Sway bar math help

[ShastaJT6]

Hey all,

I've got a 3.5" front / 2" rear skyjacker lift kit. My oem rear sway bar links are ~10.5" eye to eye. The replacement ones that came with the lift kit, that are currently installed, are ~12.5" eye to eye.

Here's where it gets weird. I am installing a modified DV8 rear skid plate and I need some clearance to avoid the sway bar contacting. I've ordered a pair of Icon rear sway spacers, that will drop the rear sway bar ~1". This will give me the clearance I need for the diff skid, but I am concerned how it will affect the sway bar.

Since my geometry is "corrected" by the longer sway links from the lift kit, by dropping the sway bar an inch, would that mean I need to shorten the links by one inch to avoid screwing up the back end? Or can I just let it ride?

Hopefully some of y'all are picking up what I'm putting down and can support. Thanks.

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[ShastaJT6]

Actually, I just took this picture and now I'm really screwed up. My sway bar is currently a few degrees pointed upwards, slightly above parallel with the ground. If I move the mounting point down 1" then the sway bar upward angle would increase.... Meaning I actually would need rear links that are 1" LONGER to maintain the "parallel to ground" sway position.. right?!!?

It's past beer thirty...

Edit: rubbing the two brain cells I have left together, I'm thinking it may be okay to add the spacers with the extended links. My sway angle would be a little more upward, but I wouldn't have to worry about them rotating under when flexed hard. I think my only concern at this point is the link contacting the exhaust.... And giving me an excuse to replace it..

 

[DankjeeP]

Actually, I just took this picture and now I'm really screwed up. My sway bar is currently a few degrees pointed upwards, slightly above parallel with the ground. If I move the mounting point down 1" then the sway bar upward angle would increase.... Meaning I actually would need rear links that are 1" LONGER to maintain the "parallel to ground" sway position.. right?!!?

It's past beer thirty...

Hang on there cowboy. I'm not sure what the DV8 rear skid plate is actually skid plating but it should in no way interfere with your shit! If it does then ditch it.

Your sway bars should be a couple of degrees up, and nothing should interfere with anything on your axle. HTH

 

[ShastaJT6]

Hang on there cowboy. I'm not sure what the DV8 rear skid plate is actually skid plating but it should in no way interfere with your shit! If it does then ditch it.

Your sway bars should be a couple of degrees up, and nothing should interfere with anything on your axle. HTH

Fair enough! For the record, DV8 did nothing wrong here. I have their front diff skid installed and really like it. I wanted a matching rear, but they only had one for the JL.

I did a test fit then chopped off about 6 inches from the axle guards on both sides so it clears the Jt suspension. When I did a second test fit, it looks like everything will fit well, but I'm concerned about clearance between the axle guards and the sway bar.

I may just install the damn thing and have my buddy jump in the bed a few times...

 

[ShastaJT6]

Pictures!

You can see where the axle guards and suspension decided not to get along. Hacked that off. I still have one mounting bracket flange hanging off though and I'm worried it's gonna get whacked, that's where the spacer idea came in to push the sway bar back a bit.

Also, yes, im kinda stupid for trying this haha

 

[DankjeeP]

Fair enough! For the record, DV8 did nothing wrong here. I have their front diff skid installed and really like it. I wanted a matching rear, but they only had one for the JL.

I did a test fit then chopped off about 6 inches from the axle guards on both sides so it clears the Jt suspension. When I did a second test fit, it looks like everything will fit well, but I'm concerned about clearance between the axle guards and the sway bar.

I may just install the damn thing and have my buddy jump in the bed a few times...

So, you're doing custom and what?

 

[Renegade]

That sure seems like a lot of work to reduce your ground clearance with a rear axle skid. Do you really need it? If you must, it sounds like you’re just going to have to do testing to figure out which mods are necessary to use it. Good luck.

 

[Mjolnir]

You'll be fine with the sway bar being a bit higher than parallel. Many lift kits do this. I haven't had a parallel sway bar on any of my jeeps and they have been fantastic on and offroad, at speed around corners and slow off camber that wasn't enough to warrant disconnecting.

 

[ShastaJT6]

That sure seems like a lot of work to reduce your ground clearance with a rear axle skid. Do you really need it? If you must, it sounds like you’re just going to have to do testing to figure out which mods are necessary to use it. Good luck.

Youre not wrong, at all.

1) Ground Clearance - Already got some grinding on the bottom of the rear diff from it getting dragged over rocks. I feel thats pretty much operator error, but if the skid keeps my truck "drive-home-able" until I learn to pick better lines, its fulfilled its purpose.

2) Cobbling together mods - There are other skids made for the JT, Im totally just making things hard on myself here haha. Ive had a few projects on this truck that I went down the rabbithole on, where they became more about learning and challenging myself.

I think the next step here is to install the sway drop spacers and see what it does to the link angle, go from there.

 

[ShastaJT6]

You'll be fine with the sway bar being a bit higher than parallel. Many lift kits do this. I haven't had a parallel sway bar on any of my jeeps and they have been fantastic on and offroad, at speed around corners and slow off camber that wasn't enough to warrant disconnecting.

Glad to hear it. My reading has led me to believe this is generally the case. Besides off-roading, I do haul small loads and do some light towing (John boat for duck season, etc) so I dont want to whack out the geometry on the back end. Will see how much the sway bar drop spacers effect the angle and go from there.

 

[JT1]

Youre not wrong, at all.

1) Ground Clearance - Already got some grinding on the bottom of the rear diff from it getting dragged over rocks. I feel thats pretty much operator error, but if the skid keeps my truck "drive-home-able" until I learn to pick better lines, its fulfilled its purpose.

2) Cobbling together mods - There are other skids made for the JT, Im totally just making things hard on myself here haha. Ive had a few projects on this truck that I went down the rabbithole on, where they became more about learning and challenging myself.

I think the next step here is to install the sway drop spacers and see what it does to the link angle, go from there.

It looks like those spacers will move your sway bar mounting points away from the axle and down slightly, this should tilt the sway up a little using the current links. Keep an eye on the mounts on the frame side. That's a definite weak spot if your links are on the short side, but I think you'll be fine.

 

[Mjolnir]

Glad to hear it. My reading has led me to believe this is generally the case. Besides off-roading, I do haul small loads and do some light towing (John boat for duck season, etc) so I dont want to whack out the geometry on the back end. Will see how much the sway bar drop spacers effect the angle and go from there.

Absolutely. Worth a shot. I want to also say that just because it has been fine for the majority of people, that does not mean that you shouldn't attempt to get it back to parallel.

Wish you the best of luck!

 

[Renegade]

It looks like those spacers will move your sway bar mounting points away from the axle and down slightly, this should tilt the sway up a little using the current links. Keep an eye on the mounts on the frame side. That's a definite weak spot if your links are on the short side, but I think you'll be fine.

The Icon spacer actually raises the swaybar mounting points on the axle. They used the old part description from the JL, where the rear swaybar is mounted to the Jeep frame.

 

[JT1]

The Icon spacer actually raises the swaybar mounting points on the axle. They used the old part description from the JL, where the rear swaybar is mounted to the Jeep frame.

I wonder if the net change there is enough to matter. It isn't like the front where there is a possibility of the swaybar doing a 180 and tearing stuff up..

 

[LostWoods]

Ideally the sway bar will be 90 degrees to the links at ride height but that's not always possible with lifts. I typically set it so there's about 15 degrees off 180 at full droop and call it a day... doing this in the front of mine has my sway bar pointed way up from stock but it's required to prevent it from inverting.

There's nothing wrong with it being angled and if you feel you aren't getting enough rigidity, you can always upgrade to a Hellwig or something.

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