Rear Sway Bar Reinforcement

[Rusty PW]

Was wondering why the brackets weren't welded on both sides?! As a fabricator for 30 years I would have. Thinking about doing it. But I wouldn't want to void any warranty.

i was going to weld mine. But I didn't feel like laying on the cold ground outside the beginning of March. And I had an appointment for undercoating a week from when I picked it up.

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[Mister Lamb]

Kudos to Metal Kloak for this affordable solution. Got mine installed in no time. Contemplated painting it but there's something about the color that led me to leave it be. With the new factory 75mm bolt I don't even think a nut is necessary. It can't hurt but I'm in no rush to get it based on how long and how threaded in the new bolt is.

 

[Frenzyrider]

How does it help with reinforcing the sway bar? My worry is the low point of the sway bar link that can get damaged easily since it sits quite low.

 

[jeepers29]

How does it help with reinforcing the sway bar? My worry is the low point of the sway bar link that can get damaged easily since it sits quite low.

It reinforces the cheap as bracket that the sway bar attaches to. There are several pics of where the hole in the bracket has torn open.

 

[Frenzyrider]

It reinforces the cheap as bracket that the sway bar attaches to. There are several pics of where the hole in the bracket has torn open.

Gotcha. So I guess I would need that and perhaps have some better armor for the lower point. A buddy of mine had it damaged at the lowest point too.

 

[Mojave2021]

About to embark on this project. Did any of you have difficulty removing the end link bolt?

 

[Fouts]

About to embark on this project. Did any of you have difficulty removing the end link bolt?

You have to use a wrench on the inside to hold the bolt from spinning.

 

[bleda2002]

About to embark on this project. Did any of you have difficulty removing the end link bolt?

It's only like 65 ftlbs, unless you are using a really short wrench should be fairly easy to bust it loose. Make sure you are side to side level though

 

[Mojave2021]

It's only like 65 ftlbs, unless you are using a really short wrench should be fairly easy to bust it loose. Make sure you are side to side level though

Great thanks!

 

[bd100]

I got these installed before the original sway bar brackets were torn, but have a concern. The sway bar link to bracket bolt is 12mm grade 10.9 for a reason. If the original bracket is torn then all that force is transferred to the new reinforcement bracket. This force goes sideways through a six-inch lever towards those two little grade 8.8 bolts, which are now expected to resist the force of the sway bar as multiplied through that lever. That sway bar is really going to be cranking hard on those two little mounting bolts. So has anyone gone off road and broken the two small bolts?

I may remove these reinforcement brackets to limit the damage to just a valid warranty claim instead of spreading the damage further.

This product may have been more effective if the square opening were tight enough that the square tube could resist the twist, but the opening is too loose for that.

 

[Jaxmax]

I agree that the two bolts have a leverage issue, but I'm not sure why people are breaking their brackets, some put aftermarket sway bars on, not sure what caused the bracket to crack, perhaps oversized tires hard jumping. What do you think the limited repair will be, a new frame, somebody welding the bracket back together? I put the brackets on to add strength to the existing sway bar bracket to help prevent failure. I guess you could drill out the holes in frame and install larger bolts to add strength......Jack

 

[mx5red]

I got these installed before the original sway bar brackets were torn, but have a concern. The sway bar link to bracket bolt is 12mm grade 10.9 for a reason. If the original bracket is torn then all that force is transferred to the new reinforcement bracket. This force goes sideways through a six-inch lever towards those two little grade 8.8 bolts, which are now expected to resist the force of the sway bar as multiplied through that lever. That sway bar is really going to be cranking hard on those two little mounting bolts. So has anyone gone off road and broken the two small bolts?

I may remove these reinforcement brackets to limit the damage to just a valid warranty claim instead of spreading the damage further.

This product may have been more effective if the square opening were tight enough that the square tube could resist the twist, but the opening is too loose for that.

.
I see your point but I think adding any reinforcement -period- is going to reduce the chance of the OEM bracket from ripping out at the bottom.
Plus the 1/4” Metalcloak bracket is way stronger than the little thong of sheet metal at the bottom of the OEM bracket.

The OEM brackets are being ripped out in a downward direction; there isn’t much lateral force from the sway bar. So I wouldn’t worry about lateral torque on the Metalcloak bracket.

 

[hjdca]

The

I got these installed before the original sway bar brackets were torn, but have a concern. The sway bar link to bracket bolt is 12mm grade 10.9 for a reason. If the original bracket is torn then all that force is transferred to the new reinforcement bracket. This force goes sideways through a six-inch lever towards those two little grade 8.8 bolts, which are now expected to resist the force of the sway bar as multiplied through that lever. That sway bar is really going to be cranking hard on those two little mounting bolts. So has anyone gone off road and broken the two small bolts?

I may remove these reinforcement brackets to limit the damage to just a valid warranty claim instead of spreading the damage further.

This product may have been more effective if the square opening were tight enough that the square tube could resist the twist, but the opening is too loose for that.

The idea is that the End link stud takes the bend instead of breaking the mounting points. On many lift kits like mine (Clayton), the end link studs are designed as "disposable". $10 stud part, where you just screw on new end links or straighten the stud. I have already bent a few, and I always had to bend the mounting tab back down to it's original location. The metalcloak reinforcement means you only have to worry about the stud and endlinks and not the mounting locations.

Note: With the metalcloak reinforcement, I am also using the new longer Mopar bolts for the tabs, and those are much better than using the stock too short ones, or the metalcloak ones which have the wrong thread pitch.

 

[Mojave2021]

Did you guys have to lift the Gladiator up at all for the install or were you able to do it flat on the ground?

 

[jeepers29]

Did you guys have to lift the Gladiator up at all for the install or were you able to do it flat on the ground?

you could do it on flat ground. I have a lift which made it much easier.

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