Offroad swaybar writeup with *pics*

[PumaZJ]

I've been wanting to do this for awhile and after plenty of research I think this is a pretty effective way to get a stable ride on the highway and the trail yet still allow for plenty of suspension travel. Just as a little history, I was running a stock swaybar with JKS disconnects in my ZJ which worked great. When I got a daily driver I decided swaybars weren't that important so I ditched them altogether. After a few trail rides and extended periods on the road, I knew that running no swaybars, longarms, and soft shocks was not going to work. So I looked into this.

There are a few different brands of swaybars like this. Teraflex makes one, Currie produces their popular anti-rock, and a relatively low-key company "Rock Equipment" makes one as well. Considering price and quality I chose the rock equipment swaybar kit.



I got the 36" bar kit that comes with threaded rod, nylon locknuts, heim joint rod ends, bushings, and stainless arms (pictured black), and tubing inserts to hold the bar. It was a little bit cheaper than the Currie anti-rock and essentially the same thing.

Time to get started.

Here is the swaybar and arms all put together. Pretty bling and top notch quality.



Now since my front axle is stretched about 3" the arms are way too long to fit without rubbing on the springs. The only solution to this was mill the arms down to make them a more managable size, OR move the swaybar mounts forward about 5". Since I don't want to bash this thing on every rock at Tellico I chose to cut down the arms. Doing this also makes it easy to add some extra holes for ride stiffness adjustability.

BEFORE



AFTER



Now that everything was sized up right it was time to make brackets. The tubing is 1.75" HREW .120 wall and the plate is just some hacked up 1/4" link brackets. The tubing's ID matches the bushings OD.







Now to get everything up on the "frame". Not a perfect fit but a little plate and alot of welding wire will fix that problem.

[PumaZJ]

Now to assemble the linkage while the brackets are cooling. You have to cut the threaded rod down to your desired length, thread the lock nuts on, mock up the swaybar, and decide how long you want them.





The angle of the swaybar is pretty important in terms of its effectiveness, so we put it at around 11*. Now everything is ready to go together.







On the road I was pretty stoked. It's MUCH better than not running a swaybar, especially on those windy days. As with any lifted vehicle there is still some body roll present but with this upgrade its no more than what you would have with a stock swaybar. I am looking forward to getting it out on the trail and seeing what it does for those off-camber situations.

I see this topic pop up every so often around here so I hope this helps someone out. As always if you have anything to contribute please go ahead. Thanks for looking!

-Elliott

[ArloGuthroJeep]

What makes them able to keep them connected on the trail and not lose any flex?

[bdwg]

looks good - nice job.

are those plates just that? plate? plate steel? plate aluminum? been thinking of doing my own too.

[Texas ZJ1]

Okay,

you're famous, check out the faqs about 2/3rds the way down on the first post.

You're in bold with a link to this thread.


Hunter

[zaq123]

pretty impressive, Puma
I wonder if I can modify this for ZJ. I was lucky enough to get it for $80
read the story

http://jeepforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=367045

[PumaZJ]

Originally Posted by ArloGuthroJeep

What makes them able to keep them connected on the trail and not lose any flex?

Check MC for the complete explanation. Too much theoretical BS that "makes" it work.

[BlaineWasHere]

Nice! thats PIMP!