The rear end of my XJ has been funky for a while, and I'm sure my leafs are not in the best shape (although certainly not sagging). Last week I felt something give out back there and it pops and crunches now over bumps or getting over a driveway hump. The most obvious damage was that the rear sway bar actually snapped in half and the drivers-side end link was busted. I can also measure about an inch difference between the good side and the broken side.

I have been reading threads where everyone tends to say "get rid of it / ditch it / won't know the difference" and all that, but why would an anti-sway bar not make any difference after being removed? I get it with the front; I had mine off doing bushings and drove it into the garage and even that felt swimmy... but I think I'd feel a lot better having a replacement and new end links / bushings. Also I read that, in the case of older leaf springs in questionable condition (mine), the rear sway bar will definitely help to keep the back end from swimming.

This isn't really a DD, but sometimes it has to be, and I also cart my daughter around in it when it is, so I don't want it any more unstable than it has to be. FYI I did the front bushings, swaybar end links, trackbar and steering stabilizer last year. I have not done shocks.

Can anyone give me some help on where the best place would be to get a factory replacement (yes, I know it's dinky) without spending 100 bucks on it? Our salvage yards around here don't have suspension parts in great shape...

(Or do I just eat it, spend about $200 and get the ADDCO replacement?)

 

LOL first I've heard of someone snapping a sway bar in two. Guess it wouldn't take much for that dinky little bar to rot through.

Most of us justify removing it because we are lifted and typically want to remove the sway bar quickly when going offroad. Plus, leaf springs are much more laterally stable than coils, especially with lifted leaf packs that are typically stiffer than OEM packs. In your situation, it sounds like you wouldn't really benefit from removing it and would feel better reinstalling one.

First place I'd be looking is on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace for a local part-out ad. I'm sure someone would basically give you the whole setup. Trouble will be finding an XJ that still has a rear sway bar, likely. If that doesn't fly then try your pick-n-pulls. The bar itself isn't a common part to replace so finding one new for cheap might be challenging.

 

Haha, I was thinking the same thing, but sure enough it's snapped in two closer to the drivers side.

I was being proactive and found a Marketplace ad where they have the bar and it's already pulled, so I will likely be going and grabbing that, then getting the links and bushings either on Amazon or Autozone... thanks for not telling me "euuugh lose the bar euuugh!"

 

When you get the bar give both ends, that go in the sway bar bushings, a quick look.
From sitting in the sway bar bushings and guessing where water collects some of
diameter of the sway bar could have rotted away.
If it is just some I don't know how much, if any, it really matters.
My passenger side bushing busted and that side the sway diameter had decreased from rotting.
My Mickey Mouse solutions was to put some hose over the end to increase the diameter so it would
fit tighter in the bushing like I thought it should.
You really can't tell in the first picture but the diameter was less cause of it rotting a bit.
But still circular. LOL.
The last picture is the driver's side which was fine showing a similar fit when compared to my Mickey Mouse solution.

 

That's actually pretty genius...

Well it turned out they gave me the entire pulled assembly with end links and bushings, so it's ready to bolt right in. I thought it was just the bare bar, but hey no complaints here. Bushings looked fine; I may just give the bar a quick sand and throw some paint on it. I contemplated doing getting new bushings and end links but honestly if this is ready to go in as-is, I'll go the easy route!

 

FWIW theres packages from the factory that deleted the rear swaybar. Apparently even Chrysler didnt think it really needed it either.

 

Remove it and go on, mine came from the factory without one, I have never needed it.

 

The rear sway bars were primarily to keep the rear Level for better sell... IT insured no matter the quality of the springs and shocks the rear would be level and visibly appeasing.
It also helped with keeping it on the stiffer side for less likely to flip when sudden movements on the road (Dodging the deer in your head lights) moments.

There are many other things it was to help with but for the most part for a semi-road travel vehicle it is optional with a competent driver..

Personally, I prefer to keep my stock jeep the way it was out of factory. (Useless or not) parts included..

 

That is actually really good advice because I saw how rotten my original bar looked under the end-link bushing, and actually now that I'm thinking of it, where the bar broke may have been from excessive moisture and weakened the metal. I do live in CT, my Jeep is pretty rusty underneath and part of my passenger floor is missing But the replacement bar looks ok. Here is a pic of where it broke...




I managed to get both end links off but the bushings on those were trashed also so I just went ahead and ordered 2 sets of Moog bushings and 2 Moog end links. I also managed to get the bar brackets off and only snapped one bolt in the welded nut on one side. I will Rivnut it.

 

Ain't rivnuts like the greatest invention. LOL.