What is the proper method for sway bar end link adjustment?

AndyG

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What is the proper method for sway bar end link adjustment ? Should the bar be under tension, etc ... thinking I have a little excess body roll


4" lift , 33" tires, 26 psi , Rancho 50000 shocks
 
What is the proper method for sway bar end link adjustment ? Should the bar be under tension, etc ... thinking I have a little excess body roll


4" lift , 33" tires, 26 psi , Rancho 50000 shocks

From JKS installation instructions

sway bar disc.jpg
 
Oh, many after market end links are. Mine are set for 0, but there is no torsion in the bar itself without the links connected. It looks like their "ideal angle" is 10° and should be set the same on both sides. I would suspect it very difficult to induce torsion in the bar by adjusting it.
 
M
Preloading the sway bar will cause the body to lean one direction.
Maybe I'm using the wrong term..does getting 10° of inclination create pre load or do you set them to how everything is at rest .

Jeep is just a tad darty and I can't find a thing wrong with parts , alignment or pitman arm and tires are fairly new and inflated to 26 psi.
 
Ok so I should ask, what are you chasing just body roll?

No the bar has no load on it when the end links are connect with the jeep (wheels) on level ground. Torsion is on the bar only when the one wheel is off plane (either higher or lower) when compared to the other wheel. Without the end links connected the bar itself will rotate freely.
 
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M
Maybe I'm using the wrong term..does getting 10° of inclination create pre load or do you set them to how everything is at rest .

Jeep is just a tad darty and I can't find a thing wrong with parts , alignment or pitman arm and tires are fairly new and inflated to 26 psi.
That wouldn't be preload. That angle is just the arm position at ride height. The correct arm position is the one that places the arm horizontally at the mid point of the shock travel. It is also a position that does not allow the sway bar to over-extend a joint or invert at full droop.
 
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Ok so I should ask, what are you chasing just body roll?

No the bar has no load on it when the end links are connect with the jeep (wheels) on level ground. Torsion is on the bar only when the one wheel is off plane (either higher or lower) when compared to the other wheel. Without the end links connected the bar itself will rotate freely.
Thank you I'm just trying to figure out why this thing is trying to hunt just a little bit as it goes down roads that have any bumps at all.
 
Jeep is just a tad darty and I can't find a thing wrong with parts , alignment or pitman arm and tires are fairly new and inflated to 26 psi.
Interesting, I haven't heard of preloading or adding tension to the sway bar. Could the slight "dart" be coming from a worn steering gear?
 
I don't think so it's only got 31,000 miles and it is nice and tight.

It makes you have to do a lot of little corrections and it seems like it just started doing that and everything is in spec....to my knowledge.

Common reason tells you something changed... Or maybe I just started paying attention to it.

It drives fantastic on a really smooth road but that's hard to find in Alabama.
 
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Thank you I'm just trying to figure out why this thing is trying to hunt just a little bit as it goes down roads that have any bumps at all.
oh Ok so its fair to say it is more of a wandering down the road thing than body roll? (The sway bar does affect body roll but not wandering).
 
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oh Ok so its fair to say it is more of a wandering down the road thing than body roll? (The sway bar does affect body roll but not wandering).
Ok, that's me chasing squirrels. Figured that was the case .
 
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Ok, that's me chasing squirrels. Figured that was the case .
No not saying that at all, wandering can be cause by worn (or old) components or incorrect toe, but there are a lot of variables to it that I no experience with and so can't help there. I can only say the sway bar is not the cause.
 
Today I am installing some Rubicon Express quick disconnect sway bar links. The instructions also say to set the 10 degree angle. I measured the angle of the sway bar with the level on my phone and it shows it’s 10 degrees up. And if I eyeball it it is slightly up, so I think it’s right. But I would love to get a second opinion from some of the experts here.

Also, I would love to know if this isn’t a huge deal to be precise with the angle (e.g. if it’s a few degrees off is that ok). I know they are adjustable, but I do need to drill a hole in the frame to secure them to when disconnected, so I want to get it right.

Side comment: When I did my lift I never got new sway bar links. So my stock ones were actually going down by 6 degrees. So that’s quite a bit off.

Pictures are how it looks relative to the frame. And the screenshot from my phone level. :)

CB8BCAC6-78A3-4D90-B2A4-F5104FC1408B.png


643247B0-CB1A-4BE7-8495-BB72B19541B1.jpeg


8A2C0B41-C24F-4C2C-B21E-6DDA0FA0FD78.jpeg
 
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Your wandering may be due to too wide of a stance, swap some narrower/ less offset tires and wheels on and take it for a drive, you might be surprised.
 
The part that bolts to the antisway bar is under the bar, not over the bar on the ones I've bothered to look at. Willing to be wrong, but check the instructions.
 
IDK, before my 2.5 lift the SB was virtually flat with the original links so when I installed adj end links I set it the same way. Also there is a hole already in the frame so in my case no need to drill.