Does the TJ need a rear sway bar?

OK, there is not a consensus on this issue. Since sway bar disconnects are very commonplace on off-roader TJs I assume that many folks enjoy the increased articulation that removing the bars from the suspension gives. However using rear disconnects is a PITA. I’m going to pull mine and test it both on and off-road and see what I think. It doesn’t appear to be particularly difficult thing to remove or replace in a decently equipped shop which I’ve got.

Broke a front sway bar link once. Now that makes a TJ scary.
 
There's a reason why you won't find quick discos for the rear antiswaybar, they don't help.

Did you notice above that coil spring TJs at the championship rock crawling offroad competition level, like, Currie and Savvy don't run disconnected?

There's for sure a concensus among those who know what they're doing.
 
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Jerry Bransford said:
There's a reason why you won't find quick discos for the rear antiswaybar, they don't help.

Did you notice above that coil spring TJs at the championship rock crawling offroad competition level, like, Currie and Savvy don't run disconnected?

There's for sure a concensus among those who know what they're doing.
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Damn Gerry, lighten up. the guys just trying to learn.

Philip, you should absolutely, pull your rear antiswaybar and CAREFULLY test it on and off road. Really feel for the way the body and suspension interact with each other, and how that relationship changes with the bar removed. The best way to learn something is to try it yourself. In the end, you will likely come to the same conclusion as what Gerry said. But you will have the experience to base your own opinions off of, instead of just reading other peoples opinions. Whats that blaine says- knowledge is not understanding. Or something like that.
 
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Im not sure how we can compare a stock sway bar setup and an antirock. Yes neither have disconnects. Then there is the stock with quick disco's option. Seems like 3 separate categories to me. The antirock certainly has a unique design with the special "torsion spring" style rod that cannot be compared to the factory sway bar, connected or not. This is what I use in front with stock rear connected. There is no TJ the same on here so its really your discretion.
 
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I am in the final stages of rebuilding the suspension of my '97 SE. It has a rear sway bar from the factory. I snapped one of the bushing mounting bolts removing the old stuff and did not fix it yet. I went for a quick drive without the rear sway bar and did notice how much more it leaned even in gentle turns even compared to the old worn out bushing and links. Personally, I am anxious to get it back on.
 
I haven’t had a problem finding rear disconnects. Not a huge selection like for the front, but they are out there. I think they’re not widely used because you pretty much have get under the vehicle to use them. It’s not hard to come from a day in a Jeep dirty/muddy but one doesn’t really want to start out that way. If money were no object I would love love a Curry sway bar replacement system or one of the clones but they are Damned expensive (well over a grand for two axels) for the benefits.
 
I'm not really sure what the benefits are that you're trying to achieve by disconnecting the rear? I've not found it to limit droop in any offroad situation. Its just not that firm. Working in the garage, trying to pull springs, sure, it limits articulation...but that isn't really what its for.

This is front disco'ed, with rear swaybar attached.

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The rear factory sway bar does not limit articulation even with 12" travel shocks. There is absolutely no reason to remove or to add disconnects to it.

The front stock sway bar is an entirely different discussion.
 
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I lost a bolt on my rear sway bar link so essentially it was disconnected. I noticed as soon as I got on the highway that something wasn't right.

For me that means two things, it being connected or disconnected played such a small role that day in my offroad abilities that I didn't even notice it wasn't attached. Second, is that it does play a role in road stability to the point that I did notice it was disconnected after the trail.

It was a little strange feeling the body roll that much with no rear and a front antirock.
 
MaloStapalo said:
I lost a bolt on my rear sway bar link so essentially it was disconnected. I noticed as soon as I got on the highway that something wasn't right.

For me that means two things, it being connected or disconnected played such a small role that day in my offroad abilities that I didn't even notice it wasn't attached. Second, is that it does play a role in road stability to the point that I did notice it was disconnected after the trail.

It was a little strange feeling the body roll that much with no rear and a front antirock.
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So much so that even the 3 young Boy Scouts riding with me on the way home after a weekend desert trip noticed the difference after one of the two rear antiswaybar links broke which completely disables the entire rear antiswaybar.
 
Philip said:
OK, there is not a consensus on this issue. Since sway bar disconnects are very commonplace on off-roader TJs I assume that many folks enjoy the increased articulation that removing the bars from the suspension gives. However using rear disconnects is a PITA. I’m going to pull mine and test it both on and off-road and see what I think. It doesn’t appear to be particularly difficult thing to remove or replace in a decently equipped shop which I’ve got.

Broke a front sway bar link once. Now that makes a TJ scary.
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No, there is a consensus, we just have a few folks being assholes for the sake of being assholes. We've done the testing as we are prone to do to prove points in discussions like this and ran the same rig we are intimately familiar with through the trails you see pictures of Jerry in and hands down the rig is far more capable with ARs front and rear than otherwise. That was because my helper didn't fully believe me when I told him that we had learned many years ago from near identical rigs going through JV with the only difference being disco'd versus a front AR and stock rear bar. So, we spent a day proving what we already knew and we are still right.
 
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pagrey said:
I read somewhere that there is no such thing as a free lunch.

It's great that you're happy with the bar and $200 seems like a good deal.

It is surprising that Jeep chose to spend all that money on an electric disconnect instead of just slightly reducing the diameter of the front bar. They probably should have consulted Currie before building the JK and JL Rubicon.
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It's little fun when folks use one thing to blast another and neither has anything to do with the other. Using your logic, we should all switch to Inverted T steering because Chrysler went to it on the Dodge trucks. Certainly they wouldn't have spent all that money doing a retrofit backwards on them if they are not superior, right? The reality is even though it is about as flat as you will ever get it, the vague on-center steering feel and constant small adjustments still have to be made and it is nowhere near as precise as the inverted Y it replaced.

If Chrysler were to have done the electric bar correctly or better, they would have had it switch between two rates of swaybar, stiffer for the street and softer for offroad. That is considerably more money so the compromise is full disconnect and the street bar since most won't be able to tell the difference offroad.
 
I'm not sure if I'm on that list of assholes, I hope I'm not, as I'm trying to be helpful. My point being get out there and test it yourself. I mean that's what you guys did.

"We've done the testing as we are prone to do to prove points in discussions like this and ran the same rig we are intimately familiar with"

And you (the OP) will likely come to the same conclusion. Experience is more valuable than book (forum) smarts.

I'm not challenging your knowledge, I'm just encouraging people to try it for themselves
 
Under your theory of I am wondering if I really need my rear brakes I should just disconnect them and hit the highway. Regardless of safety for others, regardless of what others who know say. I wonder what will happen if I stab a few holes in my waterbed? Everyone says it will leak, but I should not listen to them. Wonder what will happen if I drop a match in a gas can? No need to think. I'll just find out for myself. As long as i drop the match slowly I'll be fine. Really?
 
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Goatman said:
Under your theory of I am wondering if I really need my rear brakes I should just disconnect them and hit the highway. Regardless of safety for others, regardless of what others who know say. I wonder what will happen if I stab a few holes in my waterbed? Everyone says it will leak, but I should not listen to them. Wonder what will happen if I drop a match in a gas can? No need to think. I'll just find out for myself. As long as i drop the match slowly I'll be fine. Really?
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Again though, we should keep it reasonably in context. It will not be catastrophic or death inducing to run without a rear swaybar to see how it works and how the rig handles. The small bit of a learning curve that exists will generally be overcome in short order.

The other side of that is with the right shocks, most won't even know it is missing. You can not say the same for your match and waterbed issues. You will notice those with a quickness and the lessons learned will be at least painful.
 
mrblaine said:
Again though, we should keep it reasonably in context. It will not be catastrophic or death inducing to run without a rear swaybar to see how it works and how the rig handles. The small bit of a learning curve that exists will generally be overcome in short order.
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Well put, this was my only point and is a great way to answer the original question.
 
I would suggest using the rear swaybar. It does not limit rear flex. I run the front disconnected and rear connected. The only thing I noticed with the rear disconnected is pucker factor on off camber trails. Here is the rear bar connected. It is on the bumpstop.
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I just replaced mine, and I can say running without on the road and off was noticeable to me and creates poor and significantly worse handling issues. The new upgraded rear Hellwig is an improvment over stock. IMO, biased of course by my lighter wallet.
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Got a part number for the hellwig? I've used them before on other vehicles, they're really nice.
 
I've never ran a TJ with a front sway bar yet. When I got my TJ a front link was broken. I just got used to the body roll and figured that's a TJ. With the 4.0 and 3.07 with 33s it wasn't like I was going quickly anywhere.

I want to go with the anti-rock, but just haven't brought myself to picking one up since I'm so familiar with the vehicle as is and I get stingy in weird spending areas. Reading through here though and with my rack supposed to be shipping the first week of May, I think I'll bite the bullet fairly soon.
 
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