I bought a Hellwig 7621 for my truck. I did some research before buying, and read all the old threads from the early 2000's.

I put the bar on this evening, and... it's not going well. haha

Full review later.

 

What issues are you having?

 

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Instructions .pdf --> http://www.mediafire.com/view/ldss4x.../135007621.pdf

1.) I almost rounded out my axle breather trying to install the spacer. I had to use PB Blaster and a torch to loosen it up.

2.) Passenger side L bracket. I'm pretty sure this was installed correctly. To secure the bracket I used the short stud plate on top, and the provided J bolt on the bottom. Notice how the J bolt is the perfect length for the washer and bolt.

3.) Driver side L bracket. To clear the fuel tank skid plate hangar, Hellwig provides a spacer bracket to mount between the chassis and L bracket. This is fine, but not the J bolt isn't long enough to thread through the nut completely. I only have the nut threaded about halfway here. The instructions specify to use the longer stud plate and J bolt, and while I had the stud plate, I was only provided 2 identical (short) J bolts.

4.) Sway bar fits snug to the axle.

5.) This is how I routed the parking brake cable and ABS sensor. The parking brake cable I have is from Autozone, and is a bit shorter than the OEM one. I'm not really happy with the routing, but nothing binds up when the bar is flexed.

6.) This is the clearance between the driver side end link and skid plate hangar.

First impressions? I had significant clunking because I think I used the wrong end link, and I tried to run the bar without the spacer plate. I'm not sure if I may have glossed over the part of the instructions where the end link was specified, but I found myself guessing a little but during installation.

Kit quality was nice, and the hardware was good. Instructions sucked. I wish the hardware was in individual labeled bags. There's a lot of part interchangeability here, and sometimes I wondered which bolt was right.

After I got the clunks worked out, I noticed significantly reduced body roll. The truck settles nicely in fast sweepers, and seems to level out when I turn in the city. The truck doesn't feel like a rocking chair when I hit speed bumps at an angle. The ride is noticeably busier as road imperfections are more apparent. Axle hop is reduced a little bit as well. On the highway, the truck just feels more stable when changing lanes and passing trucks. I really like what it's done to the ride and handling.

I've contacted Hellwig asking for a longer J bolt, but that was during New Year's so... might be a few days before I can get proper hardware.

 

I was only a little disappointed because I expected better considering the price $258.22 (Amazon) and I read these threads prior... The sway bar's performance, however, is worth the trouble.

The FX-4 thread is the one that made me buy the bar haha.

https://www.f150online.com/forums/su...questions.html

https://www.f150online.com/forums/su...r-hellwig.html

 

Your problems are clearly related to not using a large enough hammer.

 

hahahaahah ^

 

I ran a OEM Lightning rear sway bar on my Red 03 and loved the added performance it provides.

My silver 03 has front sway bar deleted for weight and clearance issues.


I would consider getting one for my '14 but its pretty tight as is, I don't do "enough" towing to need the added stability

 

It's not all about the size of the hammer, but how you use it?

I wondered if I needed one, and I guess the answer is no, but my goal is to make it a sporty DD through college because I think I'm gonna keep it forever.

 

I also think on the 10th gen trucks adding the rear sway bar will prolong the life of the endlinks up front

 

A myth created by men with small hammers. There are just some things you'll never crack open or bend over with a small hammer.

 

what I tell my smaller hammer friends to make them feel better "it's not how deep you fish, it's how you wiggle the worm"

But we all know bigger is better

 

My truck is lowered 6.5 in the rear. I deleted all the J-bolts and brackets and drilled the frame and ran short end links into the bottom of the frame. In theory you could do the same with longer hardware. The other thing to take into consideration is how the sway bar mounts to the axle. I ended up welding the bracket with the teeth to the axle, because under very hard cornering they would rotate on the axle and cause issues. Welding them to the axle solved that problem. The e-brake cable I ended up using a heavy duty ty-wrap and securing it to the top bolt on the passenger side axle clamp and has worked for 14 years. The spacer for the axle vent I didn't use and messaged the brake line for clearance. It was very minimal and hasn't been an issue. I also have the hellwig front sway bar that is 1 7/16. I had to adjust end links on that to compensate for being so low IE shorter end links. I know the biggest thing is trying to keep the sway bar end as close to parallel to the ground as possible to maximize performance.
I just went out to take a few pics but my cell phone sucks and they came up dark. When I lowered mine I put the sway bar under the 3rd member because it would hit the VSS on top. From what I see in your Pics I would make longer end links to level out the ends. I noticed your 4wd due to the blocks in the rear so the longer links would just make the sway bar work a little better.

 

What driving makes the U bolts rotate on the axle? I considered making longer end links, but the bar seems level enough in picture 5 haha.

Do you think a new front bar is worth it? I was just going to find poly bushings for the front and call it a day.

 

I wouldn't want anyone to think I was buying big hammers to compensate for something... We already drive pickups haha