swaybar, pros? cons?

[Wounded_Fighter]

So I was searching for new bushings for the swaybar on the new front end i purchased when the thought hit me.. Just toss the bar...?

came to this because I became slightly more confused once I located someone that had them, in different mm's, pretty sure its the mm thickness of the bar. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Link I found for the Bushings @ Quadratec

 

But on topic,

98 dana 30 going on my 88 2wd

Swaybar.....

Pros, Cons?

keep it, or lose it.

[Megadan]

It really comes down to what you want to do with it.  The Anti-sway bar is there to stop... swaying.  With it installed the bar acts as a spring lever between the opposite ends of the suspension helping to keep it more level during a turn.  The "downside" to this is that it does limit axle articulation, which if you are looking to do some real off road adventures can be a hinderance.  If you mainly drive on the road and just do a rough dirt road from time to time then leaving it on is the best option.  If it is going to be a trail rig, leave it off.

The in between option is to leave it on and then fit swaybar disconnects allowing you to unhook it from the axle and tie it up out of the way once you get to a trail.

Then there is the option of simply leaving it off.  Quite a few people I know drive their off road vehicles on the road with no sway bars.  

Easiest way to know what is the right choice for you would be to disconnect it from the end links and take it for a spin.  See if you like how it feels.

[Jeep Driver]

Two schools of thought- 

 

Those who drive trail-trash remove the SB.

 

Those of us who don't, keep it.

 

Just looked at a pic of yours, not trail-trash. Keep it. 

 

Nothing to be confused about, you have a caliper? If yours measures 28mm, buy a pair of bushings @ 28mm. If yours does not measure 28mm, find one that does. 

 

 

Yes, it matters. 

 

I plan on doing a short vid on the rear SB this weekend to replace a missing post on the How To page, I'll attempt to explain. 

[Jeep Driver]

Cheap and necessary, since we are not building rockets, good enough. 

 

https://www.lowes.com/pd/General-Tools-Instruments-6-in-Digital-Caliper/50175967

[mfendley]

If you ever have to change lanes in a hurry, and you don't have a sway bar - you may lose your truck.

 

Here's another data point. My Power Wagon has electronic disconnect for the sway bar. If I come out of 4-low, or exceed 18 mph, it automatically re-connects. A PW is a great deal heavier than a MJ, but it still applies.

[Wounded_Fighter]

1 hour ago, Jeep Driver said:

Cheap and necessary, since we are not building rockets, good enough. 

 

https://www.lowes.com/pd/General-Tools-Instruments-6-in-Digital-Caliper/50175967

 

I have that one already, just wasnt exactly sure if my brain was calculating that, that is what i was measuring for or not.

more or less just my brain not functioning properly.

 

pop me a msg when u have that vid out, I'm interested.

 

my plan as of right now is to install this weekend, but with the SB off, since all the bushings are either shot, or gone. Once they come in, I'll throw them on.

[Eagle]

27 minutes ago, mfendley said:

If you ever have to change lanes in a hurry, and you don't have a sway bar - you may lose your truck.

 

 

This. If you need the flex on trails, use quick disconnects for the links. On the street you NEED a sway bar unless you enjoy driving your truck on its roof.

[Me&my86MJ]

4 hours ago, Wounded_Fighter said:

Just toss the bar...?

 

But on topic,

98 dana 30 going on my 88 2wd

Swaybar.....

Pros, Cons?

keep it, or lose it.

 I currently am not running my sway bar(too short for my current lift), I notice a bit more body roll on long sweeping turns and that is about the extent of it. I am also running after market 4 link system which when set up right can reduce(not sure how much) the need for a sway bar.

 

 I have also made a many fast/quick lane changes, turns, emergency maneuvers with out flipping my truck or being in danger and love taking winding backroads. Guess it is a matter of knowing ones vehicle, never being over confident, and never trusting other drivers to know how to drive.

 

 Everyone has their own prefrences, sway bar is a nice piece of equipment and helpful too.

 

Remove it, Keep it, Jeep it

 

 

[Pete M]

There's a reason why every car has them.  It's a safety device, pure and simple.  heck, I'd probably categorize it in the same column as rear brakes.  yes, the vast majority of the time you don't need rear brakes at all.  but they make the truck work just a bit better and can make all the difference in the world in an emergency. 

 

but more importantly, the bolts that hold up the sway bar bushing brackets like to snap right off, even in otherwise clean trucks.   they are mean, hateful things.  let them soak in PB Blaster for a few days and just be prepared to deal with a snapped bolt should it happen.   

 

off road the swaybars can be a hindrance for sure.  quick-disconnects will give you the best of both worlds. 

[coolwind57]

2 hours ago, Pete M said:

There's a reason why every car has them. 

Some older cars didn't have them (1975 MGB for example) and in fact, some manufacturers apparently offered front and back as optional equipment back in the day.  Of course the handling of the 1975 MGB kinda sucked. 

 

But I certainly ride the same wave on this issue as you, Pete M.   My MJ went a few days with my front sway bar disconnected and i was a bit nervous.  I babied it till my end links came in.  I took mostly back roads to work and took it easy.  I didn't really notice any difference during my normal driving experiences but I was anxious to get that sucker connected once again.  i was blessed not having to experience crazy or emergency maneuvering, thank goodness.

 

I'd not dump your sway bar.  Like other have said:  If you're a street driver, definitely have one on (upgrade, even).  If you're an off-roader, then have one on with disconnects.    

 

 

 

 

 

[HOrnbrod]

Until you experience both a front and rear sway bar, you'll never know what a difference it makes. Just for grins I disconnected both one day, tied them up out of the way and went for a drive. The under-steer was terrible and it felt like driving wallowing bath tub around curves. Anyone who says sway bars make no difference is clueless about road handling.

[Eagle]

Those things cost money and the factory wouldn't put them on as standard equipment if they didn't think they NEEDED them.

 

Me&my86MJ, you have been lucky. Back in the early days of NAXJA, one of the most active members totalled his XJ. He was driving on the street with no sway bars. He was in his own, residential neighborhood, a block from home, driving (according to him) less than 30 MPH. He had to swerve sharply to avoid hitting a neighbor's dog. The next thing he knew, he was on his roof in a ditch.

[Me&my86MJ]

1 hour ago, Eagle said:

 He had to swerve sharply to avoid hitting a neighbor's dog. The next thing he knew, he was on his roof in a ditch.

 I thought you are not suppose to swerve for any animal on public roadways, as it can cause an accident. Isn't the rule of thumb to speed up a bit so front end picks up to travel over them easier, because braking (hard) dives the front end of vehicle, or cause skidding and losing control. 

 

Side note my sway bar is only off because my lift and long arms, made stock ones too short. 

[Pete M]

3 hours ago, Me&my86MJ said:

 Side note my sway bar is only off because my lift and long arms, made stock ones too short. 

 

links are too short?  most quick disconnects are longer than stock to accommodate lifts.  

[zomeizter]

No sway bar on-road driving=extremely interesting and exiting way to get to point B...if you make it to point B.

[youngfred]

16 hours ago, HOrnbrod said:

Until you experience both a front and rear sway bar, you'll never know what a difference it makes. Just for grins I disconnected both one day, tied them up out of the way and went for a drive. The under-steer was terrible and it felt like driving wallowing bath tub around curves. Anyone who says sway bars make no difference is clueless about road handling.

...

 

 

So, on the other hand, what can I expect, with highway driving

from the 28mm(thicker-than-stock) sway bar that I installed, up front?

 

 

youngfred

[Minuit]

Just now, youngfred said:

...

 

 

So, on the other hand, what can I expect, with highway driving

from the 28mm(thicker-than-stock) sway bar that I installed, up front?

 

 

youngfred

It'll feel better. Not necessarily in a straight line, but you should notice a reduction in body roll on turns. The standard 24mm is perfectly adequate to make the truck not be scary, but the 28mm is just better.

[Eagle]

14 hours ago, Me&my86MJ said:

 I thought you are not suppose to swerve for any animal on public roadways, as it can cause an accident. Isn't the rule of thumb to speed up a bit so front end picks up to travel over them easier, because braking (hard) dives the front end of vehicle, or cause skidding and losing control. 

 

 

So substitute "neighbor's child" for "neighbor's dog." Are you going to speed up, or swerve?

 

That sway bar was put on the vehicle for a reason, and when you lift the vehicle it becomes more important, not less. Get some longer links.

[HOrnbrod]

1 hour ago, youngfred said:

So, on the other hand, what can I expect, with highway driving

from the 28mm(thicker-than-stock) sway bar that I installed, up front?

 

Which 28mm bar did you get? The Mopar 28mm bar or an aftermarket, like an Addco? The Addco was way too stiff and rigid up front for me, but the Mopar 28mm was perfect. It's much more flexible.

[youngfred]

13 minutes ago, HOrnbrod said:

 

Which 28mm bar did you get? The Mopar 28mm bar or an aftermarket, like an Addco? The Addco was way too stiff and rigid up front for me, but the Mopar 28mm was perfect. It's much more flexible.

...

 

 

The Mopar.

 

 

youngfred

[Eagle]

A sway bar (actually, it's an ANTI-sway bar) reduces body roll when cornering. As a general rule, whichever end of the vehicle you add roll resistance to tends to push out on cornering. Thus, if you increase the diameter of the front bar, expect a slight increase in understeer ... which you will experience only if you are at the limits of traction. Adding a rear bar, such as Hornbrod has done, counteracts the front understeer to give you more balanced cornering. Go too stiff on the rear bar and you get oversteer (the rear tends to break loose in cornering before the front).

 

Personally, I prefer a suspension that provides slight oversteer at maximum cornering Gs. I also prefer a vehicle that stays as flat as possible, so I'm all in favor of the 28mm bar, and then perhaps a rear bar as a supplement.

 

For off-road, you need the ability to disconnect the anti-sway bar(s), because they limit suspension travel in off-camber situations.

[ParadiseMJ]

16 hours ago, Me&my86MJ said:

 I thought you are not suppose to swerve for any animal on public roadways, as it can cause an accident. Isn't the rule of thumb to speed up a bit so front end picks up to travel over them easier, because braking (hard) dives the front end of vehicle, or cause skidding and losing control. 

 

 

Do you really you have the presence of mind to think, in a split second..."There's a dog that just jumped out in front of me, I shouldn't avoid it, I'll just run it over and hope he doesn't get squashed under a tire...I'll just speed up".  Pretty much everyone would swerve to avoid it.  Just keep the sway bar, and put discos on it for off road if you must (IMHO).  Removing the sway bar has zero positives on the road.

[Longview]

There's a reason why every car has them.  It's a safety device, pure and simple.  heck, I'd probably categorize it in the same column as rear brakes.  yes, the vast majority of the time you don't need rear brakes at all.  but they make the truck work just a bit better and can make all the difference in the world in an emergency. 
 
but more importantly, the bolts that hold up the sway bar bushing brackets like to snap right off, even in otherwise clean trucks.   they are mean, hateful things.  let them soak in PB Blaster for a few days and just be prepared to deal with a snapped bolt should it happen.   
 
off road the swaybars can be a hindrance for sure.  quick-disconnects will give you the best of both worlds. 

This.

Mine broke 3 out of 4 bolts, away bar got thrown away at that point, I drive it no issue.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[HOrnbrod]

2 hours ago, Longview said:

This.

Mine broke 3 out of 4 bolts, away bar got thrown away at that point, I drive it no issue.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 

 

Fix it.

[Eagle]

6 hours ago, Longview said:

Mine broke 3 out of 4 bolts, away bar got thrown away at that point, I drive it no issue.
 

 

The guy on NAXJA didn't have any issues, either -- until he landed on his roof.