Rear swaybar needed for daily driven XJ?

All over the place I see people recommend removing the rear swaybar. When repairing rust in the back axle area I pulled mine and am trying to figure out if I need to reinstall it.

My XJ doesn't go in the woods, yet. Its just road driven short commutes. A backup vehicle to my Toyota and it hasn't gotten much use in the last 5 years honestly.

Now I have a 1.5 year old and we only have one car in the house that can carry him around. I decided to fix my death wobbles and a long list of other problems so that I can put the baby seat in the XJ and make it a daily used vehicle once again.

I just don't know if keeping the rear swaybar off of the chassis is going to add a lot of unnecessary body roll and be a safety hazard. It's a teeny little bar so i'm not so sure how helpful it is.

Any suggestions?

I took mine out per my lift kits directions. I almost lost it turning from an off ramp , but I owe that to small tires higher CG and my poor driving habits after a rain on FL roads. Other than that it's been fine. The springs I changed where a lot stiffer though.

96xj_twood said:

Any suggestions?

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Take the 30 minutes youd spend putting that REAR sway bar back on, and hang out with your baby.

Some later models can from the factory without a rear swaybar.

I thought the Up Country factory suspension package had no rear sway bar?

If you want it to ride as flat as possible on corners then you should leave the rear in.

Johnnie Walker said:

Some later models can from the factory without a rear swaybar.

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True, but they also came with a larger front sway bar and upgraded gas shocks.


+1 for stock Cherokees retaining the rear sway bar.

xcm said:

Take the 30 minutes youd spend putting that REAR sway bar back on, and hang out with your baby.

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this........
but in reality if putting it back makes you feel better about toting the little one around, by all means put it back.
if the rest of your suspension components are in good shape you don't "need" it... unless you are going to tow a heavy trailer, or if you throw yourself into corners too fast.

Its definitely not needed but I would reinstall it if its an option. The car handles a little better with a rear sway bar. Sometimes I get a pull when braking that would have been reduced with the rear bar. If you ever tow anything you'll appreciate it.

A lot of good responses here. Thanks everyone.

I won't be hitting corners hard in the jeep, I have my 'yota for that (2 inches ground clearance, lol). And I don't have a hitch to tow anything. Shocks are brand new in the front and rear and all the bushings are brand new on the chassis (huge PITA, should have just installed a lift kit instead).

I'll clean this thing up, paint it, and go hang with the kiddo.