.

All of mine went in the bin. Apparently the rear bump-stops aren't tall enough and the rear shocks bottom out when you have 4 big bikes on a bike rack while hammering down dirt roads. the replacement costs for the 2 rear Toyota shocks are more than 4 rebuildable Fox shocks