Broken Sway bar End Link

[MarkY3130]

First off, this is not a knock on Metalcloak. I’ve rock crawled more than most ever will with this set up over the last few years and everything has held up very well.

That said, I’ve known for a long time that my sway bar/end link setup wasn’t ideal. It binds up and I knew it was limiting some flex. The MC Gamechanger kit has a lot of travel, in my opinion, more travel than the MC end links are setup for.

Anyway, here’s a few pictures showing how much force is in play. To clarify, it’s a Rubicon so electronic disconnect plus MC end links.

RockJock Antirock Front and Rear Sway Bars arrive on Friday. I’ve been eyeing them for 10 years, so pretty excited to put them on and head into the rocks. Something like Rock Krawlers no limit links would have probably done the trick for a lot less money, but again, I’ve had the Antirocks on the wish list for a long time.

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[Roky]

First off, this is not a knock on Metalcloak. I’ve rock crawled more than most ever will with this set up over the last few years and everything has held up very well.

That said, I’ve known for a long time that my sway bar/end link setup wasn’t ideal. It binds up and I knew it was limiting some flex. The MC Gamechanger kit has a lot of travel, in my opinion, more travel than the MC end links are setup for.

Anyway, here’s a few pictures showing how much force is in play. To clarify, it’s a Rubicon so electronic disconnect plus MC end links.

RockJock Antirock Front and Rear Sway Bars arrive on Friday. I’ve been eyeing them for 10 years, so pretty excited to put them on and head into the rocks. Something like Rock Krawlers no limit links would have probably done the trick for a lot less money, but again, I’ve had the Antirocks on the wish list for a long time.

Hey Mark, I’ve been on the fence with anti rocks for a couple years. I know they’re the bomb off road, but my issue is on curvy back country roads at speed. I’d like you’re feedback on the highway with them if you don’t mind.

What I’d like to know is how much difference there actually is. If I wasn’t getting as much articulations as I’m getting with the no limits then I’d be a little more motivated to do something different. But honestly, I’m getting the same articulation as I would unhooked.

Im actually a little surprised MC hasn’t come out with a heim design.

Thanks man......

from their website.........

Body Roll - Antirock sway bar equipped vehicles will exhibit more body roll than vehicles equipped with the stock sway bar. Antirock sway bars may be used on the street, however, they do not provide the same handling characteristics as the stock sway bar.

 

[Yellow Cake Kid]

A stud on a 24 dollar and 50 cent part broke.

"Crunch all you want, we'll make more."

 

[MarkY3130]

Hey Mark, I’ve been on the fence with anti rocks for a couple years. I know they’re the bomb off road, but my issue is on curvy back country roads at speed. I’d like you’re feedback on the highway with them if you don’t mind.

What I’d like to know is how much difference there actually is. If I wasn’t getting as much articulations as I’m getting with the no limits then I’d be a little more motivated to do something different. But honestly, I’m getting the same articulation as I would unhooked.

Im actually a little surprised MC hasn’t come out with a heim design.

Thanks man......

from their website.........

Body Roll - Antirock sway bar equipped vehicles will exhibit more body roll than vehicles equipped with the stock sway bar. Antirock sway bars may be used on the street, however, they do not provide the same handling characteristics as the stock sway bar.

I’ll definitely provide some feedback after I get them on. I’ve been driving disconnected since last Saturday when it broke, it’s not as bad as I was expecting, but I look forward to having a sway bar back on!

 

[Headbarcode]

The Gamechanger definitely has a ridiculous amount of flex. My rear sway bar was hitting the bottom of the frame rail on both sides, which was robbing the tail end of uptravel. I also had the No Limits front links, but I should've gone with the longer set, because the shorter set was too short even when fully extended. Due to those front and rear sway issues, I went Antirock on both ends. It rolls noticeably more, but nowhere near enough to be a problem on road as a daily driver. I'm glad I went this route. A couple of added pluses, is being able to shed the weight of the edisconnect motor and front skid plate and a slight increase in head-on ground clearance and approach angle.

 

[Roky]

The Gamechanger definitely has a ridiculous amount of flex. My rear sway bar was hitting the bottom of the frame rail on both sides, which was robbing the tail end of uptravel. I also had the No Limits front links, but I should've gone with the longer set, because the shorter set was too short even when fully extended. Due to those front and rear sway issues, I went Antirock on both ends. It rolls noticeably more, but nowhere near enough to be a problem on road as a daily driver. I'm glad I went this route. A couple of added pluses, is being able to shed the weight of the edisconnect motor and front skid plate and a slight increase in head-on ground clearance and approach angle.

I’m glad to see you tackling that pile-o-parts you’ve accumulated brother....

 

[Headbarcode]

I’m glad to see you tackling that pile-o-parts you’ve accumulated brother....

Thanks buddy!

I'm hoping to free up a day in the next couple of weeks for the knuckles, ball joints, axle shafts, and steering linkages. I've had an annoying shimmy for the last few months, and am hoping for that to go away.

How's Colby making out with the long arms? He better not be milking it out! You've waited long enough.

 

[Headbarcode]

Hey Mark, I’ve been on the fence with anti rocks for a couple years. I know they’re the bomb off road, but my issue is on curvy back country roads at speed. I’d like you’re feedback on the highway with them if you don’t mind.

What I’d like to know is how much difference there actually is. If I wasn’t getting as much articulations as I’m getting with the no limits then I’d be a little more motivated to do something different. But honestly, I’m getting the same articulation as I would unhooked.

Im actually a little surprised MC hasn’t come out with a heim design.

Thanks man......

from their website.........

Body Roll - Antirock sway bar equipped vehicles will exhibit more body roll than vehicles equipped with the stock sway bar. Antirock sway bars may be used on the street, however, they do not provide the same handling characteristics as the stock sway bar.

You'll lose a bit of flex when lifting just 1 wheel on a level surface, compared to your current setup when electronically disconnected. But offroad and both axles being racked in opposite directions is where it will fully flex, due to it being a more balanced system.

I found this interesting...

 

[MarkY3130]

I flew to Vienna the same day the sway bars delivered. Probably won’t get them on until maybe the 20th.

 

[MarkY3130]

I installed the front antirock on Monday night. Install was pretty simple. Front Antirock arms only have 1 hole in them. Drove it with front Antirock and stock rear Tuesday-Friday.

Found it to have less body roll than no sway bar (ran with no front sway bar for a few weeks), but still noticeable sway. Livable but felt like a compromise on road.

I installed the rear Antirock tonight. Install was even easier than the front. My arms came with 2 holes in them. I chose to install using the holes furthest away from the end of the bar.

Went for about a 15 minute drive afterwards. The rear Antirock feels much stiffer than the stock bar was. Noticed much less body roll than the Antirock front plus stock rear configuration. I’m rock crawling in the morning and have an hour drive to get there. I’ll give it a go tomorrow but may try different mounting hole configurations in the rear afterwards. It was only a 15 minute drive tonight, but I’m happy with it on road. This is much better than with the stock rear sway bar.

The instructions said to use the middle hole in the rear to start, well, mine only have two holes per side. I believe I have three options:

1) Use holes furthest away from arm end = stiffest (current setup)
2) Use holes closest to arm end = softest
3) Use hole furthest from arm end on one side and hole closest to arm end on the other side = middle stiffness setting

@Headbarcode which rear setting did you end up with?

 

[Headbarcode]

I installed the front antirock on Monday night. Install was pretty simple. Front Antirock arms only have 1 hole in them. Drove it with front Antirock and stock rear Tuesday-Friday.

Found it to have less body roll than no sway bar (ran with no front sway bar for a few weeks), but still noticeable sway. Livable but felt like a compromise on road.

I installed the rear Antirock tonight. Install was even easier than the front. My arms came with 2 holes in them. I chose to install using the holes furthest away from the end of the bar.

Went for about a 15 minute drive afterwards. The rear Antirock feels much stiffer than the stock bar was. Noticed much less body roll than the Antirock front plus stock rear configuration. I’m rock crawling in the morning and have an hour drive to get there. I’ll give it a go tomorrow but may try different mounting hole configurations in the rear afterwards. It was only a 15 minute drive tonight, but I’m happy with it on road. This is much better than with the stock rear sway bar.

The instructions said to use the middle hole in the rear to start, well, mine only have two holes per side. I believe I have three options:

1) Use holes furthest away from arm end = stiffest (current setup)
2) Use holes closest to arm end = softest
3) Use hole furthest from arm end on one side and hole closest to arm end on the other side = middle stiffness setting

@Headbarcode which rear setting did you end up with?

I've yet to specifically look into it, or openly ask on this forum, but I thought using the hole in the arm closer to the bar would be stiffer than the hole further away. My thinking was that connecting the axle further out on the arm would give the axle more leverage over the sway bar, resulting in a softer antiroll feel. Do I have that backwards?

Anyways, I also only have to mounting positions on the rear arms. I currently have the links on the holes closer to the bar. I'm going to try out the other hole to see if one is preferable over the other.

It makes sense that it really came together after doing both. They were definitely designed to work in conjunction with each other to provide a well balanced ride and handling on and off road. Glad you're happy with them! I've been as well.

 

[MarkY3130]

I've yet to specifically look into it, or openly ask on this forum, but I thought using the hole in the arm closer to the bar would be stiffer than the hole further away. My thinking was that connecting the axle further out on the arm would give the axle more leverage over the sway bar, resulting in a softer antiroll feel. Do I have that backwards?

Anyways, I also only have to mounting positions on the rear arms. I currently have the links on the holes closer to the bar. I'm going to try out the other hole to see if one is preferable over the other.

It makes sense that it really came together after doing both. They were definitely designed to work in conjunction with each other to provide a well balanced ride and handling on and off road. Glad you're happy with them! I've been as well.

We’re saying the same thing regarding which holes would be stiffer, my word choice probably just wasn’t very clear. Looks like we both have ours installed in the same mounting holes. I like it so far, but will probably play with the options. Thanks for the reply and the pictures!

 

[Headbarcode]

We’re saying the same thing regarding which holes would be stiffer, my word choice probably just wasn’t very clear. Looks like we both have ours installed in the same mounting holes. I like it so far, but will probably play with the options. Thanks for the reply and the pictures!

Oh OK. When you said the hole further from the the end of the bar, you meant the arm not the actual sway bar. Good to know that my thinking of what the stiffer hole was wasn't backwards.

I think I'll stick with the current position for now. I'm not sure if going softer is needed.

 

[MarkY3130]

Wheeling and driving to/from the trail yesterday went great. I’m really happy with how it drives on the road and off-road. Yesterdays trail was only about a 6 out of 10 for hardness. Gave me a chance to verify I got the arms at the right angles though

Looking forward to a harder trail soon

 

[Yellow Cake Kid]

Did you disconnect the front sway bar on the trail or did you find it worked well enough with sway bar still connected?

I have a love hate relationship with our Rubicon sway bar system. I love pushing the button and disconnecting it, but I hate feeling that it's going to break when it tries to reconnect and hesitates to do so.

Thanks for any details you can share.

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