Sway Bar Removal

[Brian757]

Okay. So I have looked up how to remove my front sway bar and all threads are mainly arguments of whether or not someone should actually do it or not.

With body roll and high speed, interstate maneuverability known to be compromised after this, I understand and still want to remove my front.

I have been going to a piece of my friends land off-roading and wanted more flex. Knowing that by taking off my sway bars, I will receive more flex, can someone explain how to do it? I feel like a complete moron because I am sure it is somewhat simple, I just don't want to get underneath my vehicle and start unbolting stuff that I don't need to.

Any help is a great deal of help. Thanks everyone!

 

[theizzardking]

i know i know..you've read this before.... but...

if i was you i'd just carry the 10mm or is it 12mm wrench and a couple of zip ties and just disconnect hem before you hit the trail...or buy some quick disconnects.....that will allow you to run with the sway bar on road, then when you get off road you simply pull a pin and your sway bar is no longer limiting you....

that said if you just want to remove it totally follow this write up for replacement half way, it's not hard except for rust issues, shouldn't take more than 20 mins if you have no rust or jammed bolts..
edit..some idiot forgot to put the link in here..
http://www.yotatech.com/~corey/tech/mertztr_endlink/mertztr.htm

if you just remove the single bolt on top of the red bit in the picture down below it's effectively the same thing as having a disconnected sway bar on teh front....use a couple of zip ties to hold the sway bar up out of the way and another zip tie to hold the end link in a safe position...

 

[Brian757]

Ah. Very cool. Thank you izzard. So I can effectively take off my front sway bar without jacking my truck up? I have heard about the quick disconnects but before I purchase them, I want a taste of what it's like driving pavement while my sway bar is disengaged.

Do you know roughly how many bolts to yank the whole sway bar out? I am getting clanking when I turn and am assuming it is my sway bar bushing. I will inspect everything entirely tonight when i tinker.

Thanks for the link. I love how I8Mud, TacomaWorld, T4R, Pirate4x4, YotaTech, etc. have so many informative threads. I wish all cars had this much info! Who needs a Chilton or Haynes book when you own a Toyota!! haha

 

[theizzardking]

Ah. Very cool. Thank you izzard. So I can effectively take off my front sway bar without jacking my truck up? I have heard about the quick disconnects but before I purchase them, I want a taste of what it's like driving pavement while my sway bar is disengaged.

Do you know roughly how many bolts to yank the whole sway bar out? I am getting clanking when I turn and am assuming it is my sway bar bushing. I will inspect everything entirely tonight when i tinker.

Thanks for the link. I love how I8Mud, TacomaWorld, T4R, Pirate4x4, YotaTech, etc. have so many informative threads. I wish all cars had this much info! Who needs a Chilton or Haynes book when you own a Toyota!! haha

right, gotta love the yota's!

should only be 8 bolts...
2 per end link x 2 end links =4
sway bar d-bushing has 2 each and there's 2 of those...=4
8 total....get some pb blaster on the big d-bushing ones ones....

though to just get a feel you can just disconnect the end links and rotate the bar forward and drive around for a bit while leaving the actual bar in place..provided your d-bushings are fresh enough....you may hate it..you may love it..whom am i to say what you'll like...i'd really suggest just taking the endlinks off though to test it out and save your self a bit of work..maybe..

yeah the sway bar pivots in the d-bushings so no jack or lift is needed to remove sway bar or replace bushings, or even to replace the end links back into the sway bar on the trail, that's why/how the disconnects work basically, the extra money on quick disconnects is really just a time saver so you don't have to tell your buddies t hold on for 3~4 mins while you disconnect the sway bar...people have been using the wrench and zip tie method for years with no draw backs...that said lots of people drive daily with no sway bar all together and are fine...personally I'm adamant on keeping it and just disconnecting it if you need the travel...that said, your truck, your butt in the seat, so whatever feels good for you man!

 

[shadow247]

Don't do it man! I'm from Hampton roads, and these on-ramps are NO FUN without a sway bar! Trust me on that. Just get some new links and use some anti-seize on the upper link. Buy a gearwrench and use that when you go to the trail if you feel like you need some extra articulation.

 

[Brian757]

Just climbed underneath my truck when I got home. Im looking at this sway bar and such. But then my UBJ caught my eye. Heres an offtopic picture. Look bad?

 

[theizzardking]

Just climbed underneath my truck when I got home. Im looking at this sway bar and such. But then my UBJ caught my eye. Heres an offtopic picture. Look bad?

that sucks... can't tell with out moving it but i'd say that needs to be replaced...and if not yet soon...looks like it just happened as well..don;t quote me on this but i think there might be a boot fix for this if it's only the boot that's ruined....i've never done UBJ's so i'm just gonna have to leave this one alone...sorry mate, would help if i could, but i'd rather not say anything than give you wrong or bad advice...

 

[downpour11]

Just climbed underneath my truck when I got home. Im looking at this sway bar and such. But then my UBJ caught my eye. Heres an offtopic picture. Look bad?

that sucks... can't tell with out moving it but i'd say that needs to be replaced...and if not yet soon...looks like it just happened as well..don;t quote me on this but i think there might be a boot fix for this if it's only the boot that's ruined....i've never done UBJ's so i'm just gonna have to leave this one alone...sorry mate, would help if i could, but i'd rather not say anything than give you wrong or bad advice...

Mine just blew again too. Brian - you'll be good for a while as long as the ball joint is not popped out, which it isn't. You still have a bunch of grease in there. It's the lower you need to worry about if it's busted. Not sure if there is a boot fix for it, but if there is, you still have to press out the ball joint to get the boot on. When you buy new OEM uppers, they come unassembled and you have to put the boot on anyway. It is a ***** and a half to get the snap rings on around the boot, not to mention trying to get the UBJ pressed in.

 

[Brian757]

that sucks... can't tell with out moving it but i'd say that needs to be replaced...and if not yet soon...looks like it just happened as well..don;t quote me on this but i think there might be a boot fix for this if it's only the boot that's ruined....i've never done UBJ's so i'm just gonna have to leave this one alone...sorry mate, would help if i could, but i'd rather not say anything than give you wrong or bad advice...

Im getting a purdy good popping sound while driving and turning. That first pic is my drivers side. This is my passenger side:

 

[downpour11]

lol i now retract my statement since you said it's popping. Replace em.

I was gonna edit my post right now and say that the time I did my UBJ's, I thought my uppers were toast (which they were), but when trying to actually get the damn thing off the pitman arm, it was actually stuck in there to where we had to grind and hammer. So, it wasn't going anywhere anytime soon if I had left it that way.

 

[Brian757]

Well thank you folks. I will relocate my ball joint issue to my ball joint thread. I am going to change them out ASAP. I have a T100 I've been ignoring for too long :/

 

[theizzardking]

Well thank you folks. I will relocate my ball joint issue to my ball joint thread. I am going to change them out ASAP. I have a T100 I've been ignoring for too long :/

meh... here's what i found on the boot replacement fix...should work for ours as well.
Upper ball joint boot repair kit - TTORA Forum

write up
http://www.ttora.com/forum/showthread.php?t=182675

 

[Brian757]

meh... here's what i found on the boot replacement fix...should work for ours as well.
Upper ball joint boot repair kit - TTORA Forum

write up
Tacoma Upper Ball Joint Replacement (Writeup) - TTORA Forum

That is pretty cool. I will have to keep that in mind. I might just change everything out as I am having a popping issue. I don't want to change out my boot and then discover the ball joint is bad later down the road.

Also, I figure since I'm going to have to remove most stuff to change the boot, I will just change out the ball joints altogether. Thanks for the link though! And I read through the how-to on the replacement. I will have to try it out. Get all the tools ready and begin the fun..

 

[downpour11]

meh... here's what i found on the boot replacement fix...should work for ours as well.
Upper ball joint boot repair kit - TTORA Forum

write up
Tacoma Upper Ball Joint Replacement (Writeup) - TTORA Forum

Bailing wire!!!! ugh that would've helped so much when I did mine. Good link Jason! I mean Lizz :lol: I read that in that other thread.. I was like "ooo that's gonna stick!!" hahaha

But yeah, good find and very cheap too. The only thing that sucks is, at least with me, I would completely ruin the UBJ with the fork trying to hammer it off again haha

 

[So Many Roads]

Here's the boot kit - $7.

43324-39015 - OEM Toyota COVER, UPR BALL JOIN

from the TTORA link theizzardking provided...

 

[BrianSD_42]

Well thank you folks. I will relocate my ball joint issue to my ball joint thread. I am going to change them out ASAP. I have a T100 I've been ignoring for too long :/

You should do both the uppers and lowers at the same time unless you have already done the LBJs.

Be sure to ONLY use Toyota / OEM PARTs on this one. Don't use aftermarket cheapo brand :flame:

You can easily buy the OEM parts discounted online (25-30%) from real dealerships through their internet sales departments.

Good luck!