I joined the "no front sway bar" club, but I wasn't exactly planning on it. I've always felt that my front end was too soft to run without a front sway bar. But about two weeks ago while wheeling with Motorpig77, I came down on a rock and heard a loud clunk in the front end. I poked my head under and everything important was still intact (it was very dark out), but there was a large mark on the driver's side of the sway bar where it had impacted a rock, and the lower boot on the driver's side sway bar end link was ripped.
The next day, I noticed a slight rattle noise coming from the front end when hitting small bumps on dirt roads. I also got a horrible knock sound when I would make a sharp right turn at slow speeds that was consistent with wheel speed. I figured I had blown a CV and that was probably the loud noise I heard the night before, but a quick investigation revealed that it was actually the balancing weight on the inside of the driver's side wheel making contact with the sway bar while the steering wheel was fully turned clockwise. So now I figured the sway bar must be slightly bent based on the impact mark from the rock and the fact that the sway bar was no longer clearing the wheel.
I removed the bar and discovered that the upper ball joint for the end link (not the one with the ripped boot) was completely separated. I guess I just beat the sway bar up too much and the end link finally gave way. I'm probably also just a little too high off the ground to still be using the stock end links, and you can see that the sway bar bushing is very loose and not holding the bar tightly anymore.
With the sway bar removed, the front end "dives" into turns quite a bit more, and it's a bit sketchy making slightly abrupt maneuvers at highway speeds. So I'm trying to decide which route I should take:
1) stiffen up the springs on the radflo 2.5s - currently 650lb, but I could jump up to 700 or 750lb
Pros: would allow me to keep my existing setup and keep the front sway bar removed for better articulation
Cons: not the least expensive option, and would stiffen the ride on washboard roads and therefore make trips less enjoyable for the wife and son
2) lighten the weight in the front end: the only way I could really accomplish this would be to relocate the air compressor (which won't improve the situation very much), or swap out my front bumper with a lighter weight one or one that doesn't stick out as far (less lever action against the front suspension). I already swapped out the steel cable on my winch for a synthetic line when I installed it.
Pros: Would improve the overall look and performance of the rig and allow me to
Cons: most expensive option, would have a large lead time with virtually any bumper manufacturer
3) Adjust the height of the Radflo 2.5s to get some preload out of my existing springs. They're virtually all the way down now, and I do have one more hole on my rear shackles to move up and keep the height proportionate.
Pros: Wouldn't cost me anything
Cons: less down-travel within the coilover, truck wouldn't fit in the garage anymore (BARELY fits now... less than 1 inch of clearance) and I keep all of my camera gear in there for rapid response times to breaking news calls, so I don't like to leave it parked outside. Plus, I'm not sure it would stiffen the front end up enough to make much of a difference anyway, but I guess it would be a little stiffer than it is now.
4) Purchase extended end links and re-install the sway bar
Pros: not an expensive option
Cons: still running a front sway bar with less articulation, and would have to replace the bushings too (almost as much money as new coil springs at that point).
5) Just deal with it and run it as is
Pros: sit back and drink a beer
Cons: rollover accident if I ever have to swerve out of the way of something on the highway
In a perfect world and if money wasn't an object, I'd go with option number 2 and sell my Calmini Safari bumper and purchase a new hefty fab aluminum front bumper, and keep the rest of the setup the same. Although I'd also have to relocate the air compressor since there will no longer be room in the front bumper for it and the winch.
Blown out lower boot on sway bar end link
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Impact mark from rock on driver's side of sway bar. Notice the worn out sway bar bushing toward the left of the image:
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Upper end link ball joint fully separated when I unbolted the sway bar mounting brackets:
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Sway bar fully removed (my son wanted his Frisbee to be in the photo):
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