Front sway bar

[63chev]

I put a 2.5 inch spindel lowered 72 Chevy truck front end on a 63 Chevy truck frame. I found an extra beefy front sway bar on a later model chevy at a junk yard that I am trying to install. I bought after-market frame mounts that drop down 3 inches on the deep side but I still have to put a jack under the sway bar and lift it 4 to 5 inches to get it to the frame mount. I can bolt it up but it puts tremendous strain on the rubber in the brackets. You can see the rubber being pushed out of shape where the pressure is. Stock installs are not under this much pressure. Is it OK to go ahead and mount it or do I need to find a different sway bar that has a better upward bend? Thanks

[joe231]

can you flip it over and make it a better fit?

[63chev]

Yea that is a great idea but I tried it, Thanks.

[joe231]

my '66 with a mid '80s x-member has the same issue, but has worked that way for years

[63chev]

So you bolted yours on under pressure? I gotta use a floor jack to get it up to the mount.

[protrash64]

Are your a-arms hanging? Try jacking them up to get more on your bar. I have used aftermarket pieces and I always bolted the front up first, then the control arms. I have wrestled w/ them to get them in.......

[Chevy Fleetside]

Mine bolted right up. I used all of the stock stuff from a 75. Not after market brackets. Including the control arms..

[63sbssbbw]

Welcome to the board 63
from the other side of Alberta
Any pics(you'll find that most of us here are PIC junkies)
If ya need anything let me know
Trent

[poorboy]

I got mine from a 72 and had no problems installing it.

[Captainfab]

Is your truck completely assembled? If not and you don't have enough weight to compress the front springs a little, the lower control arm will be farther from the frame. This would cause the problem you described. Plus whatever aftyermarket brackets you got might be compounding the problem. IMHO you should be just fine with the OEM brackets unless you have lowering springs.

Pics would help diagnosing the problem

[63chev]

Wow. I just checked back and found all the help, suggestions, Thanks. I will take a pic or two and send tomorrow, Trent. Mine looks very close to your pic, poorboy, I can see the strain on your rubber grouments on the A arms. They are out of round slightly. But your frame drop brackets look even longer than mine, so that would help. Protrash64, Captain Fab, I don't think my A arms are hanging because I got wheels on and the engine and tranny are in, and the cab is on for weight. Just stock springs. But it sounds like I will be OK to muscle it up with a jack. Chevy Fleetside, when you say bolted right in does that mean you had no resistance at all? To work, doesnt the sway bar have to be somewhat tight?

[joe231]

mine looks just like poorboy's
as protrash stated....it seems to be easier to bolt it to the frame first, then the lower arms, in my experience anyways.

[protrash64]

Come to think of it, the bar I put on my 'burb had endlinks and was much easier to install........the pickup has a stock style bar and I did have to wrestle it around to line up everything......used poly bushings so its tite. You will definitely like the ride when its installed.

[63chev]

Finally back with the pics I promised. Thanks For the help. You can see how far away my brackets are from the frame. The jack is under pressure holding the bar up for now but it takes a ton of pressure to get it up to the frame mountsand distorts the rubber bushings. My next step is to try attaching the bar to the frame first as you have suggested unless anyone can see that I need a different shaped bar and am wasting my time. Thanks again.

[Captainfab]

Off hand I don't see anything wrong with the parts you're using, but I'll take a look when I get to the shop tomorrow and verify that.

[jonzcustomshop]

wouldn't you yet the front wheels off the ground first, and then try to mount the sway bar?
with the weight of the truck off the a arms the bar would probably bolt right on, and then would put pressure-(stability?)- back on the bar when the truck is down?

[63sbssbbw]

Like the Cpt says
jack 'er up ,bolt 'er on
If you think about it,it wouldn't be a stablizer bar if it wasn't under some kind of pressure
.
I spy........love the green ,I keep coming back to that lime green colour (the other half wants it blue,we'll see LOL)

[ChiefRocka]

It looks ok to me...lube up the bushings, jack it up and bolt it up.

[ValveTubeHead]

sounds to me like an aweful amount of unintended preload. I wouldn't be surprized at all if something bends, contorts or breaks when put into service; where only more load is placed on ends. Is there any way to fashion endlinks on LCA's ala.: http://www.miracerros.com/mustang/sway_links.htm

[Chevy Fleetside]

Here is a picture of my sway bar. I used the 75 control arms though.

[rickf]

Originally Posted by jonzcustomshop

wouldn't you yet the front wheels off the ground first, and then try to mount the sway bar?
with the weight of the truck off the a arms the bar would probably bolt right on, and then would put pressure-(stability?)- back on the bar when the truck is down?

Taking the weight off the wheels is going to move the bar the wrong direction. I.e. the swingarms will drop further, dropping the bar further with them.

If anything, add weight to drop the front end, i.e. raise the swingarms to raise the bar.

[rickf]

Originally Posted by 63sbssbbw

Like the Cpt says
jack 'er up ,bolt 'er on
If you think about it,it wouldn't be a stablizer bar if it wasn't under some kind of pressure
.
I spy........love the green ,I keep coming back to that lime green colour (the other half wants it blue,we'll see LOL)

Wrong notion. There does not need to be "preload". The stabilization is from the side to side connection. In a turn, the truck will try to lean, this moves one end of the bar. The other end will try to move the same, thus transfering some force from the outside wheel to the inside wheel. It "tries" to make the inside and outside swingarms move the same, thus keeping the truck flat. But it is a torsion spring, so it has some give. When a smooth gradual load with no shock is applied, like a turn, it is more "successful" at transfering the force. When a "surprise" shock load (like a bump) is applied, it tends to just twist the torsion spring.

There does not need to be any sort of "preload" on a swaybar.

[rickf]

Originally Posted by ValveTubeHead

sounds to me like an aweful amount of unintended preload. I wouldn't be surprized at all if something bends, contorts or breaks when put into service; where only more load is placed on ends. Is there any way to fashion endlinks on LCA's ala.: http://www.miracerros.com/mustang/sway_links.htm

Yes, and it will likely be the rubber bushings on the swingarms that go first, they are taking the brunt of the misalignment.

Some spacer blocks under the bushings on the swingarm would help.

It looks like the wrong bar. Maybe it is for a lowered truck, or some model where the frame is lower up front.

[joe231]

Have you tried bolting it to the frame first?
looks like your bar is the same as Chevy Fleetside's

[Captainfab]

Well today I looked at a '74 3/4 ton I have at the shop and it looks just like the one you have. Do you remember what year truck you got yours from? It really shouldn't matter much as long as it is from a truck that is pre-'88. It appears in the pic that your truck is fairly stripped down which means less weight on the suspension. So consequently the lower a-arm is farther from the frame than it would be on a completely assembled truck.....you have a fair amount of weight missing. I really don't think you're going to hurt anything in just jacking it into place and bolting it up. I can almost guarantee once you get the rest of the truck together it's not going to be under so much pressure.