Sway Bar Links

[smoothee]

Does anyone else have issues with their front sway bar bushings? I've read of people keep having them snap, but not so much about the bushings. My bar is level and torqued, but I can't seem to get bushings to last.

Have tried 2 different Rough Country setups, stock with BDS extensions, several Moog bushing kits, etc. Bit the bullet and got the Suspension Maxx, and same thing is happening. Have adjusted them twice already. Were fine for a little bit but I noticed a difference in ride lately and sure enough the driver side looks out of whack again.

Could my bar be bent possible somehow?
First pic is pass. side, which looks ok. Others are driver side, can see the bottom bushing now compressed a lot more and can see end link under the top bushing. I know you're not supposed to compress these very much so I don't know what else to do here. I see there's an extra thread showing on the good side...

 

[crazykid1994]

Looks like your sway bar is on the wrong way. Flip it around. Should be angled like in my picture which would mean yours is upside down.

 

[smoothee]

Looks like your sway bar is on the wrong way. Flip it around. Should be angled like in my picture which would mean yours is upside down.

View attachment 244696

Yours look mint. I had tried that when I was installing the Rough Country links, but it made them even worse. But you're right, judging by the pics it does look upside down compared to yours. I'll try that tomorrow, hopefully I didn't ruin the bushings already. Thanks!

 

[Quick_Shifter]

Does anyone else have issues with their front sway bar bushings? I've read of people keep having them snap, but not so much about the bushings. My bar is level and torqued, but I can't seem to get bushings to last.

Have tried 2 different Rough Country setups, stock with BDS extensions, several Moog bushing kits, etc. Bit the bullet and got the Suspension Maxx, and same thing is happening. Have adjusted them twice already. Were fine for a little bit but I noticed a difference in ride lately and sure enough the driver side looks out of whack again.

Could my bar be bent possible somehow?
First pic is pass. side, which looks ok. Others are driver side, can see the bottom bushing now compressed a lot more and can see end link under the top bushing. I know you're not supposed to compress these very much so I don't know what else to do here. I see there's an extra thread showing on the good side...

View attachment 244687 View attachment 244688 View attachment 244689 View attachment 244690

Reach out to @Nick@GotExhaust he can set you up with suspension max sway bar endlinks. The issue with yours is they were never tightened properly which destroyed them.

 

[smoothee]

Reach out to @Nick@GotExhaust he can set you up with suspension max sway bar endlinks. The issue with yours is they were never tightened properly which destroyed them.

I have Suspension Maxx currently. And I tightened them when I installed as per instructions, there were no gaps and I stopped just short of seeing the bushings bulge. It's just after a while of driving this happens (more so on driver side for some reason).

 

[Quick_Shifter]

I have Suspension Maxx currently. And I tightened them when I installed as per instructions, there were no gaps and I stopped just short of seeing the bushings bulge. It's just after a while of driving this happens (more so on driver side for some reason).

You tighten until they start to bulge. Suspension max sells replacement bushings. In your case go 2 full turns once you see the bushings start to bulge. During oil changes inspection is required to tighten and grease suspension components. Post a picture of the swaybar out. Put a piece of tape on one the drivers side before removing it, and flip it over @crazykid1994 and I will tell you what what to reinstall

 

[RedSRT4Me]

You tighten until they start to bulge. Suspension max sells replacement bushings. In your case go 2 full turns once you see the bushings start to bulge. During oil changes inspection is required to tighten and grease suspension components. Post a picture of the swaybar out. Put a piece of tape on one the drivers side before removing it, and flip it over @crazykid1994 and I will tell you what what to reinstall

Great advise for all of us. Thank you

 

[smoothee]

What's weird is I don't know when the bar would've been flipped over the wrong way. When I've replaced the bushings I was sure to install it the same way it was removed. Anyhow, a good chance to pick up some new bar bushings as well. Thanks for the help, would make sense for the issues I'm having.

 

[smoothee]

@crazykid1994 sure as **** the bar was upside down like you said, I feel like an idiot! Lol. The only thing I can figure it was flipped when the lift was installed years ago, although I don't know why they would've needed to remove the bar.

The bushings looked ok, but I'm going to order a new set just in case. And I was under the impression the 4x4's all had the 36mm front bar, but mine is the 32mm. Did this change in a certain year or something? Even though I've seen other '11's listed with 36.

Thanks for the help fellas.

 

[dadbern]

Looks like your sway bar is on the wrong way. Flip it around. Should be angled like in my picture which would mean yours is upside down.

View attachment 244696

CrazyKidd what are the endlinks you have in this picture and how do they compare to the suspension maxx?

 

[kurek]

I built a set of links like that out of I think a Volvo 740 front sway bar links and some shock absorber U-brackets.

Stuck them on a shelf because I couldn't find exactly the right washer for the bushing end, then decided not to bother revisiting them until my OE links actually failed. It's been 6+ years now and they're still on a shelf somewhere

 

[crazykid1994]

CrazyKidd what are the endlinks you have in this picture and how do they compare to the suspension maxx?

Couldn’t tell you. Never had the suspension maxx links. They are Kryptonite gm links but are no longer made. Plus I had to modify them to fit them ended up buying a longer set and cutting them down to my measurement and drilling them and taping threads in. They are moving over to a ball and cup setup like our trucks have stock which seems to be the go to for a bunch of companies now. I asked them about making links for the ram 1500 a few years back and they said they may but it wasn’t a yes or no. They still haven’t made ram 1500 links. If I did it again I would just go with the suspension maxx links because this was more work than I’m willing to do again.

 

[olyelr]

Does anyone else have issues with their front sway bar bushings? I've read of people keep having them snap, but not so much about the bushings. My bar is level and torqued, but I can't seem to get bushings to last.

Have tried 2 different Rough Country setups, stock with BDS extensions, several Moog bushing kits, etc. Bit the bullet and got the Suspension Maxx, and same thing is happening. Have adjusted them twice already. Were fine for a little bit but I noticed a difference in ride lately and sure enough the driver side looks out of whack again.

Could my bar be bent possible somehow?
First pic is pass. side, which looks ok. Others are driver side, can see the bottom bushing now compressed a lot more and can see end link under the top bushing. I know you're not supposed to compress these very much so I don't know what else to do here. I see there's an extra thread showing on the good side...

View attachment 244687 View attachment 244688 View attachment 244689 View attachment 244690

I gotta ask…what are you using for an undercoat?

 

[smoothee]

I gotta ask…what are you using for an undercoat?

That's a lot of buildup of Krown over the years. Recently switched to Corrosion Free though and have touched up in between annual sprays with Fluid Film and Corrosion Free aerosols. Has kept the rust at bay but I look like I've been working in a mine all day anytime I do any work on it lol.

Just picked up a POR-15 kit and plan on giving everything a good degreasing and touch up after the winter.

 

[olyelr]

That's a lot of buildup of Krown over the years. Recently switched to Corrosion Free though and have touched up in between annual sprays with Fluid Film and Corrosion Free aerosols. Has kept the rust at bay but I look like I've been working in a mine all day anytime I do any work on it lol.

Just picked up a POR-15 kit and plan on giving everything a good degreasing and touch up after the winter.

Nice! Keep us updated on that progress please!

 

[El_Lobo_Gris1500C]

View attachment 244857

@crazykid1994 sure as **** the bar was upside down like you said, I feel like an idiot! Lol. The only thing I can figure it was flipped when the lift was installed years ago, although I don't know why they would've needed to remove the bar.

The bushings looked ok, but I'm going to order a new set just in case. And I was under the impression the 4x4's all had the 36mm front bar, but mine is the 32mm. Did this change in a certain year or something? Even though I've seen other '11's listed with 36.

Thanks for the help fellas.

I was reading through me first thought I had was ‘why does the angle of the ends of that sway bar look off, like naked the wrong direction lol. Don’t be too hard on yourself for that, everybody, and I mean EVERYBODY makes mistakes at sometime, and after we realize what we did wrong we always think ‘oh man what an &$%#! lol …. Good thing is you learn from it and will never make THAT mistake again right? Glad you got that sorted out.