Rear sway bar links forced on - Toyota 4Runner Forum

Toystory2 · 06-11-2022, 10:00 PM

Decided to replace my rear way bar bushings and end links today as they look very tired and have had the parts sitting here for weeks.

Did the passenger side first and went fairly smooth. But then on the drivers side, things got difficult. I got it all put back together but feel like I had to force it some. I had to jack up the sway bar to get he bushing brackets to line up.

Is it typical to have to do that on one side? Like force it to get it to fit. I’m just concerned I’ve done something incorrectly. Took it for a test drive just to make sure nothing came flying off haha. It drove good, seemed a little better.

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BlackWorksInc · 06-11-2022, 10:11 PM

Due to the pan-hard one side can be a little tighter than the other because of how the axle articulates. It's more prominent when the vehicle is lifted.

Toystory2 · 06-12-2022, 12:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackWorksInc

Due to the pan-hard one side can be a little tighter than the other because of how the axle articulates. It's more prominent when the vehicle is lifted.

Thank you, so I’m guessing it’s not out of the ordinary to have to jack it up to get everything to line up on the tough side?

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BlackWorksInc · 06-12-2022, 01:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toystory2

Thank you, so I’m guessing it’s not out of the ordinary to have to jack it up to get everything to line up on the tough side?

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Not in my experience, if you look at one when it's on a lift you'll see that the axle doesn't hang exactly level. This is more exaggerated when you lift the 4Runner because of the panhard on the rear axle. If you're interested to get a better idea of what I'm talking about look at the more recent thread I made where I installed a panhard correction kit, I briefly go over the way it works and link an article that goes into more depth about it. But the long and short is that the panhard is designed to try and keep the axle centered under the vehicle when the suspension goes up and down, but it's attached to one end of the axle and the other opposing end of the frame so it will push the axle a little one way, which is enough to impart some "preload" if you will, on the rear sway bar making one side a bit tighter than the other.

As long as you lined up everything and threaded it on properly, you should be good.

Toystory2 · 06-12-2022, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackWorksInc

Not in my experience, if you look at one when it's on a lift you'll see that the axle doesn't hang exactly level. This is more exaggerated when you lift the 4Runner because of the panhard on the rear axle. If you're interested to get a better idea of what I'm talking about look at the more recent thread I made where I installed a panhard correction kit, I briefly go over the way it works and link an article that goes into more depth about it. But the long and short is that the panhard is designed to try and keep the axle centered under the vehicle when the suspension goes up and down, but it's attached to one end of the axle and the other opposing end of the frame so it will push the axle a little one way, which is enough to impart some "preload" if you will, on the rear sway bar making one side a bit tighter than the other.

As long as you lined up everything and threaded it on properly, you should be good.

That makes sense, I appreciate the explanation! I’ll take a look at your thread. Still learning as I go. This forum has been awesome.

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