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Will I benefit much from Sway Bar Quick Disconnects?

Nano

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how fast can you go with the sway bar disconnected ?
i'm doing a lot of desert
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Pig-Pen

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how fast can you go with the sway bar disconnected ?
i'm doing a lot of desert
its not so much the speed its the turns. i believe a turn at speed when disconnected can cause a roll over. just keep that in mind while driving like that. id say whatever speed the rubicon reconnect is probably a good marker. FCA probably felt anything above that speed was too dangerous. of course im sure they leave a margin of error in there as well.
 

jeepoch

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i was looking at those too, let us know what you think
Travis,

I have now made two wheeling trips with the Teraflex Sway Bar Quick Disconnects. They work great with one caveat, getting them reconnected is a little tougher than advertised. Still overall impression is very positive.

First off, getting them installed for me was a bitch. However, that was my fault not the Teraflex kit. I went in thinking a 1/2" ratchet and breaker bar was sufficient to get the installation started. Nope. It looks like FCA uses Loctite on all the sway bar bolts. I ended up going to a local mechanic to break these bolts free. An impact driver is definitely required. Being a software engineer I don't wrench on enough things to warrant having an impact driver in my tool box. Owning a Jeep now and that may change.

However, once these bolts we're free, the installation was straightforward and easy from there. Also, certainly use grease on the disconnect parking studs. This really does help on trail.

Disconnecting them when airing down is a breeze. Disconnect either side first makes no difference, they come off and swing up out of the way super easy.

Riding with them disconnected makes all the difference in the world on trail. The extra articulation is what makes these Jeeps so extraordinary. The two runs I've accomplished with the sway bars disconnected so far are Wheeler Lake and Mosquito Pass.

Wheeler Lake was a maintenance run with MHJC Patrol 2 along with the Forest Service to install trail markers, out of bounds fencing and a winching post at the V-Notch obstacle. Interestingly, my Sport S with open diffs (no lockers, not even LSDs) had no difficulty at all, while some other non-club Rubicon's who just happened to be wheeling by, had to be winched up. Granted, my overall 4.5" lift on 35's made the job much easier. Without the discos it would have been much harder if not impossible. This trail is rated Difficult-Severe for a reason.

Still, it's really satisfying to see that my sport can tackle obstacles where some Rubi's need to be assisted. I'm still humble because I certainly know that a trail ready Rubicon with an experienced driver can likely still do circles around me. But, it feels good to go to the top of this trail without any problem. I'm certain this was only possible with the disconnected sway bars.

Now to reconnecting them at the end of the trail; it's nothing like what's advertised in the sales brochure. This requires some effort. But I'm still learning and experimenting. Both times required a pry bar in order to get the sway bar low enough to get the link reconnected to the lower parking stud. With a pry bar it's relatively easy. Without it, I'm sure I'd be driving around looking for perfectly level ground or some rock to drive on to raise one side of the suspension.

The first side is easy, you just pull the free sway bar to wherever it's needed. It's the other side that becomes the issue. However, with the lack of experience I have so far, the driver's side seems to be the easiest to apply the pry bar.

In the future, I'll experiment with the parking level of the wheels, whether it's easier with the drivers side being slightly higher or lower. Both times I've looked for a fairly level, flat spot. Unfortunately both times I've had issues (pry bar required).

Also, the links in this kit are certainly longer than stock. So the sway bar now rides higher than horizontal, whereas with the stock links the sway bare rode a little lower. A suspension expert will have to chime in whether or not this is an issue. Once reconnected, everything rides just like normal however.

In summary, on trail the benefit of disconnecting far out weights the trouble of reconnecting. I'll never consider going off-road without disconnecting the sway bars again. The diffence in articulation is truly remarkable. It's like putting butter on toast. Having all four tires on the ground really makes four wheeling that much easier.

A pry bar however is definitely now required as minimal trail equipment.

Hope this helps...
Jay

Pics are from both Wheeler Lake and Mosquito Pass. The later run was unfortunately performed when CO was being choked in all the wildfire haze.

Jeep Wrangler JL Will I benefit much from Sway Bar Quick Disconnects? IMG_20200901_113102


Jeep Wrangler JL Will I benefit much from Sway Bar Quick Disconnects? IMG_20200901_121217


Jeep Wrangler JL Will I benefit much from Sway Bar Quick Disconnects? IMG_20200901_144545


Jeep Wrangler JL Will I benefit much from Sway Bar Quick Disconnects? IMG_20200901_144649


Jeep Wrangler JL Will I benefit much from Sway Bar Quick Disconnects? IMG_20200907_115140


Jeep Wrangler JL Will I benefit much from Sway Bar Quick Disconnects? IMG_20200907_145510


Jeep Wrangler JL Will I benefit much from Sway Bar Quick Disconnects? IMG_20200907_145141


Jeep Wrangler JL Will I benefit much from Sway Bar Quick Disconnects? IMG_20200907_141348


Jeep Wrangler JL Will I benefit much from Sway Bar Quick Disconnects? IMG_20200907_145253
 

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Only time ive had difficult disconnecting my links was sitting on unlevel ground. I had someone climb on my front bumper and bounce around and got it done. Thats because i didnt think to disconnect on the flat road beforehand. Doh! As for as reconnecting, theres always fairly level ground, it doesnt have to be perfectly level.

Seems when ive gone out the guys with quick disconnects have more trouble than i do with my stock links lol. I bought some JKS but never got around to installing them as i plan to go higher. But working with the stocks has been so easy i dont know if i ever will. Ymmv
 

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Only time ive had difficult disconnecting my links was sitting on unlevel ground.

But working with the stocks has been so easy i dont know if i ever will. Ymmv
Steve,
Certainly do what works or what's comfortable.

For me, threading a bolt vs sliding a bushing over a parking stud would be so much harder. I'm sure I'd mess the threads up (maybe over time) if everything didn't line up perfectly.

Using the small sway bar is peanuts. I just pry the sway bar up or down with one hand and slide the link on the stud with the other. Probably 20 to 30 seconds top. Maybe as I determine the flatness of the surface required, the pry bar will be a thing of the past. Either way, much (much) easier than aligning, seating, threading, wrenching then torquing a bolt, hoping I didn't damage a thread in the process. How tight do you torque everything down. Do you just 'wing' it, or do you have your trusty, dusty torque wrench in your back pocket?

For me, the quick disconnects are so much better. Disconnecting both sides takes more time to walk around the Jeep. Reconnecting with my 2' pry bar takes me under the rig and 20 to 30 seconds after that. Hopefully, I'll get practiced and savvy enough to just bend brown and reconnect it in even less time.

The only thing better is to press that magic little dash pushbutton in a Rubi. I wish I had the budget...

Jay

IMG_20200912_151149.jpg


IMG_20200912_151133.jpg
 

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I use a cordless rachet. Ive got it down to about 30 seconds per side. Reconnecting takes a few seconds longer. No i dont use a torque wrench. I just tighten them good. Ive done this many many times and have never had any issues. I dont think its possible to cross thread these bolts/nuts. I do it without looking lol.

im not knocking anyone if they want quick disconnects. Just saying you can save $200 and still easy to deal with with stock parts.
 

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only thing i see with you guys zip tying them to the spring is that the sway bar will push up much higher than where you have them, and then you can zip tie/bungee them to the body mount. gives you more room at full stuff in a turn.
 

Pig-Pen

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only thing i see with you guys zip tying them to the spring is that the sway bar will push up much higher than where you have them, and then you can zip tie/bungee them to the body mount. gives you more room at full stuff in a turn.
good point. ive just been ziptieing them to the sway bar. i had to double up on my zip ties because using just one it would often break while offroading. 2 has proven to be adequate. i recently bought a roll of small velcro straps. going to give that a try next time im out.
 

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good point. ive just been ziptieing them to the sway bar. i had to double up on my zip ties because using just one it would often break while offroading. 2 has proven to be adequate. i recently bought a roll of small velcro straps. going to give that a try next time im out.
that might work, we use the bungees with the ball on one end and give the sway bar a good shove upwards, it will move up out of the way a lot more.
 

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RockJock antirock sway bar kit. No need to disconnect allows for more flex and still retain some road manners:

E37FDE03-A575-4848-8873-20481CDD42D5.jpeg
F0DB0C06-5138-4295-96D7-9B0A60FF1CD0.jpeg


They make a rear antirock as well. I might go this route in the future.

Made by Currie so can’t be bad.
 

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Guys,

The conversation has largely been about disconnecting and fastening the end links somehow, but what about the sway bar itself?

My 2021 JL Sport's sway bar is tight enough on its own without needing to be secured, but I suspect it's only a temporary benefit while the rig is still relatively new. Am I correct in assuming that as the machine gets older and the sway bar gets looser, I'll need to eventually start securing the sway bar itself so it doesn't interfere with axle movement?

If so, is there any solution besides tying the sway bar to the frame?
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