Anti-sway bars

I have anti-sway bars on the front and rear of my bronco and I have heard that you can remove them for better off road performance but that you should not tow anything without them. I do not tow and do not do much pavement driving. Only 40 miles to the mountains and 40 miles back with alot of off roading in between. Should I lose them for better off roading? Does it actually even help? Or do the pros not out weigh the cons of getting rid of them? I do not plan on ever towing anything with the bronco as it is strictly a family off roader. Thanks for the help guys

Without the sway bars you'll obviously have more body role. Also, you'll have much more axle wrap and may be prone to breaking U joints. However, you also have more articulation. Hope this helps a little.

Look for a previous post with pics comparing the flex with and without the anti-sway bars on a stock Bronco. It will help to remove them if you need more wheel travel/flex offroad (who doesn't?). JSM84

I removed mine and I have not noticed any difference.I also haul a 18foot car trailer with a car on it and cant tell any difference.I do know that when I did have them I did worry about getting them stuck on stuff and hitting rocks. but thats my 2cents.

Thats what I was thinking I have drug mine through stuff before and had always heard to yank them but wanted to asked some people who may have performed the operation before I set into getting them off.

This is what rocks can do to your rear sway bars...



That was with stock suspension. When I put may 6" lift on, I did not re-install either swaybar and have not noticed a drop in performance. I have also been towing around big U-haul trailer the last few days with no problems. I did keep both bars though. If I start to notice problems in the future, (as my brand new springs and shocks age) I will re-install the front one first and see how it goes. If it still needs some more help, I might put the rear one back on also. But since I have no problems yet, I'm thinking they will probably never go back on.

WOW! I had no idea you could remove them without loosing control of your truck on curves. The front bar looks like a very important aspect of the steering system. Do you guys add stiffer gas shocks/springs or anything?

My lift came with new springs on all four corners and I chose the "nitro shock" upgrade. I guess time will tell if the suspension will "loosen up" and require the bars at some later date. However, I did remove the rear bar after the endlink got bent (still had stock suspension) and noticed no real difference in handling.

Edit:

I guess I should add a caveat to this. I don't drive like I did when I was a teenager anymore. So if you are trying to drive it like a rice burning tuner car, or you are into "drifting" you may notice a difference with the swaybars.

TJ, it definitely helps to add a set of good offroad shocks, as that in itself improves the ride and handling a bunch. Most everyone I've talked to about the sway bar dilemma hasa been riding around on the original bushings and end links, as very few think about replacing them. The Bronco has a bad habit of body roll and nose dive already, and I saw little improvement when I replaced the bushings while my 84 Bronc was at stock height. Made me feel good, but I still had alot of body movement. Replacing the wornout shocks with some ProComp ES9000's helped some, but the best results came from replacing the worn body mount bushings. Most any brand of 4" or 6' suspension lift will in itself improve the ride, as will wider tires that add some stability. Some kits come with drop brackets for the front sway bar only, nothing for the rear. Leaving both off of a lifted rig doesn't seem to affect body roll very much, and neither does removing them from a stock-height Bronco. I have several front and rear sway bars in the junk pile that I've removed from various rigs, so have some feel from several vehicles as to what happens when you take them off. My advice is to try drivng without them next time you go offroad, and test out the street manners at slow to moderate speeds. If you do notice a big change, it's simple enough to put them back on. Provided you don't strip or break any rusted bolts removing them!!! JSM84

thanks for all the seasoned advice fellas you just cant get first hand info like this from any book. Most of you are very thorough in your explanations which goes a long way for me. I will be removing and saving them on thursday or friday as I have a camping/off road trip this weekend up in big bear and am eager to see the articulation change while on some trails.

noahsdad86 said:

I have anti-sway bars on the front and rear of my bronco and I have heard that you can remove them for better off road performance but that you should not tow anything without them. I do not tow and do not do much pavement driving. Only 40 miles to the mountains and 40 miles back with alot of off roading in between. Should I lose them for better off roading? Does it actually even help? Or do the pros not out weigh the cons of getting rid of them? I do not plan on ever towing anything with the bronco as it is strictly a family off roader. Thanks for the help guys

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I think the BEST option available is to convert the downlinks to quick-disconnects. Unfortunately I don't have pics of my old trucks that were setup that way but in my OWN opinion it's the way to go because you still have the advantage of having the swaybars when you're driving around town but you can disconnect them them goofing around. When you're running a lift & larger tires it sure does help to have the swaybars connected on-road but like everyone has told you the very nature of the bars restricts your off-road flex and that can be a killer. Quite often the downlinks get nailed by rocks or debris. Unfortunately adding the lift & tires really makes the truck want to roll when you're on-road and the swaybars really help to keep that in check.

Check out a few of the sites that offer quick-disconnects for your swaybars:

http://www.rockymountainsusp.com/SwayBarLinks.htm

http://store.jksmfg.com/merchant2/merchant...bar_Disconnects

http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTricks/SwayBar.shtml

http://www.tuffcountry.com/miscellaneous/f...isconnects.html

Just my opinion, take it for what it's worth

Thanks for those links bill the third one helped alot and after looking at them I am going to pull the bars for this weekend and see what happens but eventually I will be making some quick disconnects I knew they had them for "jeep' but never though of home fabrication. Everyone here knows I will do it at home to save a buck for my budget build. But great links

I would love disconects for My BRONCO all I see on those links are for Jeeps ect. The Bronco sway bar ends are much shorter. I have not yet seen a disconect made for the Bronco. That being said mine have been off for many years the only time I have problems is when I froget I am driving a truck and try to corner to fast. If you remember that you are driving a 5500# truck you will be OK. And it is MUCH better off road with out them.

wileec said:

I would love disconects for My BRONCO all I see on those links are for Jeeps ect. The Bronco sway bar ends are much shorter. I have not yet seen a disconect made for the Bronco. That being said mine have been off for many years the only time I have problems is when I froget I am driving a truck and try to corner to fast. If you remember that you are driving a 5500# truck you will be OK. And it is MUCH better off road with out them.

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Well man, to be honest with ya I'm not for sure that anyone out there *makes* a quick-disconnect kit for a Bronco (I only spent 10 or 15 min getting those links for him, and as a general rule I only buy the $hit I can't build) but I was absolutely tickled when I came across this pic which is almost an exact freaking clone of the ones I made for my big Broncos & F350. I didn't have a mill yet or even my lathe so I fabbed them out of 5/8" plate using nothing more than a drill press & a bandsaw (truth be told a patient guy could fab this with a hacksaw & hand-drill) and maybe 7 or 8 drillbits <grin>. They aren't fancy and nobody hung a *Billet* sticker on them but I fabbed all of mine from a large plate of stainless I had and never once had one fail. And just as a quick note, by the time you add a set of 38's with steel rims, heavywall tube bumpers, a winch (or two), rollcage & toolbox you're probably tipping the scales at #6500, if not more (and please note that I'm very tactfully avoiding the subject of how much anyone's wife may weigh as a passenger).

I plan on fabricating a set of quick disconnects pretty soon. I have a business trip coming up though so that puts a damper on projects. I am also looking into on board air using my old a/c compressor since that system has long been removed.

Okay they are now gone and sitting over at my father in laws house. I drove it on the freeway home and noticed very little difference if any at all. I guess I dont drive like a ****** anymore. But I hit some speedbumps and did notice a more of a crawling action when I took them at an angle, alot smoother, thanks for the advice guys, good call on yanking those suckers.

Can someone post a pic of what the front looks like without the sway bar on a stock height Bronco?

i have a 6" rough country lift and 35" bfg muds. when i went to go put my sway bars back on the front sway bar hit my new big springs up front. i was also worried about catching it of stuff.....so i have no sway bars on and to be honest my bronco will roll on the tire before the sway bars ever come in to play. also i toe a 3000lbs corvette that i drag race.....2 months and no problems yet..if ur bronco is stock hight there is no need to take then off cuz before i lifted mine i had 31x10.50 bfg AT and even with the sway bars on i could tuck the tires all the way up to the body/frame.

the other this that might happen when you take them off is ur truck will have a permanent lean to it, cuz there is no connection between the suspension and body

my advice...LIFT IT, then drive it without sway bars....if u dont like it add the front one..if still to loose add the other. but i if its stock hight..id just remove th back one if ur worried about catching it on stuff.