Replacing my TeraFlex front sway bar to stock Mopar?

gg1

gg1

TJ Enthusiast
Joined
Feb 3, 2018
Messages
984
Location
Pittsburgh, PA, United States
I don't care for my TeraFlex front sway bar set up as it is too stiff when engaged and I don't need a quick disconnect. It was making some noise and I ended up taking the sway bar links off and tying them up out of the way. Jeep rides much better completely disconnected. It does have more body roll now of course. I am thinking the stock set up would be better for ride quality. I figured I should run this by the group. I have the OME 2" lift. Can I just get all the stock parts, or is it like the front track bar that needed to be replaced with an adjustable one if you want to do things right? Thanks for any advice.
 
Oh yea, the stock stuff will all work fine at 2". You could always add some JKS disconnects for better off road ability. The Currie Antirock is available too but you will need to trim the links for 2" of lift.
 
No doubt someone would be thrilled to be able to swap their stock antiswaybar for your Tera antiswaybar. Put an ad in various Jeep forum classifieds and your local Craigslist.
 
Jerry Bransford said:
No doubt someone would be thrilled to be able to swap their stock antiswaybar for your Tera antiswaybar. Put an ad in various Jeep forum classifieds and your local Craigslist.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I thought about that, but am not certain of the condition of the TeraFlex unit. I think I will have to take it apart first to make sure it is in good order. I personally would never own anything like this unit as it is ridiculously restrictive and stiff when engaged. Running without any sway bar is luxury, but illegal in my state and yeah, it would most likely roll over much easier without a sway bar.

New ones will probably cost around $200 for everything I suspect, so I might just get new instead of fighting something used in the rust belt. If I was in Cali, I would do exactly what you state for sure.
 
gg1 said:
Running without any sway bar is luxury, but illegal in my state and yeah, it would most likely roll over much easier without a sway bar.
Click to expand...
You can get away without antiswaybars or track bars in older leaf-spring Jeeps but not with the TJ's coil springs that are unstable in any direction. I came through my local mountains after breaking one of my rear antiswaybar links which completely removes its function and the additional sway through the mountain curves was totally unnerving. Even the 3 Boy Scouts riding with me when it happened noticed it and being kids, totally made a huge deal out of it. It was far more noticeable than I thought it would be.
 
Jerry Bransford said:
No doubt someone would be thrilled to be able to swap their stock anti-swaybar for your Tera antiswaybar. Put an ad in various Jeep forum classifieds and your local Craigslist.
Click to expand...


Heck, I might have swapped my factory anti-swaybar with you just to be able to say that I had personal experience with the Teraflex system. However I installed my new Currie Anti-Rock Offroad Swaybar two weeks ago and no way would I give it up now. I also don't think that I would be comfortable driving around with no anti-swaybar at all on a vehicle with coil springs. I can imagine the white knuckle moments.
 
I have a sway bar in the rear. Just no front, so no big deal. ;) I did drive it on the highway a few times without any connection up front. Doesn't seem that big of a deal to be honest. I will have it sorted this week. I am wearing my seatbelt, so no worries. :ambulance:
 
Jerry Bransford said:
You can get away without antiswaybars or track bars in older leaf-spring Jeeps but not with the TJ's coil springs that are unstable in any direction.
...
Click to expand...

I think you are confusing the job of the control arms and track bars with the sway bars. Leaf sprung vehicles can benefit from sway bars the same way a coil sprung vehicle can.
 
gg1 said:
I have a sway bar in the rear. Just no front, so no big deal. ;) I did drive it on the highway a few times without any connection up front. Doesn't seem that big of a deal to be honest. I will have it sorted this week. I am wearing my seatbelt, so no worries. :ambulance:
Click to expand...
It only matters when it matters, like during an evasive maneuver where stability and control become critical. Hopefully there aren't other people in your path when it matters. :)
 
jjvw said:
I think you are confusing the job of the control arms and track bars with the sway bars. Leaf sprung vehicles can benefit from sway bars the same way a coil sprung vehicle can.
Click to expand...

I think Jerry meant exactly what he said.

I've removed the factory front anti-sway bars from CJ-7's with leaf springs and left them off with no drastic adverse results. Recently I removed the factory anti-sway bar from my LJ with coil springs then drove in various conditions and at various speeds to experience the effect - it was a white knuckler to say the least. I wouldn't dream of running a coil spring TJ or LJ on the street without a front anti-sway bar of some sort.
 
  • Like
Reactions: skrelnik and Jerry Bransford
Mr. Bills said:
I think Jerry meant exactly what he said.

I've removed the factory front anti-sway bars from CJ-7's with leaf springs and left them off with no drastic adverse results. Recently I removed the factory anti-sway bar from my LJ with coil springs then drove in various conditions and at various speeds to experience the effect - it was a white knuckler to say the least. I wouldn't dream of running a coil spring TJ or LJ on the street without a front anti-sway bar of some sort.
Click to expand...

I find this interesting as I am driving it without a front sway bar and have driven it over 60mph and it felt okay. My entire suspension is completely new with all USA made parts, mostly Mopar and I mean everything, so maybe it is just so tight on my jeep at the moment that it rides fine. I am ordering the parts Monday to have the sway bar installed, so this is short term, but I don't feel white knuckled at all to be honest. The Jeep rocks side to side easily however, but I jut take it easy on a curved road. Being in Pittsburgh, I am taking it easy pretty much all the time. lol
 
The reason to recommend sway bars is not because coils are unstable in all directions. That characteristic is addressed by the control arms and track bars.
 
gg1 said:
I find this interesting as I am driving it without a front sway bar and have driven it over 60mph and it felt okay. . . .
Click to expand...

Try a few tight, twisty mountain roads at speed with some hairpin turns thrown in and you might feel differently.

It doesn't matter to me why a coil sprung jeep would be less stable without a front anti-sway bar than a leaf sprung jeep would be. What matters to me is real world handling characteristics. Perhaps a rig with smaller tires, lower lift and a stiff suspension would fare better than a lifted rig on 35's, but I don't know and frankly don't care because my last two jeeps were lifted with 35's.

What I do know is that I've driven jeeps I've owned with leaf springs and jeeps I've owned with coil springs, both with and without front anti-sway bars, and based upon what I have experienced and observed I would not drive a coil sprung TJ or LJ on the street for any length of time without a front anti-sway bar of some sort.

YMMV
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jeffreybomb, skrelnik and jjvw
Just did a search on this topic. Seems there are some that run without a front sway bar for years and get used to it. I don't feel I will do that, but seems you can run without one. Just as I drive mine, the body roll is pretty huge now, but it rides nice. Will be interesting when I put the stock stuff back on. I guess I don't care for aftermarket stuff much overall, but I do have the OME 2" lift, which I feel is a quality product. Thanks for the replies.
 
Mr. Bills said:
I think Jerry meant exactly what he said.

I've removed the factory front anti-sway bars from CJ-7's with leaf springs and left them off with no drastic adverse results. Recently I removed the factory anti-sway bar from my LJ with coil springs then drove in various conditions and at various speeds to experience the effect - it was a white knuckler to say the least. I wouldn't dream of running a coil spring TJ or LJ on the street without a front anti-sway bar of some sort.
Click to expand...
Exactly, and why CJ and YJ owners regularly remove their track bars and antiswaybars. The leaf springs provide that lateral stability. Control arms with their bushings or flex joints do not, they were designed to allow the axles to move around... they only provide fore-aft stability.
 
Jerry Bransford said:
Exactly, and why CJ and YJ owners regularly remove their track bars and antiswaybars. The leaf springs provide that lateral stability. Control arms with their bushings or flex joints do not, they were designed to allow the axles to move around... they only provide fore-aft stability.
Click to expand...
What about the track bar? Is that not what controls the lateral movement?

A coil spring is a "faster" moving spring than a stacked leaf spring. A coil spring can also have a longer travel than a leaf spring. The speed and distance of that movement is why body roll on a coil/linked suspension might be more pronounced and problematic than on a leaf suspension. Sway bars and shocks then become more critical in controling that movement.

I know what you are trying to say. However, the statement that a coil is unstable in any direction, while true, is not the reason to recommend sway bars.
 
jjvw said:
What about the track bar? Is that not what controls the lateral movement?

A coil spring is a "faster" moving spring than a stacked leaf spring. A coil spring can also have a longer travel than a leaf spring. The speed and distance of that movement is why body roll on a coil/linked suspension might be more pronounced and problematic than on a leaf suspension. Sway bars and shocks then become more critical in controling that movement.

I know what you are trying to say. However, the statement that a coil is unstable in any direction, while true, is not the reason to recommend sway bars.
Click to expand...
We're all entitled to our personal opinions though I doubt you will find many that will agree with you on your opinion on the TJ not needing its antiswaybars. My own observations on the one incidence of my rear antiswaybar having been disabled by a broken link and another instance of having forgotten to reconnect the front (when I still used quick disconnects) was dramatic enough that I still remember both events with ease. The word "dramatic" in describing the reduced control I felt is no exaggeration. Which is why so many of us TJ owners recommend to others to keep the antiswaybars installed and connected when on the road... which is not the case with CJ or YJ owners.
 
Jerry Bransford said:
We're all entitled to our personal opinions though I doubt you will find many that will agree with you on your opinion on the TJ not needing its antiswaybars. My own observations on the one incidence of my rear antiswaybar having been disabled by a broken link and another instance of having forgotten to reconnect the front (when I still used quick disconnects) was dramatic enough that I still remember both events with ease. The word "dramatic" in describing the reduced control I felt is no exaggeration. Which is why so many of us TJ owners recommend to others to keep the antiswaybars installed and connected when on the road... which is not the case with CJ or YJ owners.
Click to expand...

Where in any of this did I ever state that TJ's don't benefit from antisway bars? They absolutely will. But it is not for the reasons you say they do. I am only disagreeing with your explanation for why they might be needed. Re-read what I posted.
 
Top Bottom
Back