• NAXJA is having its 18th annual March Membership Drive!!!
    Everyone who joins or renews during March will be entered into a drawing!
    More Information - Join/Renew
  • Welcome to the new NAXJA Forum! If your password does not work, please use "Forgot your password?" link on the log-in page. Please feel free to reach out to [email protected] if we can provide any assistance.

Sway bar links

anthrax323

NAXJA Forum User
Location
San Antonio, TX
One thing that really bummed me out about the RE lift I bought (3.5" SuperRide) was their sway bar end links... They're the right length for a stock height vehicle, but once lifted, the sway bar angle is WAY off. Honestly, they're roughly 3" too short, and I think this may be affecting my ride quality.

In any case, are there any vehicles that have open eyes at both ends of their sway bar links that might be good junkyard donors?

re1175.jpg


There's a 4WheelParts right around the corner from my house, but the only suitable replacements I've found are Skyjacker links that they want over $110 for (haven't called them yet though).

Anyone have any thoughts or recommendations? Given this thing's primary role as a DD, "quick" disconnects aren't really all that important for me - these only take 5 minutes to disconnect at the trail head, and that's fine by me.

Thanks in advance, guys.
 
You could always just put a 3" extension sleeve on what you've got..
 
You could always just put a 3" extension sleeve on what you've got..
True, hadn't considered that. I need to see what round tube is available to me locally (Lowes or Home Depot) to see how close I can get the ID to match the OD of the link.


I was going to recommend JKS Quicker Disconnects, but OUCH.... their price has gone up A LOT since I purchased mine....
Yeah, I spoke to 4WheelParts and they can have a set of JKS2001's in my hands by tomorrow... For $140 + tax. Definitely more than I want to spend, but from what I understand they're damn solid.

Plus, since they're adjustable, they could still be used if I choose to go a little higher in the future (not sure that's gonna happen though).
 
Last edited:
Got a welder? Make your own.

Not sure how open eyes at both ends will work out on an XJ - the XJ sway bar has eyes, are you planning some sort of custom setup at that end?
 
True, hadn't considered that. I need to see what round tube is available to me locally (Lowes or Home Depot) to see how close I can get the ID to match the OD of the link.


Yeah, I spoke to 4WheelParts and they can have a set of JKS2001's in my hands by tomorrow... For $140 + tax. Definitely more than I want to spend, but from what I understand they're damn solid.

Plus, since they're adjustable, they could still be used if I choose to go a little higher in the future (not sure that's gonna happen though).


Yes they do allow for the growth in lift height.
Purchased mine about 10 years ago and they have worked very well....
IIRC the price at that time was somewheres around $65.
 
Got a welder? Make your own.

Not sure how open eyes at both ends will work out on an XJ - the XJ sway bar has eyes, are you planning some sort of custom setup at that end?
I don't own one, but I have access to a MIG (and a TIG, but I haven't learned it yet).

I'm using the RE hardware kit that allows the use of this type of link:

swaybar_parts.jpg


Crikey, I forgot just how short they actually are. I took that pic while installing the lift.

I really hope RE gets their sh*t straight during this reorg. I was missing a few parts in my kit (two sway bar link bushing sleeves, to be precise), and the guy at 4WheelParts I spoke to said that they just got done installing an RE 5.5" long-arm lift for a customer that was also missing a number of parts (one of the last orders they filled). Such a shame to watch a name go to hell.
 
I have the same lift kit. Those RE links made all kinds of noise and made it handle weird. That only lasted a week. I put on the JKS2001's and everything is good again. No noise and no weird handling issues now.
 
Even if you don't offroad much the JKS are nice--disconnecting makes a huge difference when you're offroad!
 
I have the same lift kit. Those RE links made all kinds of noise and made it handle weird. That only lasted a week. I put on the JKS2001's and everything is good again. No noise and no weird handling issues now.
You have no idea how glad I am to hear that - I think it'll be worthwhile to go ahead and grab them.

Even if you don't offroad much the JKS are nice--disconnecting makes a huge difference when you're offroad!
Without question - I disconnect them any time the terrain is worse than a poorly-maintained road (that's an exaggeration, but you get the idea), and this will just make that considerably easier.

One thing I noticed in the installation directions, though (yjnick95, please feel free to chime in) - they advise against the installation of the storage pegs/pins unless you have an OE front skid. I guess that's just because you'd have to drill through a unibody structure rather than a proper frame (which might carry some liability issues on their end) - is my assumption correct on this?
 
Gotcha. I've just been using a spool of wire each time, but if I'm gonna spend $140+ on sway bar links, I want to use all the bells and whistles.

I've been looking at all the installation pictures I can find, and I think it is ultimately because they don't want to recommend drilling into a unibody structure. Based on schematics of the OE front skid, it looks like I could easily fabricate some bolt-on L tabs to give the posts mounting points (where the L tabs bolt to the OE skid mount points on each frame rail). Simple enough, I guess. M10x1.5x30 bolts should be pretty easy to come by.
 
Last edited:
I have the JKS quicker discos and I think they are worth the money. After reading about issues that others have with different brands and setups, these are amazing. They are quiet, can be disco'd and reconnected very easily, and are adjustable for different lift heights. They also improved the ride when I replaced the stock links with them and adjusted the lengths to fit the 3" lift correctly. The only downside is they can be a little messy as the grease oozes out of the joints a bit. Small price to pay. I just keep a rag in the Jeep.
 
Gotcha. I've just been using a spool of wire each time, but if I'm gonna spend $140+ on sway bar links, I want to use all the bells and whistles.

I've been looking at all the installation pictures I can find, and I think it is ultimately because they don't want to recommend drilling into a unibody structure. Based on schematics of the OE front skid, it looks like I could easily fabricate some bolt-on L tabs to give the posts mounting points (where the L tabs bolt to the OE skid mount points on each frame rail). Simple enough, I guess. M10x1.5x30 bolts should be pretty easy to come by.
I agree with you,It was raining when I got to that step. So it never got done. But that should work.
 
So I figured out why they did not recommend the use of the link storage pins on the XJ - there's simply nowhere to mount them without the OE front skid!

Yesterday after work, I decided to fix the issue... I found the most ideal mounting points (a hole on each frame rail just behind the sway bar brackets with an M10-1.50 nut pre-welded into place), and went to work with a cutting wheel and my 3 lb hammer on some scrap steel.

linkbrackets1.jpg


linkbrackets2.jpg


I might go ahead and trim off some of the excess material, but am not sure it's really even necessary (thanks to how much grease these link bushings purge, I only touch them with gloves on so I'm not worried about the points at the bottoms of the brackets).

They work like champs. I've done some driving around without the swaybar, and it's made me realize that I need to do one of two things... Either leave it disconnected all the time (not gonna do it - I did manage to get some erratic behavior when throwing the vehicle back and forth at about 60 mph on a deserted stretch of highway) or find a beefier sway bar. It seems to be a bit weak for the rates of the RE springs, and just causes a "whipping" sensation whenever going over off-camber surfaces at the right speeds. Still better than nothing, but I'd honestly rather it be stiffer. From what I've read and measurements I've taken, a V8 ZJ sway bar might fit the bill (very similar dimensions aside from diameter and eye-to-eye width, where the ZJ bar is about 1" wider - this would also correct the vertical alignment of my sway bar links, which currently lean inwards about 1/2" at the top). Not committed to the idea, just ponderin'.
 
Good idea, thanks for sharing the pics. I wish JKS would make a bracket for the XJ's but the demand probably isn't there. I've been using the bungee method on my old RE Gen 1's, but once I get myself some JKS's I plan on doing something like this.
 
I had the RE and switched them for the JKS. The JKS is by far and away much better because they use a rotating bushing on each end...much easier to install that bushings that don't rotate. JKS is worth the money - no more prybar or sledgehammer required.
 
Good idea, thanks for sharing the pics. I wish JKS would make a bracket for the XJ's but the demand probably isn't there. I've been using the bungee method on my old RE Gen 1's, but once I get myself some JKS's I plan on doing something like this.
Thanks man - I'm pretty happy with the results and $5 investment (and the fact it only took about an hour to do).

I am tempted to change the design a bit to allow for some adjustability (a slot for mounting the post rather than the hole) in case I need to adjust the link lengths... But I'm really interested in making a bracket that drops down and forward a little bit more to allow me to disconnect one side AND hang it on the post in one motion (while the sway bar is in its "engaged" position). This would make the disconnect process even quicker, as then I'd just need to mess with each side of the vehicle once while disconnecting everything (currently, I have to disconnect both sides first, then hang each side on the post - this was in the name of swinging the sway bar higher up out of the way, which may not really be necessary).

Oh yeah, and a follow-up to my post about driving with the sway bar disconnected - crosswinds along with uneven road surfaces made driving an extremely unnerving experience (out near Lake Falls this weekend) and it was quickly re-connected. Never driving on the road without it again.
 
^ Anthrax, I've got a question for you. Are your links the same length on both sides? I'm in the same boat with my JKS quick disco's; I don't have a skid so I've got nowhere to mount. But more annoyingly, the brackets I would need to fabricate would need to be different from each other. At the moment I've snagged two hair bands from my wife and left them on the sway bar. The retention of my poly sway bar mounts keeps the bar up and the bands just get looped around the link when swung up. I leave them on there when I'm not using them and they've stayed on there so far. Great thing is if I lose one, they're like 0.02 a piece; lol?

You can see one hangin out in this picture. Sorry I haven't taken any of them up.
DoubleShearupgradetotrac-bar014.jpg
 
Back
Top