Hey Everyone and Anyone,

I've got a '98 F150 and I'm interested in buying a rear sway bar for it. I'm not sure which one to buy or where to get it... Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated...I believe they come on Lightnings, so couldn't i just buy one from the dealer? I see the hellwig in my summit catalog, but It says it wont work for a posi rear.. I have a 3:55 posi...Will this not work? Thanks for any help in advance....Eric

 

Welcome to F150online !! Having a LS has nothing to do with anti-sway bars, the bar will work fine with it. The most common bar that you'll see at aftermarket retailers is the Hellwig. Hotchkiss makes a phenomenal set if price is no object (it sells for 2-3 times what it's worth). The lowest price that I've seen for the Hellwig rear bar was $109 at J.C.Whitney. They put them on sale every few months. Most of the online aftermarket retailers and the ones in the truck magazines carry these as well.

 

Thanks for the Jc whitney tip. Thats the cheapest i've seen, so i'll probably go with it... However, the posi apparently does effect the sway bar. I called Hellwig and according to them there are some differences on a posi carrier that force the relocation of the sway bar from the intended top of the differential to the underside of it. They claim that the same kit will work with all of the same bushings and endlinks. I guess i'll have to experiment to find out for sure...By the way, what do you think is the best bang for the buck in terms of shock absorbers? I've seen them from $10 to $80...I dont want to pay $70 more cause they say Edelbrock on them, unless they're really going to make a big difference in the handling and ride...Eric

 

You're Welcome !! RE: swaybar with a LS Hellwig explanation = PURE CRAP. I have had it on my "LS" for over 2 years. It fits the 8.8" or the 9.75" rear end; open or LS~~TRUST ME. Those boneheads sent half of the people here the wrong end-links on the rear or front sway bar one. I had to call them and give them the measurements myself and so have other members. The generic instructions that they include with their bar kits looks like a 6th grader wrote it to accommodate any configuration. If you would like to know exactly how stupid they are, the bar mounts in FRONT of the axle, the carrier is a REAR access integral unit on F-150s. They must have fallen asleep and been dreaming of a drop-out forward facing carrier on a 9" rear end from the 1970s. The center bow of the bar is completely above the entire center section of the axle. The only clearance problem that you will encounter mounting it above the axle is the ABS sensor casting on the top/front of the housing. It clears it by about 1" if you put the axle saddle brackets with the u-bolt threads pointing at the 2 o'clock position, viewing them facing the passenger's rear tire.

 

Max is right- whoever you spoke with was mistaken about how the bar fits.

Check out this thread about the Hellwig installation on my '02 S'crew. Includes the part number for the bar I used- everything was there & fit great!