Need input from sway bar guys please...

[Possmguts]

I posted this in my build http://www.67-72chevytrucks.com/vboa...16#post7430716 thread but since it doesn't get much attention I'm posting here as well...

Trying to get this big 1 1/4" sway bar fitted and ran into a little road block.. clearance between the cradle cross member and the bushing mounts only give me like 2 inches, and there is still no weight from motor and trans on it so that's going to get tighter.... Not sure what to do here. It doesn't leave much room for suspension travel... Any ideas?

Anyone have pics or measurements on how much room you have with your dropped setup?

[BugzC10]

Mine's about the same distance from the sway bar bushing to the tie rod adjuster as yours. I've never had a issue. I have 2.5" drop spindles and 2" drop springs.

[67c10rustbuket]

The LCA bump stop will hit before the sway bar clamps. Also it would take 4" or 5" more drop at the wheel for that 2" to hit. How much drop spring do you have?
I checked mine with 1" drop coils, drop spindle (doesn't matter), full drivetrain and cab full of crap but no front clip. I get 2-3/4" there. Mine is the original smaller bar but that shouldn't be but 1/4" diff. You will also get a little room when you bolt it down and it will compress a little.

Pic for comparison

[67c10rustbuket]

I have actually read where guys with air ride using stock arms and sway bars cut a small amount off the sway bar where it sticks out the back of the bushing clamps and hits the engine cross member. You shouldn't be anywhere near that happening though.

[Possmguts]

Originally Posted by 67c10rustbuket

The LCA bump stop will hit before the sway bar clamps. Also it would take 4" or 5" more drop at the wheel for that 2" to hit. How much drop spring do you have?
I checked mine with 1" drop coils, drop spindle (doesn't matter), full drivetrain and cab full of crap but no front clip. I get 2-3/4" there. Mine is the original smaller bar but that shouldn't be but 1/4" diff. You will also get a little room when you bolt it down and it will compress a little.

Pic for comparison

Could you explain to me why you made brackets to bring the frame mounts lower to the ground? I always thought a sway bar was supposed to angle down to the A-arms... yours looks almost level to the frame mounts...

[Possmguts]

Originally Posted by BugzC10

Mine's about the same distance from the sway bar bushing to the tie rod adjuster as yours. I've never had a issue. I have 2.5" drop spindles and 2" drop springs.

Yours looks like the bigger sway bar.. how does it handle? I'm a bit worried it might be a bit TOO stiff with that 1 1/4" bar...

[Sklptrljay]

I don't have anything to add to the discussion, but.......

I had to read that title a second time a little slower.

I was thinking, what in the........Lol!

[67c10rustbuket]

Originally Posted by Possmguts

Could you explain to me why you made brackets to bring the frame mounts lower to the ground? I always thought a sway bar was supposed to angle down to the A-arms... yours looks almost level to the frame mounts...

Sure, I will try my best to explain. My truck did not come with a sway bar so I bought one from the parts board here. I bought the energy suspension bushings from autozone, which include the clamps. This left one piece missing- frame mount brackets... Well you can either go chisel a set off at the local yard. Not sure how one goes about doing this without air tools? Or buy a new set, in "stock" or "lowered" versions. Well the lowered style are about an inch shorter and help to line things up better now that your control arms are in much closer proximity to the cross member on lowered trucks. I think ideally the lowered frame brackets are for use with 2"-3" drop springs and well I have 1" springs. But But... the stock type hang too low and often snag road kill and other foreign objects in the road. I just prefer the look and view (not seeing the bar under the bumper) of the lowered brackets. So I bought the lowered frame brackets and it was apparent, at least without the weight of the truck body on that they were too short. When I installed the sway bar to the frame brackets and attempted to attach the sway bar to the control arms it was off a few degrees and would not play nice as the poly bushings were not flexing. So I stared at it and decided that I would either have to wait until I had the truck (body and all) fully assembled to get the bar to lay proper or make a spacer pretty much simulating a stock frame bracket. Once I put my temporary spacer in the ends of the bar just fell in place and the bolt holes lined up perfectly as the clamps were now on the same plane as the control arms. I am going to remove the temp spacers and check how well the bar aligns once the truck is fully assembled and make a thinner spacer if needed. The pic angle is kinda odd but the bar is installed correctly, I tried it upside down just for fun and well it's quite obvious when you try to put it in upside down.

So in short the spacer is temporary because i didn't want to force fit the clamps since the weight of the truck was not there. Sorry for the long winded answer.

Now my daughter wants to put funny faces:

[Possmguts]

so.. what you're tellin me is that THIS is gonna cause issues once I get more weight on it? My bushing brackets are directly on the frame with no spacers.... but after looking at your pic again... your bar doesnt seam to have the same bends mine does... this one is the 1/ 14" bar...

[sduckworth13]

Your not going to have a issue. I've installed a sway bar the exact same way before. I had a 4 1/2 drop on the front. On my current truck I could have done it the same way, but I bought the lowered style brackets which bring the bar up further than the stock style sway bar brackets on the frame.

[67c10rustbuket]

Originally Posted by Possmguts

so.. what you're tellin me is that THIS is gonna cause issues once I get more weight on it? My bushing brackets are directly on the frame with no spacers.... but after looking at your pic again... your bar doesnt seam to have the same bends mine does... this one is the 1/ 14" bar...

No, yours looks fine. A lot of people with 2" - 3" drop spring bolt the bushing clamps directly to the frame. It puts the bar almost in the same spot as the lowered brackets. No need to worry. Having lowered frame mounts on a non lowered truck or stock brackets on a lowered truck causes issues. If you think about an end link style sway bar, you must change end link lengths if you lower or lift the car to keep the end links vertical to get optimum use of the sway bar throughout the full suspension cycle. Same thing here but we have 3 options, stock brackets, lowered brackets, and bolting bushing clamps directly to the frame. If you didn't have to fight the bar to install it you should be just fine. Looks like a nice project.

[Possmguts]

Wasnt much of a fight at all... the holes in the Lower A-arm lined right up so I bolted it up to them and then marked and drilled holes in the frame for the frame mounts... and Thank you for the help. Much appreciated.

[Possmguts]

Originally Posted by sduckworth13

Your not going to have a issue. I've installed a sway bar the exact same way before. I had a 4 1/2 drop on the front. On my current truck I could have done it the same way, but I bought the lowered style brackets which bring the bar up further than the stock style sway bar brackets on the frame.

Thank you.. what confuses me is when you say the spacers bring it up further.. do they not in fact lower the front of the bar even more changing the way it fits and works? I used 3" springs and 2.5 inch drop spindles... I may end up changing the springs once all the weight is on it if its too low or causes issues...

[sduckworth13]

Originally Posted by Possmguts

Thank you.. what confuses me is when you say the spacers bring it up further.. do they not in fact lower the front of the bar even more changing the way it fits and works? I used 3" springs and 2.5 inch drop spindles... I may end up changing the springs once all the weight is on it if its too low or causes issues...

There isn't a spacer, it is just a shorter bracket to bring it closer to the frame. CPP sells a sway bar bracket that is made for lowered vehicles so that the sway bar can be mounted closer to the frame. I have seen other people also mention installing their brackets that come with bushing instead of buying the CPP brackets just how you mounted yours on the frame.

1. Lowered vehicle style

[sduckworth13]

Here is the standard style sway bar bracket.

[Possmguts]

Thanks for that.. I guess its better that I didn't use any of those then since I'm 5.5" drop...

[67c10rustbuket]

Thanks Scott, I should have shown an original bracket pic. Here is an installed original bar and bracket pic and the sway bar faq thread with lots of tech, pics, and ways to mount the sway bar.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...ad.php?t=72338

[BugzC10]

Originally Posted by Possmguts

Yours looks like the bigger sway bar.. how does it handle? I'm a bit worried it might be a bit TOO stiff with that 1 1/4" bar...

It's 1-1/4" bar....handles great. I don't think it's stiff. As the description notes, it keeps the truck from swaying in turns or around corners. Truck still leans a little, but not flat in the turns like a corvette. I believe that is the size most are putting on the front of their trucks. I also have the S/B lowering brackets....

[midniteblues]

I pulled my 1 1/4" bar and brackets from a p body van.
And the frame brackets look almost exactly like the lowerd ones the vendors sell. They are certainly alot lower the the kids oe brackets.

I had to check mine again after seeing yours and I have rite about 2 7/8" clearance but I only have 2" springs.
But it really doesn't look like it could hit the clamps/bushing. I layed a rule in there and mine would only hit the small part of the bar that sticks out the back of the bushing. It would really need to travel to do that.

Kids truck has the smaller bar and I could note a definite differance in the body roll between the two of them.

Sorry for the crappy pic