1986 2wd frontend

[Srubydo1986]

IM working on my front end and replace anything that look or just seem bad. My truck has yet to be inspected but when i drove my truck it would pull to any which way i turned. So..

My lowed ball joint passanger side was bad and some steering arms ( aka tie rods and such) but for some reason as i look at the truck i couldnt stop and think somethink is missing under this truck. Turns out unlike my other 86 2wd it had no strut bar at all not even the bracket that are tapped to the frame.

(im using parts from my old 86 to put the strut bar on so i have better handling. This is ok right)

My other question is this why would two exact truck One being from canada with no added packages at all have a strut bar and a truck from flint mich. with the sliverado package not have a strut bar


UNderlined stuff is questions the rest in back story.

[Pyrotechnic]

Do you mean sway bar ?

[Srubydo1986]

yes sorry around imports to long

[Ivan D.]

My '79 half-ton don't have a swaybar either, think it was an option on the light-duty trucks. Oddly enough the truck handles just fine without it, in comparison my car even with its lower center of gravity and stiffer springs dives like a paddle boat in hurricane if the swaybar is disconnected - go figure...

[BaddBusa2005]

I added one from a 87 suburban to my 81 deluxe, what a difference

[Ivan D.]

Originally Posted by BaddBusa2005

I added one from a 87 suburban to my 81 deluxe, what a difference

the brackets that hold the sway bar to the frame are normally riveted to the frame, and those are some massive size rivets too - rivets can be replaced with bolts and nuts, however how did you take the brackets off yer donor truck?

[BaddBusa2005]

Originally Posted by Ivan D.

the brackets that hold the sway bar to the frame are normally riveted to the frame, and those are some massive size rivets too - rivets can be replaced with bolts and nuts, however how did you take the brackets off yer donor truck?

We used a plasma to cut the heads off of the rivets, then i used grade 8 harware to mount them to the frame

[Srubydo1986]

for me im going to grind the rivets out dont have a plasm cutter. one of these day i plane to have one along with a setling torch.

Well see if putting one make the truck better. IM used to my old 86 driving like a car corning a 60 in a long bed witha 4 sp not a problem for a 35 mph corner. Granit I most likely wont do that with this truck only cause id like to keep it nice forever plus repainting would be cheaper cause there would be no big dents/rust.

[Slonaker]

I went through this a few years ago, and just bought the swaybar brackets from the dealer. I don't have a parts truck, so I was going to have to chisel them off with a BFH and a chisel at the junkyard. That sounded like a little too much fun for me.

They weren't real expensive. I just bolted them in. It made a huge difference in the handling. Now I want to get a bigger one off a 3/4 or 1 ton.

Slonaker

[BaddBusa2005]

the one i pulled off of the burb was a bit bigger that the one that would have been on the truck

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by BaddBusa2005

the one i pulled off of the burb was a bit bigger that the one that would have been on the truck

That is correct. The sway bar from a Burb, or C-20 is larger and requires larger bushing.

The sway bar bracket "stands" are not really necessary. The bushing clamps can be bolted directly to the frame.