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I was replacing the shocks and it just snapped. I expected the top bolts to break, but never the large bottom stud. I was shocked.
I would be shocked too. This is my first time dealing with this kind of shock mounts and I thought for sure one of the top bolts would break and I even bought those flag nuts just in case, but nothing broke. I can't imagine breaking the bottom mount...
What brand quick disconnect are you using? They look like JKS as are mine but mine are painted black.
On my JKS quick disconnect there is not much room between the disconnect and the steering stabilizer mount bracket. If the hole ends up more than a little oversized and the bracket in too close you might need to force and shim the mount pin forward to keep it in the right position as you tighten the pin nut. Maybe cut a small sliver out of a washer to fit into the oversized hole to force the pin forward? Have someone weld in a bit of metal and redrill? Cut a small piece from a coat hanger? Not sure if a bit of epoxy such as JB Weld would stay in place long enough to get everything bolted up tight.
As long as you have clearance I would not be too concerned. Probably more critical is getting disconnect height adjusted right so that the angle of the sway bar correct and same side to side. I believe sway bar angle from horizontal rod center to disconnect mount point is in the range of 10 to 20 degrees with 15 being optimal. I struggled a bit to get a good measurement. I had to adjust my JKS model 2000 to the shortest length to get the angle right and then it was on the tall side. See my build thread (link in my signature) for a couple of photos of what mine looks like.
The brand I have is rusty's. Clearance-wise it just grazes the steering stabilizer mount when you try to take it in and out. JB weld might work to fill the gap until it's torqued down.
Shoot, I can't see your signature in this version of the forum I'm using.
And another photo of about how the sway bar end at the disconnect should look.The shorter the disconnect the shallower the angle will be. In this photo it is about at 20 degrees. My markup is a bit crude but you get the idea.
And another photo of about how the sway bar end at the disconnect should look.The shorter the disconnect the shallower the angle will be. In this photo it is about at 20 degrees. My markup is a bit crude but you get the idea.
Thanks for the link, I'll check it out tonight after work. So basically what you would do to establish the degrees if I'm understanding your pic right is to put a straight edge from the bend by the bushing to where the disconnect bolts into the end and put a degree measuring device on the straight edge.
Right.
15 degrees from horizontal is ideal for the XJ. I could only get to 20 but that is within range of what JKS recommended. If you have difficulty getting a measurement approach let me know and I will get a photo of how I did mine.
Right.
15 degrees from horizontal is ideal for the XJ. I could only get to 20 but that is within range of what JKS recommended. If you have difficulty getting a measurement approach let me know and I will get a photo of how I did mine.
Will do, and thank you. I look forward to reading your build thread tonight.
Sorry for the delay but I finally found some time to get back to this today. I shifted the lower sway bar stud forward so it now is pretty close to what the drivers side is. Where I'm having problems now is I can't suck the adjustable sway bar in enough to get to 15 degrees. I've got them sucked in as far as I can and I'm getting somewhere between 25-30 degrees. I'm guessing that the link has to be somewhere around 1-1 1/2" shorter to get the 15 degrees. I'm really starting to dislike rusty's offroad for numerous reasons, this is just the icing on the cake. Anyone know if it will work like this or have any ideas?
Third coast's pic shows the sway bar inside the link bracket whereas yours is on top of it. That would definitely help your angle. But Rusty's installation info says it goes on top and it looks too narrow for the sway bar to go inside. Could you lower the brackets and drill new holes? If not maybe this:
You know, I haven't tried it that way. I'll have to pull it off and try it but I agree, I don't think it will fit. Drilling new holes on the diff side is probably a no-go. I had really bad luck with that. That bracket is a good option, I'll check it out tonight. I hope o don't have to replace the whole linkage....
