effects of removing sway bars?

chiefiji

chiefiji

New member
for those that have removed your sway bars, what are the effects of doing so? im thinking about removing only the rear one because after putting on my lift, my truck has been making this clunking noise when the rear goes over a speed bump or driveway incline. i have no idea what the sound might be so i thought i'd start with the sway bar first. any other ideas as to what it might be?
 
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Removing the sway bar for on-road use is a bad idea. You handling will be very poor.


Have you asked NE about the noise?
 
chief-

Ya, what he said!, lol. Shoot us an email with some more specifics and we will get you taken care of asap. I have a bunch of ideas for you as will boss T, so when you great a break hit us up.

AK;):
 
chiefiji said:
for those that have removed your sway bars, what are the effects of doing so? im thinking about removing only the rear one because after putting on my lift, my truck has been making this clunking noise when the rear goes over a speed bump or driveway incline. i have no idea what the sound might be so i thought i'd start with the sway bar first. any other ideas as to what it might be?
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check your coils as it might not be seated correctly. double check everything as it sounds like a coil just seated incorrectly.

I have the rear swaybar intact and have not removed the rear at all. my front is gone and it's been gone for about the last 20k miles or so. as long as you don't drive it like a sports car you have no worries. just drive carefully and you'll be fine. you'll notice alittle bit more body roll but that's about it.

some words to consider though since you do live in ca. i believe there's a vc (vehicle code) that states that if you drive w/o a swaybar that comes standard it's a citation or something like that. i just remember reading about this years ago so that's the only issue you'll have to deal with. fortunately most chp officers won't know the difference so no biggie.

good luck
 
Lance, why did you remove the front sway bar?? I know that you did this to increase IFS articulation, but it's not that much to begin with...and i doubt that you have made a big difference by doing so. IFS are not known for articulation (with or without sway bar). Most people disconnect the rear one first, especially in a 4runner because you get maximum benefit from the free-swinging rear solid axle.

I just really dislike the idea of no sway bar in the front...front sway bar has the most effect on handling and steering, especially steering stability. It is far more important than the rear sway bar. And with your 4runner being lifted already (center of gravity much higher), i really wonder if that is such a great idea.

I remember early Jeep Wrangler owners would do this and they would flip over on the road like crazy! Even on Wranglers nowadays, most off-roaders take out the rear sway bar...note that Wranglers have solid axles front and rear. Some have a sway bar disconnect system in the front...connect while on road, and disconnect while off-roading. They have learned their lessons the hard way. And on Wranglers without sway bars, most off-roaders would trailer it to the off-roading site...they don't dare to drive it on-road.

Front sway bars are vital for on-road handling, even if you don't drive like a sports car. Accident avoidance is greatly hindered if you do this, especially if you use the 4runner as a daily driver or on long trips. If you use your 4runner as an off-roader only, then disregard what i have typed. :D

BTW, if you get into a crash/flip-over, then can your insurance company decline coverage based on your modified vehicle with no front sway bar?? Be careful...you certainly don't want to be screwed by this.
 
Thai said:

BTW, if you get into a crash/flip-over, then can your insurance company decline coverage based on your modified vehicle with no front sway bar?? Be careful...you certainly don't want to be screwed by this.
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Great point, it is not the CHP officier you should be concerned with. If you are in an accident where life or limb is involved, removing this safety device could cause you legal grief.
 
Thai said:
Lance, why did you remove the front sway bar?? I know that you did this to increase IFS articulation, but it's not that much to begin with...and i doubt that you have made a big difference by doing so. IFS are not known for articulation (with or without sway bar). Most people disconnect the rear one first, especially in a 4runner because you get maximum benefit from the free-swinging rear solid axle.

I just really dislike the idea of no sway bar in the front...front sway bar has the most effect on handling and steering, especially steering stability. It is far more important than the rear sway bar. And with your 4runner being lifted already (center of gravity much higher), i really wonder if that is such a great idea.

I remember early Jeep Wrangler owners would do this and they would flip over on the road like crazy! Even on Wranglers nowadays, most off-roaders take out the rear sway bar...note that Wranglers have solid axles front and rear. Some have a sway bar disconnect system in the front...connect while on road, and disconnect while off-roading. They have learned their lessons the hard way. And on Wranglers without sway bars, most off-roaders would trailer it to the off-roading site...they don't dare to drive it on-road.

Front sway bars are vital for on-road handling, even if you don't drive like a sports car. Accident avoidance is greatly hindered if you do this, especially if you use the 4runner as a daily driver or on long trips. If you use your 4runner as an off-roader only, then disregard what i have typed. :D

BTW, if you get into a crash/flip-over, then can your insurance company decline coverage based on your modified vehicle with no front sway bar?? Be careful...you certainly don't want to be screwed by this.
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Thanks for the concern Thai! :D It's sort of still a DD but now with two vehicles to drive it's kinda 50/50 now. I took the front swaybar off due to the amount of offroading that I do. Unfortunately there is really no way to make a swaybar disconnect due to the location of the endlinks. (take a closer look and it'll all make sense). I've also seen significant improvements when I offroaded w/o the swaybar and w/ the swaybar. As for the rear, since I don't have any limit straps yet to prevent the shock from over extending themselves, I've yet to remove the rear on a permanent basis or even just for offroading.

I'll be doing significant mods in the next few months so this will all change of course. Ultimately, just drive like a snail and enjoy the ride. Understanding your limitations of your vehicle is key to avoiding accidents.
 
no no no no no ... do NOT remove your front sway bar, Henry. We (NE) will NEVER recommend that you do this for a truck that is a daily driver. The front sway bar is an integral part of your vehicle's handling and safety during highway/street driving. If you want to disconnect it in off roading situations, that is up to you, but you will really not gain that much from doing so. While it is always important to drive safely, one aspect of that is keeping the cornering ability / handling as close to stock as possible.

I emailed you back last night regarding the clunking issues, so be sure to let me know if/when you find anything out and get to try what I recommended.
 
The rear swaybar shouldn't do too much. If you have clunking, your original problem I would recommend the following.

Retrace your bolts/nuts you removed while you did your lift and make sure they are torqued to spec. Check it out againa dn watch for obvious things.

Also I remember you truck "eating" a wrench while doing the lift, could that not be you problem now?? TIme to drop the fuel tank skid :D

Rather than remove the sway bar just fix the problem, if you want to do it as part of trouble shooting, you should be fine in the rear. Remember "Rather safe than sorry"
 
haha, i dont think its the wrench because the sound comes from the left and right side which makes me guess its the sway bars. besides, the wrench taunts me with a clinking noise and not a clunking noise :D .... that bastard! as soon as it stops raining i'll figure this all out, including the wrench too!
 
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