By the looks of things, the PO of my XJ messed up all kinds of things. I noticed the sway bar bracket wasn't attached in the correct hole. If you look at the pictures (drivers side), the bracket should be attached in the left 2 holes. The bolt sticking out is attached to a nut that should be welded inside there right? They broke the bolt off and the nut loose at the same time. Any way to get inside there to re-weld that nut back? Would it be bad to take out the sway bar if I am going to be driving on curvy mountain roads?




This bolt and nut are both broke

 

you can cut a small access hole on both frame rails and use a wrench to hold the nuts while tightening the bolts. no need to weld it back if you keep the access hole open for potential future removal.

and to remove the broken bolt you can try punching it in (maybe cutting it flush with the frame rail and then punching it would be a better idea), and then use a magnet or something to remove it through the previously made access holes.

 

Cane has some pretty good advice there. But yes, you can remove the sway bar completely as well. Some people say it makes a big difference in handling but I removed mine and don't notice a difference.

 

Ah I should've thought of that��. That's what this website is for though, thanks guys! If I remove the sway bar I assume I should take out the links as well? If so I'm going to have to go on a mission for a giant torx bit

 

Yes remove everything if you're going to take the sway bar off. The torx stud is actually pressed into the bracket. Don't even try turning it. There's actually no reason to take it off anyway. Just take the endlink off and leave the stud.

 

Ok thanks! One last question. The bump stops seem to be shot, there's a rubber piece just rolling around in the bottom of the coil. I'm assuming it fell out from the top. Should I be concerned about this? I don't plan on doing any extreme crawling for now but since I took the sway bar off I'm just curious.

 

[QUOTE=Danger12;3323377]Ok thanks! One last question. The bump stops seem to be shot, there's a rubber piece just rolling around in the bottom of the coil. I'm assuming it fell out from the top. Should I be concerned about this? I don't plan on doing any extreme crawling for now but since I took the sway bar off I'm just curious.[/QUOTE

you could manage without the bump stop unless you wheel, but replace it anyway because they are cheap. Also, mountain roads+ no sway bar=driving a boat down/up the mountain. Once you get a back tire to slide or worse youll have acquired a functioning swaybar real quick. Be safe man!

 

I see you are in Virginia. You will fail inspection for no sway bar as they check that on the safety inspection. I have no experience with driving without a sway bar, don't plan to either. I think it's foolish to ride without one. Mine is lifted 5" and has quite a bit of body roll in corners, can only imagine if I didn't have the bar in.

 

It's pretty common for the original bumpstop to pretty much rot and fall out of its "home". Not a huge concern if you're not taking your suspension to its limits.

The sway bar thing is really a matter of opinion. You're going to get the guys who swear by them and others (like myself) who see no change in how the jeep handles/performs with or without the bar. I personally believe the taboo around removing it has been generated by guys who have actually never removed the sway bar but are under the impression that your rig is going to roll over immediately as soon as you take the bar off. Have you seen the size of the bar? It's super tiny. Maybe it works well for a stockish rig but running 6" lift and a heavy wheel/tire combo.... I think my point is made.

I also don't drive my rig like it's a racecar which may be another factor in my theory. But I have no control over how others drive. So take it for a spin yourself and see if you notice a difference. It's not a permanent modification. Throw it back on if it feels unsafe.

 

Drove about 30 minutes this morning and it actually felt better driving without the bar. Before it wanted to pull left real hard. Without it, it drives almost perfectly straight. Idk if it wasn't installed properly or what but it's definitely better without it for now. While I have it off I'll probably throw some paint on it and keep driving to see if I find any other differences.

 

seeing the previous pics you posted it's obvious it wasn't installed properly and the PO did a half assed job.

here's a thread you can read where everyone agrees you should keep it if it's a daily driver. you can run without it while waiting to fix it, but don't downplay the importance it has on how your jeep handles. my personal opinion is if it's used as a daily driver, keep the front swaybar on and ditch the rear if it's not already done.

https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f2/swa...removal-49087/

 

Do you think it not being installed properly is why it would pull hard left while driving? What's the best thing to do when I reinstall it, just center it up best I can?

 

Not tryin to hi jack the thread but, I have the same problem with my front bumpstop. Does it just push back up into its home. Seems like I have some of it still up in there, nothing holding it up there but snugness?

 

And yes, they just press into their home. If it's broken or deteriorating than its junk.