Sway bar hits
 

I put some extended links on finally after having my 3 inch lift for a while but now my sway bar hits the bumper tie in bolt head. Has anyone had this problem? Is there a wider sway bar I could use or something? Thanks in advance for all help

Mine is doing this same thing at stock height. I'm curious to see what solutions people have come up with.

What's the length of your sway bar link and what angle does your bar currently sit it?

I'd say like 9* on the sway bar and the link is ~8 inches long

They should be around 15 degrees. Is the sway bar even on both sides? Maybe you can replace that bolt with a carriage type bolt, if you find the right grade bolt sae grade 8 or metric 10.9.

So it should be higher than it is now? And it's a round hole so I don't know how I'd get the carriage bolt to keep from spinning.

how about something with an allen socket in a rounded head? I'm just trying to figure out something that will work

http://images1.mcmaster.com/mvA/cont...ver=1378284769

I have never seen one that big, but I'm going to ace tomorrow so I guess I could look around and see what I could find. If I could find something like a wheel stud that would work great. Just put an impact on the other side and pull the splines into the bracket. Wouldn't stick out much.

You might need an adjustable track bar. That one looks stock. Don't usually see this problem. I have a ton on room between my sway bar and the frame.

Depending on how big the hole is you could also run the bolt without a washer, shouldn't need one.

Both sides hit. The tie in plate is like 3/16 or 1/4 and the bolt sticks out another 1/4ish so that's half an inch less room

I've got enough room to move my big hand around in there, probably about 2 inchs. I don't have bumper brackets, but there definitely should be room. Here is a picture sorry it's not the best.


https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...d148f69926.jpg


A ZJ sway bar might be wider and I think will fit. A sway bar is a spring, kind of like a torsion bar. Try rotating your links around the other way and seeing if you can get them to fit that way, it should make a bit of room.

I used grade 8 carriage bolts.

Never mind don't think rotating the links will work. I'm pretty sure something is wrong with either the links or the sway bar or something set up weird. Maybe try going back to factory links and/or getting some sway bar drop brackets or making your own.

The only problem I see with this is I believe the hole is too big in the tie in to use a carriage bolt, you think if I used an impact to tighten the nut up maybe the friction would keep it from spinning?

There may not be anything wrong with your suspension as I'm stock and having the exact same problem on both sides.

These are stock links cut and threaded to fit heim joints.

I used hand tools and did not have an issue with bolt turning. Removing them might be a different story.
Correct, there is not much room there to begin with. Add 3/16" or 1/4" steel plate (bumper bracket or tow hook) and it gets tight, no room for a thick bolt head and washer.

Was the splines or square section bigger than the hole or did it just sit down in the hole and the friction of the head on the carriage bolt keep it from spinning?

I used the square type carriage bolt. The square did catch just enough to grab and I had to tap it in with a hammer. If the square portion does not catch than friction on the head of bolt should still be enough to tighten.

Alright, tomorrow afterschool looks like I'll try this approach. Thanks! I'll update with how it works out.

I had zero problems with the RE links and some drop brackets, have plenty of clearance from the spring and nowhere near hitting the bumper retainer. Try some aftermarket links and see if that solves your problem, or make your own. Either way it's a real cheap fix. Actually now that I look at my picture it looks like my bumper retaining bolts are in different spots. Hmmmmm.....

EDIT: Looks like the PO just took those bolts out. Guess that's always an option.


https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...20b48e46b8.jpg

These links are diy extended links (by like an inch or 2) and I had a drop but I have a mow profile bumper on and it looked like crap with the sway bar sitting really low. So when I got the bumper I took off the drop, then a few months later (yesterday) I made some extended links and now they hit the bolt from the bumper tie in bracket. I don't have a stock bumper on there

This seems like an appearance vs. function dilemma. Are you able to just remove that bolt, are there other tie-ins like on mine? And may I ask what's with using modded stock links? Why not just spend $30 and get an aftermarket pair?

Quick disconnect, I like making stuff and I've never seen a pair of quick disconnects that are of any quality for $30. I ground the markings off the bolt and took out the washer and hasn't hit yet. I'm not going to take out the bolts because if I ever pulled someone out or was pulled out I would need the extra strength.

Oh okay I see. This is what I went with for quick discos with my aftermarket links. If you ever do decide to get a decent set of aftermarket links but don't want to shell out 200+ bucks for jks stuff I'd do these. They're really quick and a whole lot cheaper than the quicker discos.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#90293a413/=z97ns0

Not sure if that's the actual useable length required so if you do go that route I would double check measurements.

Have you considered a WJ sway bar? I think the dimensions are different. I know I've seen a write-up somewhere.

Grind the bolt down with a 36grit flapper. It's under a shear load not a tension load, so grinding the head won't affect it.

My links work. They're easy to disconnect most of the time, they tuck up out of the way good, they were fun to make, they saved me money, and they feel tighter turning. The links haven't hit since I slightly ground down the heads and took out the washers so I think the problem is solved.

If they hit again then this is the approach I'll take thanks!

Thanks for all the replies! And suggestions! Ideally I wish the manufacturer had used square holes and carriage bolts but I guess I can't really change that now so this will have to do. Thanks again!