factory front sway bar

[big10ratrod77]

well early this week or late last week i was reading on here about a guy doing a sway bar upgrade. that got me to thinkin bout adding a front sway bar to my truck and its been on the back burner of my mind. well today i was changin my oil and i noticed holes in the frame and a arms for sway bar mounts. well tomarrow im gonna go to the local pick-a-part and go look one off a 1/2 or 3/4 ton. now heres my question could i kinda have an idea of what kinda tools would be needed to remove the sway bar? and the brackets on the frame are rivited right? could the rivits be replaced with bolts?

thanks guys
josh

[spinem]

i dont know about your junk yard, but the ones here do not allow cutting devices of any kind (cant remove rivets)..... so imma make my own brackets, or mount right to frame.....

as for tools, socket set, wd-40, breaker bar if ya got one....1/2,9/16,3/8,5/8... the usual boxed ends ahaha

i miss ne thing?

[old Rusty C10]

i could be wrong but they bolt on with either half inch or 9/16 head bolts at least the one i have on my truck did but the truck was bought used and could have been put on by a PO or something

[spinem]

Originally Posted by old Rusty C10

i could be wrong but they bolt on with either half inch or 9/16 head bolts at least the one i have on my truck did but the truck was bought used and could have been put on by a PO or something

it should go as follows:

frame-bracket,bracket-bushing and another bracket, bolted on.

[N2TRUX]

Josh you are on the right path to improving your trucks handling. If possible get one from a C-20 or C-30 as it is 1 1/8" rather than the 1" C-10 bar.

As mentioned, the bar and bushing clamp bolt on. You are correct in your thinking that the bushing clamp "stand" is riveted to the frame. You can either cut or drill the rivits if you want to use the stock stand. Ether way, it won't be easy unless the yard offers the option of using a torch to blast the heads off.

If your truck is stock height, you will probably want to use the stock stands. If it is lowered you can buy shorter stands from Early Classic Enterprises (ECE). You can also bolt the bushing clamps directly to the frame. This works great on lowered trucks, but might cause binding on a stock height truck.

[spinem]

Originally Posted by N2TRUX

Josh you are on the right path to improving your trucks handling. If possible get one from a C-20 or C-30 as it is 1 1/8" rather than the 1" C-10 bar.

As mentioned, the bar and bushing clamp bolt on. You are correct in your thinking that the bushing clamp "stand" is riveted to the frame. You can either cut or drill the rivits if you want to use the stock stand. Ether way, it won't be easy unless the yard offers the option of using a torch to blast the heads off.

If your truck is stock height, you will probably want to use the stock stands. If it is lowered you can buy shorter stands from Early Classic Enterprises (ECE). You can also bolt the bushing clamps directly to the frame. This works great on lowered trucks, but might cause binding on a stock height truck.

please further explain "binding"

[big10ratrod77]

Josh you are on the right path to improving your trucks handling. If possible get one from a C-20 or C-30 as it is 1 1/8" rather than the 1" C-10 bar.

As mentioned, the bar and bushing clamp bolt on. You are correct in your thinking that the bushing clamp "stand" is riveted to the frame. You can either cut or drill the rivits if you want to use the stock stand. Ether way, it won't be easy unless the yard offers the option of using a torch to blast the heads off.

If your truck is stock height, you will probably want to use the stock stands. If it is lowered you can buy shorter stands from Early Classic Enterprises (ECE). You can also bolt the bushing clamps directly to the frame. This works great on lowered trucks, but might cause binding on a stock height truck.

yea i would perfer a 3/4 or 1 ton sway bar but even a 1/2 ton would be better than what i got now, and looking in the lmc and pst catalog last night i will save a good bit of money compared to buying a new sway bar even if i payed 40 bucks for the junk yard sway bar. i was thinkin about knocking the rivit head off with a cold chisel and reuse the stock stands becouse my truck is stock and i aint gonna lower it.


thanks for the help guys maby tonight ill have sum pics to share!

[Slonaker]

I bought the stands from my local dealer. I think they were about $7 each 5 or 6 years ago. Much easier than chiseling 4 rivets if you can still get them.

Slonaker

[Alex1]

I have a sway bar that mounts to the frame (universal mount from Brothers) youhave to drill the control arms for it. It's bran new and I'll never use it...

[big10ratrod77]

well bad news it was a dry run i couldnt find the junk yard owner to pay him and i dont steal so ill go back saterday couse i found a complete 76 3/4 ton in good shape. but maby i could get the sway bar with the truck included

[79gmcc15]

here is my write up. Maybe this was the one you were looking at. I did find a yard that would take off parts for me for about 10 bucks more then if I were to take the stands off my self. If I hadn't found one here, I would have gone that way. so maybe you should see if there are some yards that will take things off for you. I also called the dealer. they wanted IIRC $30 a pop NIB. If you had the chance between a 1/2 ton or waiting a little bit more, then I would wait. will a 1/2 ton bar help? Yeah, but no sense in installing something that is smaller for the same price as a 3/4-1 ton bar. the bushings were the same price regardless of size. Good luck! it will be all worth it!

[big10ratrod77]

well 79gmc15 that was mighty good reading and answered a few questions for me. but how well did you truck handle in before and after comparison i aint never had a car/truck with a sway bar.

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by spinem

please further explain "binding"

What I mean by binding is there is a possibility that by not using the stock stands on a stock suspension, the angle created might be to much. When the suspension extends, it could cause the sway bar end bushing undue stress.

[79gmcc15]

Originally Posted by big10ratrod77

well 79gmc15 that was mighty good reading and answered a few questions for me. but how well did you truck handle in before and after comparison i aint never had a car/truck with a sway bar.

Thanks,

Well to be honest, I don't remember a whole lot. what happened is that the truck sat for a couple years, then moved it to the new house. sat some more until Unannounced to me I had some major free time coming and I started filling my time working on my truck some. so I didn't drive it a whole lot to give you a complete accurate comparison. But, from what I remember when I did use the truck as a DD it did roll a bit through the corners. and now its pretty flat considering it is stock height and tallish tires. so I would say it did improve I cant tell you how much. I am sure others will say though.

[ERASER5]

When you get your sway bar and stand offs, I recommend tossing the bushing. The clamps are usually nasty too. Go to AutoZone and get the Energy Suspension brand polyurethane bushing. They come with new greaseable clamps. The bushing has grooves to spread the grease.

Moog bushing are often recommended, but in this case, I do not agree. Moog has great bushings, but they are not greasable nor do they come with clamps.

Just my opinion.

[westie 666]

The handling of my truck before and after installing a front sway bar was like night and day, it felt like a new truck.