trans_am7935

Hey guys, i just posted this in the Texas Section, but thought the rest of the forum could benefit from it, so here you go.

Hey guys, i have been pretty dormant for a while due to work and the travel involved, but i have been recently discovering new ways to make my jeep a better all around vehicle on and off the road. Recently i took a trip to the junk yard and grabbed a bunch of things to include a 99-04 Grand Cherokee WJ front axle (with brakes attached), front sway bar, pitman arm and a ZJ and Durango steering box (so to compare them and make a thread later for that).

Today i successfully swapped out my XJ front sway bar for the much larger WJ one. It was actually surprisingly easy, and only requires you to drill two holes. Here is a list of the tools i used:

WJ front sway bar, and body mounts
XJ Rough Country front sway bar disconnects
Drill w/ 7/16 drill bit
Punch (to make a centering hole to drill)
18mm Wrench/Socket (WJ Sway bar bolts)
15mm Wrench/Socket (XJ Sway bar bolts)


As stated earlier, i acquired the front WJ sway bar from the junkyard for a whopping $11.47. So if it didn't fit, so what. First i removed the Stock sway bar, and test fit the GC WJ one to see where it would fit. It was much longer and larger then the stock XJ and even much bigger then the ZJ upgrade, but it was worth my time and effort.

Here you can see the difference between the WJ swaybar and the XJ swaybar, the WJ bar is on the bottom.







So after this, i didn't take pictures of the hole i drilled due to the rain outside, but it was very easy. I took some more pictures after i installed it, but we will get to those later. First i mock mounted the swaybar, to see where it sat and discovered it was way to long, and the body mounts would need to go forward at least 2 inches. So i started in the easiest spot, by taking the front bolt of the (now removed) XJ swaybar mount, and bolted the WJ bracket there...EUREKA!!! It gave me about an inch clearance from the coils, and one of the bots was already exactly where I needed it to be.

Now to find out where the second one would go. To do this, i removed the swaybar, and removed the body mount bracket from the bushing on the WJ swaybar. I then bolted it up loosely to where i had it before, the front bolt of the old bar being used as the rear bolt on the new bar. I lined it up flush with the side of the frame, marked my hole and got out the punch. I marked my center, and then drilled the hole. Although i used the stock XJ bolt for the rear of this mount, i used the WJ one from the front as it is much beefier and came with the bar. After i drilled the hole, i picked up two nuts size M12x1.75 to fit the stock GC bolts. I was able to access the tops of these holes through the front of the frame, as seen in the pictures bellow:




All i used was a wrench with a piece of tape on top of it to keep the nut from falling in the frame. Now you can just install it like this, or you can weld on a tab, or plate to keep the bolt from turning in the frame, i went in later and welded tabs on the nuts in the frame, similar to the stock track bar bolt. Now although the entire bushing of the swaybar sits on a flat spot of the frame, the rear frame mount is at an angle, so the front bolt needs to be tightened all the way down first, then the rear, this way it slightly bends the mount to lay flush with the angle of the frame, worked great.

Here is the fully installed Sway bar. Note that it does stick out a little further in the wheel well, but i checked it for clearance, and even at full compression and full lock, my tire did not hit the swaybar.



Just look how enormous that front sway bar is! I have the Level 3 ORO U-Turn steering up front with the solid drag link and it matches the size of my steering. I have on more then one occasion slipped off a rock, slamming my steering with the full weight of the Jeep's front end, and not a dent, scratches and missing paint, but strong as hell.








After i installed it i took it for a quick ride and HOLY **** what a difference! I no longer feel like i am gonna fall out of the Jeep on turns, the rear locker actually locks up less due the the stiffer front keeping more even pressure on both tires in the rear. So instead of my locker trying to lock my inside tire due to it lifting and loosing a bit of traction, i get smoother, more level turns. I hope some of you guys that are looking for safer handling on the street, especially in a lifted XJ with big tires, will look into this and do it. I did not find a write up of anyone doing this so i decided to make my own. If you guys have any questions let me know, or need help installing one. I would be glad to help if you are in the San Antonio, TX area.

cleenrob

niice!, good to see someone else from SA on here bring forth new info

goatherder

Nice. This one goes on the list.. My Jeep doesn't see any serious wheeling - its more of an all-terrain car. So this will help keep it planted when I'm bombing around. Thanks.

Photojared

You need some new tires bro.

Big David

Very welcomed write up. I have a steering box brace where the factory bar bolts to. This may fix that issue. With the exo on my Jeep it's kinda top heavy. I really would like a front sway bar.

Thanks

powderfinger

Thanks for sharing. Any updated thoughts? And do any of the forum experts see pros/cons here?

trans_am7935

Thanks for reminding me, cant pull those from a junkyard. I am waiting a little longer as the rear two have lots of tread on them due to recent flat on a wheelin trip.

cruiser54

Let's get the measurements on both bars' diameters.

Biggest on an XJ ever was 28mm.

trans_am7935

The Grand Cherokee bar i installed off the WJ was 32mm while my stock one that i removed was 26mm, my jeep came with the Up Country package from the factory, i did not have a rear sway bar.

cruiser54

That should be good on the road.

trans_am7935

Your telling me, this thing is fantastic. I can hit corners at normal speeds like i never could before. As i stated earlier, it keeps my Detroit locker from locking up on corners and coming out of driveways as well, saving my rear tires. Considering i got this from the Junkyard for $11, this is one of the best road upgrades i have made.

cruiser54

Nothing like real life experience, eh?

Thanks for the update.

Tony_SS

Thanks for the post! I'm all over this one.

cruiser54

Keep in mind that sway bar disconnects would be a good idea off-road.

speedofsound

Same! Thanks for the write up.