Sway Bar Bushing Replacement

[BarneyX]

-FexplorerV8-

I found these torque specs on another thread here...

The following is from a 99 shop manual for 4x4 (all in ft.lb):
Lower b/j nut - 83 to 112
Hub to knuckle - 74 to 96
Pinch bolt - 35 to 46
Hub nut - 157 to 213
Upper ctrl arm bolts/nuts - 83 to 112
Sway bar end link nuts - 25 to 34

hope this helps

 

[storlied]

Could taking off the front sway bar wear/damage cv joints? how's the driving on the road? I can't find an answer to this.

 

[sucker]

Great post!!! I did this along with a host of other fixes under there today. Did not replace the Frame to sway bar bushings and had some trouble getting nuts on bottom of sway bar bushing ends. Threw a ratchet strap over the top and around the bottom and gotter slick!!! Thanks alot!!

 

[Shiseiji]

Thanks! Exactly what I am about to do (along with the rears).

Ron

 

[Silver X]

Could taking off the front sway bar wear/damage cv joints? how's the driving on the road? I can't find an answer to this.

I doubt it will affect the cv joints.

I drove for a very short time (~40 miles) with out my front sway bar hooked up after my end links broke one day at lunch. Didn't like it one bit. Going around a turn fairly slowly (25mph road), the front end felt like it was going to keep dropping and roll the truck. Really scary and not something I'd want to live with on a daily driver, especially if I'd have to swerve around something. I picked up a new end link kit at an auto parts store on the way back to work. Took about 20 minutes to fix the broken end links in the parking lot at work.

Some people disconnect theirs for off-road trips and that is fine. Some people also leave them off while on-road, but I would not recommend it.

 

[storlied]

How bad is the body roll without it? On the street? Stock rear suspension.

 

[Silver X]

How bad is the body roll without it? On the street? Stock rear suspension.

...... Going around a turn fairly slowly (25mph road), the front end felt like it was going to keep dropping and roll the truck. Really scary and not something I'd want to live with on a daily driver, especially if I'd have to swerve around something. ......

Body roll was really bad! I have much stiffer rear suspension, so stock rear would make it that much worse.

Especially going through an S-turn. Not something I'd recommend for a truck that already has a high roll-over rate.

If you want to test yours without the bar, remove an endlink (or both) and drive around a little. I'm sure you won't be very impressed with the handling.

 

[96eb96]

How bad is the body roll without it? On the street? Stock rear suspension.

Bad enough to make Ford recall close to a million trucks a few years ago when the faulty end links were rusting and snapping. Mine were replaced free under recall. You can call a dealer and check your VIN. I think its only 95-97 though.

 

[alohamonte]

I cant find that part number on Napa...

What diameter is my sway bar?

I found 29mm, 31mm, and 34mm.... any help would be great.

 

[schaaed1]

Here's a question and a little tip.

First the question: When I replaced my links tonight, the pass side went as expected and I had to drop the sway bar a little (to have enough threads showing) to get the nut on the bottom of the link started. When I got to the drivers side, I could not get the link into place due to not enough room between the sway bar and the lower control arm. I had to pry UP on the sway bar end and barely had enough clearence to get the bolt and cushions in place. Why would this be different from one side to the other??

The tip: On my '00, 4-dr, 4.0L, Explorer it still had what appeared to be the stock links with the plastic sleeve over the link bolt. After removing the bottom nut, the sleeve was fused to the bolt with rust and would not budge, . Out came the 'Sawz-All' and made quick work of the stubborn removal.

 

[steevo]

i am wondering if this will help my problem. What's goin on is, when i am just driving down the highway and i crank the wheel either way, the truck feels like it's on ice. The steering feels loose and it has a bit of a sway to it. The reason i ask, i dont don't know if it is sway bar bushings or if the rack and pinion is going out.

 

[99SportX]

I am blaming my drivers sway link failing this afternoon on the fact that I read this thread in the morning today. haha

The pass. link on my dads 99 mountaineer failed about 2 months ago. Makes sense I guess, since our vehicles are about the same age and mileage. I am going to be pretty good at swapping these things now.

 

[i8alugnut]

replaced sway bar frame bushings

I just finished replacing the sway bar frame bushings, I had a knock before due to wore out bushing. After replcement the knock was gone, However, Is it normal to have accesive shaking right after installation.

Something just don't feel right !!! Could it be just because there tight and new ?

96 explorer

 

[Gator Jeff]

I doubt it will affect the cv joints.

I drove for a very short time (~40 miles) with out my front sway bar hooked up after my end links broke one day at lunch. Didn't like it one bit. Going around a turn fairly slowly (25mph road), the front end felt like it was going to keep dropping and roll the truck. Really scary and not something I'd want to live with on a daily driver, especially if I'd have to swerve around something. I picked up a new end link kit at an auto parts store on the way back to work. Took about 20 minutes to fix the broken end links in the parking lot at work.

I broke both of mine up in WV last year on a pretty rough mountain road that I took a little fast. Drove the 300+ miles back home, mostly on interstates with them broken. Fortunately didn't have to make an evasive maneuver, but it really wasn't too bad, even on turns.

Bad enough to make Ford recall close to a million trucks a few years ago when the faulty end links were rusting and snapping. Mine were replaced free under recall. You can call a dealer and check your VIN. I think its only 95-97 though.

Don't know if that was the reason the above happened to me, but both of mine snapped at just over 100K miles. Didn't even think about a recall issue and the replacements were cheap enough.

On my '00, 4-dr, 4.0L, Explorer it still had what appeared to be the stock links with the plastic sleeve over the link bolt. After removing the bottom nut, the sleeve was fused to the bolt with rust and would not budge, . Out came the 'Sawz-All' and made quick work of the stubborn removal.

Ditto! Didn't have an electrical hook-up so I had to use a hack saw. That, a pipe wrench and a half-can of liquid wrench along with a friend and a healthy dose of profanity :frustrate , and off they came!

 

[killswitchfan134]

if i wanted to order the bushings off of summit what size should i get for the front and back they have a 1" and 1 1/8" inch sets

 

[jls1znv9999]

From what i have found it looks like the torque specs for the
Link nut are 18ft. lbs. (25Nm)
Bracket bolts 30ft. lbs. (40 Nm)

Now of course the torque specs might be slightly different based on year and type of bushings you use. Remember you get what you pay for, being that exp's tend to be top heavy i wouldn't suggest you bargin price this part!

 

[stevenwagner06]

i snapped my sway bar bolt

i jumped my truck and snapp, the front left sway bar bolt snapped

 

[stevenwagner06]

actually fractured my end link, does anyone know how much you can get an endlink/bushing set for the front sway bar?

 

[Silver X]

Call your local auto parts store. The end link set should be around $25 and in stock at most places.

 

[moga]

Replacing the sway bar links

1-eliminated the annoying clanking sound that the car made when going over the slightest of uneven surfaces

2-made a substantial improvement in how the car handles bumpy roads. For the first time since the install I can tell that there are new shocks on the car.

3-gave me 1" of lift in the front

AND

4-eliminated the confusion of why I got steering wheel shake at > 70 mph after having the wheels balanced twice. Replacing the links has completely cleared it up. It was awesome to be able to haul ass to the airport this morning to get my wife to her flight without wondering if I'm on the verge of losing control for going moderately fast on the freeway.

It doesn't look like the OP has been back very often since creating this sticky. That's too bad because I owe him a big ass debt of gratitude.