Front Sway Bar Nut Missing - Only 14k Miles

[IzzyO]

Hey everyone,

I just noticed that the nut for the front sway bar drivers side is missing on my 2021 JT Rubicon. The strange thing is that it's still stock with only 14k miles. I figured the squirrely ride was just the stock springs getting soft from the constant load of the full bed rack & roof top tent that I installed last summer. I've been planning on putting in high capacity springs & hellwig rear sway bar this spring. The last time I got down to check on everything up front was after our overlanding trip late last fall. I've mostly driven it around town 25-50mph since then. With the heavy winter and extra salt on the road I've no idea how long the nut has been missing (you can see the bolt is rusted). Makes me wonder what else is loose/not torqued correctly.

My question for everyone is should I be concerned about any other steering/front end components that driving around (for months) without this nut could have affected? It seems to me that driving around without the nut on would most likely just affect steering stability on corners at higher speeds, but not sure since it could have been 6 months ago for all I know and I'm not a mechanic.

It's still obviously under warranty and I plan on taking it to the dealer to have them go through & double check that everything is torqued correctly but want to make sure they address any other issues that could arise from this.

Thanks in advance for your input,

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[Rahkmalla]

I plan on taking it to the dealer to have them go through & double check that everything is torqued correctly

Man I wish I had a dealer I trusted to do that.

My experience with dealers had been... less than cooperative, especially for anything outside the job time book. My local quoted me $165 to install one TPM sensor, labor only, because I had "big freaking tires". When I pointed out my tire size is identical to XR wranglers and therefore a size they both sell in the showroom and the service department, he said "yea we don't like to work on those either".

That's when I walked out.

 

[mx5red]

Those upper sway bolts are known to come out. People bring spares for the trail?.

 

[Andy29847]

Those bolts are awkward to tighten. The passenger's side is more constricted than the driver's side. I remember the nut requiring 18mm a tool. The bolt has a socket for an Allen wrench in the end. You hold the bolt with the Allen wrench to tighten the nut.

Yes I lost one. Yes I checked all the other nuts and bolts after I lost the sway bar nut. Yes I found some of the other nuts were not tight enough.

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