I know (and appologize) that I have had many a PM iquiring about pics of the rear sway bar assembly I fabbed up for the Mark LT....finally got the pics taken....

recap- I was not impressed with any of the aftermarket sway bars from Hellwig, etc.....too many ground clearance issues, exhaust system contact/limitations for mods, weight, , relocation of vent lines, etc., etc. The overall designs were terrible IMHO...in general, instead of giving the sway bar advantage over the truck, the typical design gives the truck the leverage (so to speak) requiring a much larger swaybar than what is necessary.

Fabbed the bar itself from chromemoly steel, (solid, I would have preferred the hollow but I have no way to bend it) and all of the endlink assemblies, plates, etc were fabbed by myself, the assembly only requires two holes drilled for mounting, the entire assembly installed in 1 hour in the driveway (after I was done fabricating for 8 hours)....and yes, it is patterned after the rear bars of the 60's (pony cars) which allows 1/2 the diameter of the bar to be used because of the high leverage the bar has on the truck itself.....in a short salom course, we outran a porsche cayanne (SUV non Turbo) by 2 mph in 2 back to back runs.

I initially had a deal with addco- I would draw up the blueprints, and they would build mine free for giving the design to them.....this was fine with me- except the engineers said "It can't be done".......so here's to the smart ones at Addco!

 

Looks good....

Wouldn't you have wanted to use another heim joint down by the axel also?

Kind of looks like its bolted solid to the axel u bolt plate...???

 

^^it look to be rubber mount. which isn't bad.

that's quite a lot of angle for a swaybar ..but if it work for you...good.

 

"not impressed" with any of the aftermarket stuff, BUT that's a better option?

 

You are obviously suffer from a lack of SKA's regarding suspension dynamics. The performance of this set-up was verified and demonstrated to the staff at Galpin Auto Sports & John Hotchkis....Went John (Hotchkis) went for a ride with me and in his rear lot/area we did a few figure 8's, etc...he really could not believe we achieved that level of stability without touching any other component......he asked if I would mind his engineers looking at this on the rack- they did and could not believe it either.

This sway bar provides more verticle travel than any other unit on the market, allows the use of any exhaust system and can be use on 4x2 or 4x4 applications. Yes, it does not conform to the current trends, as floating type rear sway bar designs many have forgotten about (except Parelli Jones) but they are extremely effective and used to this day on just about every Porsche.

Ok, elementry school course 57 a & b (including how to be polite is completed...now clean your boots off, wipe the mud off your face, sit up straight and act like your age

 

The angle is no different than those currently sold in the aftermarket & oem...going back to the 60's. What is different is the expanded width (upper frame mounting) which increase almost 40% the "leverage" the bar has on the truck, as with current Hellwig, etc designs, they must use diameters which are double or more to achieve the same performance.

 

Yes, it is bolted solid to the plate...just the opposite of the aftermarket which bolts solid to the frame.....and by reversing this design (just like the sway bars on the cars from the 60's) we gain about 40% more leverage allowing the smaller diameter bar to be used.

In regards to the Heim joint, the total deflection is about 24 degrees (about 12 degrees fore & aft) which is within typical performance specs for most suspension components like this. However, if it was used in a 4x4 application with extended travel, then i would consider the additional heim joint at the bottom as well- very good catch!

 

FYI the only neopreme boots that were utilized is on the endlinks (to provide a little cushioning)...the upper sway bar mounts are polyurathane and are solid steel brackets.

 

anytime you would like to try, I will make this a formal offer.....and allow you the opportunity to take any F150 with a stock suspension and try to keep pace with me through any road course , salom or figure 8 established in SoCal.

Put up ro keep walking junior technical writing expert...............whose biggest accomplishment s have been - changing spark plugs, installing a purchased CAI and oh yeah...my bought cat-back exhaust system 7 TUNER tooooooo!

Ah yes, shopping at Pep Boys isles 13 A & B can be soo exhausting! (grin)

 

I can dig it.

How much did the bar and hardware weigh in at?

 

oh...






I had no idea your truck was so cool, guess I'll go back to the big boy sites where people do mods that are worthwhile...


and the people there who make the challenges are the ones who do the traveling not flap thier fingers from the safety of the keyboard

 

The fixed mounted bar, and the angle of it reminds me of the front sway bar on the Land Rover Discovery I and II

 

That is a good question & I cannot remember for the life of me as I did this in 2007.....but it was 50% lighter than Hellwig....that I remember.

 

You are right on the mark with that one!!!!!!

 

Please see Patmans post- it seems Range Rover engineers are on the same thoughts as mine................

oh yeah, heres some pics....

My home fabricated, 2 piece aircraft grade aluminum bed cover- yes, made my own hidden latches as well! and yes, the aluminum fame was "Brazed" with an oxy/acetylene torch.........oh don't tell me, you already know that the only way to handle two pieces of aluminum is with a tig welder (Laugh- kids)




An actual (real) hand fabbed ram air intake (yes patterned after the hemi's from the 60's)


and just a sneak of the exhaust....2- 24" X 3" diameter Allied bullet resonators...built my own wye pipe as well............




Now show us you pep Boys store bought products !!!!!!!