sway bar disconnects

[Girlslovedirt]

there has to be a way to make front and rear sway bar quick disconnects.
I was thinking ... this would be not all that quick but cutting them threading each end and coupling them togther with a tie rod adjuster. I don't know if it would work but ... man you get so much more articulation with those things unconnected its ridiculous. Anyone got some ideas or have done this ?

 

[Vitesse_6]

Why not cut it, Weld on a sleve to fit, Drill it out and put in a pin? Sounds easy, But I havent looked to see where a good place to cut yet.
Good luck

 

[PKP80]

No Sway bar equals ridiculous articulation....check out AMMO's rig, he took his completely out. I would love disconnects

 

[wb1948]

Sounds to me like a job for Slee.

 

[alia176]

Plenty of people, including myself, have rear disconnects. On the rear, the easiest solution is to remove one of the bolts and replace it with a simple pin! Do a search and you'll find them!

 

[Junk]

Disconnect the swaybar

Psst, search and you'll see this gets discussed like every other week

 

[IdahoDoug]

Be sure and find the discussion where the estimated torque these swaybars deal with is around 12,000 lbs-ft, and the other one where the front articulation is nearly unaffected by removal as Toyota's already getting max movement that's limited by the control arm bushings.

DougM

 

[Curran]

Be sure and find the discussion where ... the front articulation is nearly unaffected by removal as Toyota's already getting max movement that's limited by the control arm bushings.

DougM

Again, you're not going to gain any articulation by removing the front and rear swaybars, however, there is a significant improvement in off road performance (rock crawling and deeply rutted nasty stuff) without them. Without the swaybars, it takes much less force flex the suspension which results in a dramatic reduction in the force transmitted to the passenger compartment of the rig. If you haven't tried it, give it a shot on your next trip out. You'll notice a huge improvement in the quality of the trucks ride over all sorts of crap. I've had my swaybars off for a year now and they are never going back on.

 

[IdahoDoug]

Curran,

I was going to ask you what the truck feels like on road, but then noticed your mods. Nevermind I wonder if anything is gained on a stock height truck?

DougM

 

[Curran]

Doug,
Your right, my truck is not set up for trips to the grocery store, but I'm really enjoying the current setup nonetheless.
For comparison, I used to run OME 850J/863 springs with 285 MTRs and no castor correction. I actually prefer the way my truck handles now better now than it did with the previous setup. There is more body lean, but the ride is smoother and the steering is more predictable. I also added 1.5-inch spacers to each wheel to give it a slightly wider stance. This helped more than I thought it would due to the high center of gravity and gave the truck a nice stance.
I was real hesitant about taking the sway bars off because I knew they wouldn’t add to the truck’s flex and I had the potential to increase body roll on road. But the difference off road is huge. I think if you frequently get out in the rocks and play and have your rig properly set up to do so, then keeping the sway bars is just one more thing to worry about and one more thing to slow you down.

 

[Dirk Diggler]

If you completely remove the swaybars, I hope you aren't making trips to the grocery store. I have been told that it is not recommended to drive over 25mph without them. Any opinions?

 

[Curran]

Pat,
That's funny. I almost believed you were serious.

 

[Dirk Diggler]

Pat,
That's funny. I almost believed you were serious.

I try. My wife doesn't seem to think so.

 

[AMMO]

Again, you're not going to gain any articulation by removing the front and rear swaybars, however, there is a significant improvement in off road performance (rock crawling and deeply rutted nasty stuff) without them. Without the swaybars, it takes much less force flex the suspension which results in a dramatic reduction in the force transmitted to the passenger compartment of the rig. If you haven't tried it, give it a shot on your next trip out. You'll notice a huge improvement in the quality of the trucks ride over all sorts of crap. I've had my swaybars off for a year now and they are never going back on.

Humm I have to differ.... While we could argue this till the cows come home over theory and trig, let's not. Rather look at real world examples. I would be very interested in finding some one with sways RTI there truck vs. mine unsway'd. In my mind the less links you have to the axel the less you have a chance of binding. The less binding, the more articulation. However I will agree that the bushing are what ultimately limit the whole set up.


This has been hashed out a bit on the "flex like this 80 thread"... All I know is I have way more flex then swayed 80's?

-Ammo

 

[Curran]

Drexx posted pictures a long time ago that showed two 80s flexin' out on an RTI ramp. IIRC, both trucks had the standard OME 2.5-inch HD lift. One truck had sway bars, the other did not and they performed nearly identically.
I cant find the old post, but here is a link to his photo page with those pictures: http://www.pbase.com/drexx/pmc_swapmeet2003&page=all
I’m not too sure, but I think the gray VX diesel was truck without the sway bars.

I’ve wheeled my truck heavily with and with out the sway bars, and I didn’t see much of a difference in total suspension travel that resulted from taking the sway bars off. What was different was the amount of force required to generate that flex.

In the front most folks agree that on typical lifted 80s, it is the lower control arm bushings that govern the limits of single side axle drop and in the rear it is the length of the shocks. I don’t see how the sway bars affect that. And I think Drexx’s photos back that up.

What we seem to be agreeing on, however, is that removing sway bars is a great thing off the pavement.

And Pat, despite my zeal for getting rid of the sway bars, I’d only recommend this if you wheel your truck and you have heavier duty springs to help fight some of the body roll that will result if you remove them. You can drive over 25 mph

 

[AMMO]

Drexx posted pictures a long time ago that showed two 80s flexin' out on an RTI ramp. IIRC, both trucks had the standard OME 2.5-inch HD lift. One truck had sway bars, the other did not and they performed nearly identically.
I cant find the old post, but here is a link to his photo page with those pictures: http://www.pbase.com/drexx/pmc_swapmeet2003&page=all
I’m not too sure, but I think the gray VX diesel was truck without the sway bars.

I’ve wheeled my truck heavily with and with out the sway bars, and I didn’t see much of a difference in total suspension travel that resulted from taking the sway bars off. What was different was the amount of force required to generate that flex.

In the front most folks agree that on typical lifted 80s, it is the lower control arm bushings that govern the limits of single side axle drop and in the rear it is the length of the shocks. I don’t see how the sway bars affect that. And I think Drexx’s photos back that up.

What we seem to be agreeing on, however, is that removing sway bars is a great thing off the pavement.

And Pat, despite my zeal for getting rid of the sway bars, I’d only recommend this if you wheel your truck and you have heavier duty springs to help fight some of the body roll that will result if you remove them. You can drive over 25 mph

I agree with you. And I may be completely wrong. But just remember more goes in to your useable flex then just sways or no sways and bushings or heim joints. What I mean by that is bump stops and tires limit just how far you will stuff. Let's say you go to 3" lift and 35's. Now this will look a bit stuffed, and your flex will not stuff like 33" would or even 31". So you do a body lift to make more room in the wheel wells. Now the 35 stuff more, but you’re still not maxing out to the bumps... So you play this game, bigger lift for bigger tire for less flex. Some where in there you find what works for you.

-Ammo

 

[ZA-CRUISER]

I also experimented with and without swaybars and got a 20% higher score on the RTI ramp without the swaybars.
My cruiser is a South African spec GX 1FZ, with 851's in front and 863's in the back on 33" MTR's.