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Sway Bar Bent??

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Old Mar 21, 2011 | 10:04 PM
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Default Sway Bar Bent??

Hey All,

Late last year my 92 2WD XJ was stolen and involved in a hit and run accident. The theif rear ended another car. It bent my front bumper a bit. I also noticed my my stock sway bar connectors look a lil bit bent outward. My question is are they suposed to be straight up and down or are they suposed to bent a little bit? Also is the Sway bar supposed to have a slight curve? Help!!
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Old Mar 21, 2011 | 10:08 PM
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Originally Posted by LaredoBucket
Hey All,

Late last year my 92 2WD XJ was stolen and involved in a hit and run accident. The theif rear ended another car. It bent my front bumper a bit. I also noticed my my stock sway bar connectors look a lil bit bent outward. My question is are they suposed to be straight up and down or are they suposed to bent a little bit? Also is the Sway bar supposed to have a slight curve? Help!!
if you are talking about the swaybar end links that connect to the swaybar then, they are suppost to be straight, if your talking about the swaybar itself, it has a slight bend in it on each side. if ur links are bent it would be a good time to invest in some quick disco's. if ur swaybar is bent, get one from a zj

Last edited by jeepxj19; Mar 21, 2011 at 10:10 PM.
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Old Mar 22, 2011 | 10:32 AM
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Thanks for the reply. It looks like the brackets that are welded to the beam are bent. Also I noticed one of my mounts to the sway bar itself is bent too. I purchased a new Daystar sway bar bushing kit for my XJ. The brackets seem a little flimsy. Perhaps I should put my old ones back on with new bushings.
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Old Mar 22, 2011 | 10:40 AM
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Originally Posted by LaredoBucket
Thanks for the reply. It looks like the brackets that are welded to the beam are bent. Also I noticed one of my mounts to the sway bar itself is bent too. I purchased a new Daystar sway bar bushing kit for my XJ. The brackets seem a little flimsy. Perhaps I should put my old ones back on with new bushings.
Pics would help
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Old Mar 22, 2011 | 10:43 AM
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Scrap it & take 20lbs off your front end.
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Old Mar 22, 2011 | 11:00 AM
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Originally Posted by BRUNER247
Scrap it & take 20lbs off your front end.
A swaybar doesnt weigh 20lbs. And if he uses it as a dd then he should keep it, and if he offroads then it takes 2 seconds to undo quick disco's
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Old Mar 22, 2011 | 11:17 AM
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Originally Posted by jeepxj19
Pics would help
Name:  XJSwayBar.jpg
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Old Mar 22, 2011 | 12:25 PM
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the one on the drivers side just does not look right, its definitely bent

the one on the pass side looks better but there looks to be some type of shift that happened

i have a 2001 xj 4wd and mine are straight up and down

look at the flex in the bushing at the end of the sway bar--sway bar links
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Old Mar 22, 2011 | 12:27 PM
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Deff. not supposed to be bent like that id take the old ones off and bent the mounts back with a hammer
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Old Mar 22, 2011 | 12:45 PM
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Bend the mounts back, u could try heating them up to make em bend easyer. Then replace both end links
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Old Mar 22, 2011 | 01:02 PM
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Originally Posted by jeepxj19
Bend the mounts back, u could try heating them up to make em bend easyer. Then replace both end links
I figured they were tweaked. That's probably why I was having trouble steering on the road. HA! Next Question. Once I straighten everthing and replace End Links, How tight do these have to be? Are there any Torque specifications?? I may as well upgrade to ZJ Sway Bar just for *****s & giggles. I'll try to find one from the Junk Yard this weekend. I already have a Brand New Daystar Sway Bar Bushing Kit that I bought by accident. I may as well install it.

Last edited by LaredoBucket; Mar 22, 2011 at 01:10 PM.
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Old Mar 22, 2011 | 01:06 PM
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Originally Posted by LaredoBucket

I figured they were tweaked. That's probably why I was having trouble steering on the road. HA! Next Question. Once I straighten everthing and replace End Links, How tight do these have to be? Are their any Torque specifications??
Torque for most things = tight and then 1/4 turn
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Old Mar 22, 2011 | 05:29 PM
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dont listen to ^^^, every person's understanding of "tight" is different, you can end up with 10+ ft lbs difference. Plus, torquing on bushings is way different since they will compact quite a bit as you torque them. find the real spec and use that

PS: the links look fine but the mounts are definitely bent
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Old Mar 22, 2011 | 05:29 PM
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stock links

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Old Mar 22, 2011 | 06:12 PM
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Originally Posted by Hoooper
dont listen to ^^^, every person's understanding of "tight" is different, you can end up with 10+ ft lbs difference. Plus, torquing on bushings is way different since they will compact quite a bit as you torque them. find the real spec and use that

PS: the links look fine but the mounts are definitely bent
Myself along with many other ppl on here dont follow the torque settings and hav nvr had a problem. Aslong as u dont over tighten something u wilk be fine
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