I just had my truck lifted about 3 weeks ago
(CAMBURG is the place to go...not kidding), and some of my friends are saying that if I take out the factory front sway bar, my truck will handle a whole lot better. Seems logical, any thoughts?

 

In my opinion, the front sway bar is essential if you ever drive your vehicle on the road at all. Have your ever driven a pre 1960 car without a front bar? They handle like crap!

That being said, there may be ONE situation where you are better off without a front bar, and that would be EXTREME off roading - I mean 2 mph over boulders, that kind of thing. I watched an old ****** crawl up the sluice box on the Rubicon Trail. Without any sway bars, the body was moving all over the place, but the wheels went where they had to go. On the highway, I bet it didn't handle well at all.

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1999 XLT S/C, 4.2 V-6, auto, 3.55 rear, dark torreador red/harvest gold, bed liner, Sony 10 disc CD, Edelbrock IAS, K&N filter, Superchip



[This message has been edited by dirt bike dave (edited 01-27-2000).]

 

I have a body vs a suspension lift buuuuttt...I think I can give you a little advice as Ford left one of my front sway bar connector links off when they built my truck. This was discovered by the tire tech when I had my new tires and alignment done. So my sway bar was not working.

When I first bought my baby I noticed it was a little squirrely in the curves but hey I figured "its a truck" and it drove much better than all of the pre 97 models I had ever driven so I thought nothing of it.....welll once I put the missing link in, boy did it make a difference. The truck drives mucho better than it did before.

One note in my search for the link, Ford wanted $35 for it. I put in a $7 aftermarket one. By the way I saw a set of adjustable ones for $12 at discount auto. Maybe you might try them...gives you the option of loosening up the sway bar when needed.

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1997 Arctic White F-150 XLT Flareside SC, K&N, Magnaflow muffler, Air Box mods, Bugflector II, Soft Tonneau Cover, Chrome Westin Bars, 3" Performance Accessories Body Lift, tinted windows

Flares Rule!!!!!

 

I took the removall of the swaybar to the extreme. When I redid the suspension on my '98, I put 2 Rancho RS9000s on each corner. I removed the sway bar and built the mounts for the new shocks on the front in the sway bars place. Now, it does better "off road" because there is no sway bar, but behaves good on the road and I can adjust the shocks however I want.

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hytek1dr@yahoo.com

 

Everybody is on the right track. The sway bar is very important to handling on the pavement, it controls the body roll on the front of the truck. However, off-road you need the tires to operate more independently of each other for maximum traction. An off-roading company makes a kit so you can disconnect you sway bar for off-roading and then reconnect it for the trip home. I don't know who the company is but I have seen the product in some magazines.

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stock 98 XL, Reg. cab,4.6, Auto, Tow package, 255/70R16 on styled steel wheels,3.55LS, Black with chrome grille and bumpers! MODS: custom stereo by me, building speaker box was a !@#$%. K&N air filter w/ airbox mod, a complete keyless entry system.

 

Does anyone know the name of that company that make the swaybar disconnects for our trucks


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1999 F150 REG.CAB BLACK 2WD SPORT 4.2 LITER V6

• FLOWMASTER SERIES 40 DUAL EXHUAST
• K&N Filter Injection Performance Kit
• MANIKS GRILLE GUARD
• PIONEER DEH-P4000 CD PLAYER
• 4 PIONEER 3WAY SPEAKERS
• MTX THUNDERFORM SUBWOOFER BOX
• 2 10 INCH MTX THUNDER6000 SUBWOOFER
• Kenwood 818 mono-subwoofer AMPLIFIER
• WET OKOLE black and charcoal seat covers
• SPIDERGEAR BED WEB
• PROCOMP HEADLIGHT & TAILLIGHT BLACKOUTS
• 1.75 INCH COIL SPACERS(gave me 3 inches of overall lift).
• 3 INCH BODY LIFT
• 33x12.50R16(305/70r16) PROCOMP MUDDERS
• 16x8 AMERICAN RACING BAJA RIMS
• RAM AIR(home made)
• HELLWIG REAR ANTI-SWAYBAR
• ENERGY SUSPENSION FRONT ANTI-SWAY BAR BUSHINGS
• Cobra 9200 Radar detector
• Pro Rally Projecter beam Lights
• Performance 55 watt Back-up lights
• Performance Window Tint 25%in front and 5% in rear

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JDm02@excite.com


Familys list of cars

• Y2K Chevy Corvette(345hp)
• Y2K Explorer Sport(215hp)
• 99 F150 XL Sport(230hp)
• 97 Expedition XLT(220hp)
• 93 SHO(225hp)

[This message has been edited by JDm (edited 09-29-2000).]