Deep6blue,

Although I may not be as highly acredited as you, I have been a network admin/ installer/ pc repairman in the USAF for almost 3yrs. When it comes time to work on cars and hop up and modify who do you think they call. This cpu geek! I just installed a king cobra clutch in my friends mustang last week, 2 days later found out he had been drag racing and busted a motor mount and tried to blame me. Last time I do charity work

 

Summit has them for 129.69shipped, part# HEL-7621.

 

I bought both front and rear Hellwig bars for 125 each. I thought installation was rather easy -- didn't time myself, but working in my home garage with my 1/2 inch impact and no college degree of any kind and no formal mechanics training, it took me about 2 1/2 hours to swap the front bar and install the rear.

I think the performance gained is well worth the $250 invested. Perhaps spending 3 to 4 times as much for powder-coat hollow Hotchkis bars is better, but I don't have the college degree or the $1000 dollars for sway bars.

Hellwig bars will improve handling. Hotchkis bars will too.

 

Wow, looks like I got the short end on everything. Paid $160+ for the bar. Took 4hours just to get the bar into position and install the L brackets. Of course I didn't bother to get the jack, turned bolts with only fingers since nothing can fit between brake lines, had to do everything in 1/2 darkness, and had to be extremely careful because of the new powdercoat. Turns out the swaybar can't be installed because of the parking brake cable and the bar did get a couple scratches so back it goes to get re-powdercoated.

Looks like I'll be spending Christmas under my truck again. This time though, jackstands and several layers of protective foam before installation.

 

totally out of topic of conversation...
but do these bars (specifically the hellwig rear sway bar) fit around the "pumpkin" (as i think its referred to) if the rear end is 9.75 gears. my truck is 2WD and lifted 3 inches too, it would still just bolt on normal the way everybody is describing right? thanks for help!!

John

 

Delta,

Yes the swaybar does go above the axle housing with the 9.75 axle. As far as the 3in lift goes, use the longer endlinks.

 

thanks for the info leanNcut, this will be a great addition to the truck after i get some money for christmas...thanks for the help. Another quick question though, where do i ask for longer end links, or is that an option that comes with different packages from hellwig?

 

Hellwig kits are shipped with both the short and longer endlinks (fancy term for short/long bolt with washers, nuts, and jackets) so you'll have those straight out the box. (Unless things have changed recently) Make sure you order the right kit though since you're truck is lifted but not a 4x4.

 

I have Addco bars on my truck, so I'm not looking at getting into the old debate above, but I'm curious how the Hellwig bar mounts over the axle with U-bolts without crushing the brake line that runs down the axle tube. Anybody got some pix...

 

Pheww, I've had more posts within the past 24hrs than the last few months. The U-bolts go under the brake lines which require minimal (or more depending on trim) bending for clearance.

 

Back when I had my '01 'Screw I installed the Hellwig. Worked well, once I got it into place around the brake cables, shocks, etc.

 

Here's a thread from my original installation write-up

 

Thanks B-man. I extensively reviewed your Hellwig posts prior to installation and they helped quite a bit. The only issue left unresolved is the brake cable. It's short and rigid and cannot simply just be moved out of the way. Looks like I'm going to have it relocated from under the leaf springs to above leaf springs.

 

Well hopefully i will not have to many installation problems on my 97 reg cab 4x4. hopefully it will eliminate road hop as well.



..........also off the subject deep6blue, do you do any consulting on the side i have a small prob. with my computer.
thanks.
denhamjr@mtco.com

 

Hi, and happy New Year!

Sorry I had to revive this long dead thread but people seem to get yelled at for starting new ones instead of doing a general search. Anyway, I finally got around to installing a Hellwig 7646 front anti-sway bar on my '99 after completion the clearance between the bar ends/end-links and the upper control arms is only about 1 inch. Could someone who has installed the Hellwig front sway bar chime in and let me know whether this is normal? I noticed that the bar's bend/curve was less pronouced as well as the end-links being longer than the stock ones resulted in the ends sitting closer to the control arm. Wouldn't I "bottom-up" so to speak if the truck was raised on a hydrolic lift for repairs?

Thanks!