Sway Bar / Bushing Bracket Questions

[mattr]

Did about 100kms of washboard yesterday and an annoying squeak from the last month or two turned into a horrible clunk. After I washed out the underside of the truck I narrowed it down to the front passenger side swaybar where the bushing bracket attaches to the frame. (Diagram below)There are 3 bolts there, to gold colors bolts that are holding the bushing and a single 15mm silver bolt that is going through the bushing bracket and holding it to the frame. The silver frame bolt was totally backed off and the swaybar had about an inch of play. The bracket / bushing assembly wash bashing into the frame above on bumps which I guess was the noise I was hearing.

A couple questions for the knowing ones, There's a big ass (~1") gap at the front of the bracket right now, I tightened the bolt to the frame a bit and there's no play, but still a gap. Before I clamped everything tight to the frame above and tightened up that single bolt, I wanted to check something. I have been contemplating this, and wanted to see if someone can confirm that only this silver bolt is attaching the bracket to the frame. Should my most forward bushing bolt actually be longer and also attaching to the frame? Is this really held to the frame with just a single bolt? Could I have maybe sheared this, or is it really just held up by 1 bolt, seems wrong?

The frame does have a second threaded hole under the bracket, but I know our frames have a number of holes that aren't necessarily always used.

I think I did a piss poor job of explaining this, but any help appreciated. The Fox kit didn't come with any relocates, but maybe it needed them. There were some other pieces from the Fox that had to be fudged with like the resimounts to make them work on my rig, not sure if it was a '15 or a LE issue, but anyway...

Any help appreciated.

 

[jrandom]

Hmm, my Fox CO's came with a set of swaybar spacers. Have KDSS so I didn't use them. I did however have to weld a couple of nuts in that location to mount the reservoir stands.

Where mine would mount it (where the swaybar does mount to the SR5, TRD, and LTD) is flat. Maybe another picture or two.

Yes there really should not be a gap between that block and the frame.

There should be two bolts attaching the bushing/spacer to the frame.

 

[mattr]

Hmm - any idea which 2 bolts are attaching to the frame? I wonder if I sheared one. The bushing bolts are way too short right now, I'll have to pull them and inspect. Did your spacers go behind this block or somewhere else? I had a shop do my install.

 

[mattr]

Here's another pic from the ground facing up. Only the steel colored bolt seems to go into the frame, other 2 are too short.

 

[96r50]

Wild ass guess here, butI bet if you take off the sway bar bracket (2 gold bolts) you'll find a second silver bolt underneath the bushing. It looks like the sway bar relocation brackets space the bar up as well as out.

 

[mattr]

Wild ass guess here, butI bet if you take off the sway bar bracket (2 gold bolts) you'll find a second silver bolt underneath the bushing. It looks like the sway bar relocation brackets space the bar up as well as out.

That would make a ton of sense. I'll check that out. Thanks!

 

[mattr]

Wild ass guess here, butI bet if you take off the sway bar bracket (2 gold bolts) you'll find a second silver bolt underneath the bushing. It looks like the sway bar relocation brackets space the bar up as well as out.

You win, don't know how I didn't think of that. Pulled the swaybar bushing and there was a spot where a bolt should live underneath. I don't think it vibrated loose and disappeared, only because the bushing would have held it there. Probably a missing bolt from the install. Put a new grade 8 bolt I had in the shop by luck and my noises are gone. Thanks for the help, problem solved.

 

[jrandom]

See you got it. I'd guess someone neglected to put the bolt in in the first place, the nut is supposed to be on the inside of the frame, and the bushing should have kept a loose bolt captive. You never know though I have seen stranger things happen.

Hmm - any idea which 2 bolts are attaching to the frame? I wonder if I sheared one. The bushing bolts are way too short right now, I'll have to pull them and inspect. Did your spacers go behind this block or somewhere else? I had a shop do my install.

Wild ass guess here, butI bet if you take off the sway bar bracket (2 gold bolts) you'll find a second silver bolt underneath the bushing. It looks like the sway bar relocation brackets space the bar up as well as out.

Yep that