Preload on rear sway bar?
Thread Starter
Race Director
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From: Scottsdale Arizona
Preload on rear sway bar?
I think I know the answer to this one before even posting the question. Should a stock rear sway bar be even given that the rear end is level? While finishing my new rear end install this morning, I noticed about an inch between the drivers side shackle and the resting sway bar eyelette. I presume it should be flat in its resting state? If so, is it worth trying to bend it back? It's a stock BB bar so not super easy to replace..
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In a perfect world it would be level yes.
But I believe you'll find an inch twist over that bar at neutral you can pretty much almost do by hand.
The rear bars don't do a lot until more deflection than that happens
M
But I believe you'll find an inch twist over that bar at neutral you can pretty much almost do by hand.
The rear bars don't do a lot until more deflection than that happens
M
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Drifting
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You can definitely rebend the factory sway bars. I rebent mine for greater tyre clearance. I would in this instance too. Leverage is your friend.
Last edited by Metalhead140; Mar 13, 2016 at 05:58 PM.
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Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 12,707
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From: Scottsdale Arizona
Thanks guys. I'll try to straighten it out.
It did occur to me though that the extra twist might be compensating for the extra weight that I've put on over the winter.
It did occur to me though that the extra twist might be compensating for the extra weight that I've put on over the winter.
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Mine was to wide on the ends............ So I clamped it in a big vice near the end 90 degree and I put a 4 foot pipe over the end and bent each end in
Drifting
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That's more or less what I did too, except I bent it inwards at the 90 and then reclamped and bent it outwards at the next bend, so the arms of the sway bar sat closer to the chassis rail where they went past the wheel and tyre.
Drifting
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Yep, they are. Yes you should be careful bending them (as any time working with springs or anything else with stored energy), and yes, potentially they can break if you overdo it, and release a lot of energy. But for small changes, and particularly on existing bends (rather than the torsion part of the bar), my experience is that it will be fine. A small amount of heat (well below changing colour of the steel) won't hurt to focus the location of the bend either. You need very high temperatures before you affect the temper. Full disclaimer, there is some risk of a swaybar breaking if bent cold, particularly if attempting large bends or in the torsion section of the bar. I wouldn't recommend doing that, if you need to for some reason then heat it properly hot, bend it, and have it retempered by a spring shop. But for small amounts on existing bends, I personally would do (and have done) it as have many others. If you are unhappy or unsure about any of this then farm it out, but any good home mechanic/fabricator with a decent shop can manage it in my opinion. There's plenty of info out there to research, as I did before doing it myself.