When to Disconnect Sway Bar?

[flyer92]

So....after decades of driving all sorts of Jeeps from Willys MB, to CJs, to TJs, and now my 2-door JL, I never felt like I needed to disconnect the sway bar. Granted, I typically drive on mostly flat desert, dunes, and rocky mountain trails that are sometimes heavily rutted. Otherwise, nothing too extreme.

I am tempted to buy some quick disconnects, but not sure they are really warranted, given my use case above. Just begs the question...at what point is it really necessary to disconnect?

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[Bleda2002]

Any time you aren't on road? I disconnect mine as soon as I get off the pavement because even for mild stuff it just smooths the ride out over bumps of all sizes, but especially small stuff. I also have a tazer though so I am not speed limited or even 4wd limited.

 

[Roky]

So....after decades of driving all sorts of Jeeps from Willys MB, to CJs, to TJs, and now my 2-door JL, I never felt like I needed to disconnect the sway bar. Granted, I typically drive on mostly flat desert, dunes, and rocky mountain trails that are sometimes heavily rutted. Otherwise, nothing too extreme.

I am tempted to buy some quick disconnects, but not sure they are really warranted, given my use case above. Just begs the question...at what point is it really necessary to disconnect?

Before you buy anything just disconnect and drive your rutted trails, then connect and drive them again, if you don’t notice a difference then save your money but I think you’ll like it disconnected ….

 

[flyer92]

Any time you aren't on road? I disconnect mine as soon as I get off the pavement because even for mild stuff it just smooths the ride out over bumps of all sizes, but especially small stuff. I also have a tazer though so I am not speed limited or even 4wd limited.

OK thanks. I guess I should clarify that I'm less concerned about comfort and more concerned about excessive stress on the suspension over time. This was not much of an issue with the stout old MBs and CJs, but the JL appears much more fragile....and expensive, of course!

 

[Mx5red]

I second trying to disconnect it to see what you think. You don't necessarily need to spend money on new disconnects, just unbolt OEM.

 

[Bleda2002]

OK thanks. I guess I should clarify that I'm less concerned about comfort and more concerned about excessive stress on the suspension over time. This was never an issue with the stout old MBs and CJs, but the JL appears much more fragile....and expensive, of course!

Not sure why you think it's more fragile, it's really the same suspension except on coils and heavier duty than the older stuff. Disconnecting if anything reduces stress since the axle is free to articulate on its own with out the torsion spring pushing on it.

 

[C.Sco]

Any time you aren't on road? I disconnect mine as soon as I get off the pavement because even for mild stuff it just smooths the ride out over bumps of all sizes, but especially small stuff. I also have a tazer though so I am not speed limited or even 4wd limited.

We've got it easy in our Rubicons, just press a button whenever we leave the pavement. But I think OP has a Sport without electronic swaybar disconnect = bigger hassle to get underneath the Jeep with a set of wrenches and have to tie up the swaybar.

Personally I would invest in a set of swaybar disconnects even if I didn't think I'd use them often - even just using them once, for me, would justify the cost. Still have to get under the jeep and tie up the swaybar regardless, but not have to deal with unbolting the links would be nice.

 

[azwjowner]

My experience is tire pressure is far more significant than disconnecting the sway bar for offroad comfort. I disconnect the sway bar mostly for greater articulation.

 

[flyer92]

My experience is tire pressure is far more significant than disconnecting the sway bar for offroad comfort. I disconnect the sway bar mostly for greater articulation.

Agree about airing down...definitely makes things more comfortable, but if disconnecting the swaybar reduces wear and tear for the type of driving I do, then I think it's probably worth the small investment.

 

[Roky]

Agree about airing down...definitely makes things more comfortable, but if disconnecting the swaybar reduces wear and tear for the type of driving I do, then I think it's probably worth the small investment.

This is just a small sample size of connected and disconnected….. I think that the weight of the Jeep coming back down would be more of a stress on suspension than letting it roll with the terrain…..also if you’re running open diffs when that wheel comes up all the traction goes to the path of least resistance. Then you have to butter the throttle a bit to kick in the bld….If all four are on the floor, then you roll right through with all wheels pulling and not missing a beat… again these are just a couple reasons to run disconnected it doesn’t mean you won’t get through the obstacle…….and I’m not saying that little bit of off the ground is going to hurt anything, this is merely an example…….

 

[flyer92]

Not hard to sell me on yet another mild upgrade to my JL, so appreciate all the feedback. Ordering a set of JKS quick disconnects ASAP! Thanks again and happy Jeepin'.

 

[Riotfunk]

Just undo yours and mount up the sway bar. Then drive down an uneven road. You’ll not believe the difference it makes.
Then you’ll order quick disconnects.

I have 300 miles on my Willys and already put teraflex quick disconnects on because of the ride difference off-road. Feels like a whole different vehicle. I put them on my Rubicon first thing to.
I paid for that stretch, I wanna use it. lol

 

[WasMFD]

What did you put on your Rubicon?

 

[flyer92]

One question about quick disconnects. I know there are many options out there that require you to cut off the outer mounting flange on the passenger side, but I'm curious about how much more stress is being applied to the remaining flange and if it is enough to fail quicker? I just don't know how much weight and force these flanges are supposed to handle , so I'm a little leery about cutting one off.

 

[Flip]

One question about quick disconnects. I know there are many options out there that require you to cut off the outer mounting flange on the passenger side, but I'm curious about how much more stress is being applied to the remaining flange and if it is enough to fail quicker? I just don't know how much weight and force these flanges are supposed to handle , so I'm a little leery about cutting one off.

I'm looking for a set of quick disconnects also and I'm having a difficult time finding a decent set without cutting the flange. Did you end up installing quick disconnects?

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