The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network - View Single Post - 47-55.1 Rear Sway Bar?

dsraven · 09-08-2023, 10:50 AM

some venicles put the sway bar behind the axle with the arms pointing backwards and links upwards to the frame. some have a sway bar that is narrow to fit between the frame rails and some are wider and make the U bend outside the frame rails-which may not work depending on how much room you have with tires there. you could use a system like stepside jim has and possibly try a front swaybar, with less dip in the middle, on the rear. use a little caution on the size when choosing, and remember what vehicle it came from, because too much stabilizer bar for the vehicle weight can end up making the inside tire lift off the road surface, so less traction and possibly wheel spin on the rear. lots of factors to consider since all kinds of things contribute to the equation. frame stifness, spring pliability, how much the leaf springs flatten to steer the rear axle as the springs on the inside of the corner will be arced and the ones on the outside of the corner will flatten out-which means the rear axle is actually not square in the frame anymore, center of gravity height, weight bias front to rear, etc etc. just saying if you get a sway bar from a certain vehicle, like, say, a camaro, there could be several options of sway bar diameter so if you find the one you chose is too stiff or not stiff enough you could have options without having to rethink the whole process again.
since you have a quick change gear you may wanna consider the "through the frame" style stabilizer bar which would leave room to work behind the axle. you can use heim joint style rod ends easily adjust the lever height/angle. they have no forgiveness like a poly or rubber bushing has though. a frame mounted bar would also work except the exhaust may be in the way as stepside has pointed out. I tried a few options on a 57 frame with 4 link and an explorer axle. I ended up with a bar from a ford ranger, fabbed some mounts on the axle and faced it forwards to link up to the frame. you could do the same in reverse of that and mount the bar to the frame with links down to the axle, depending on what else is in the way.

09-08-2023, 10:50 AM	#10
dsraven Registered User Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: calgary alberta Posts: 7,892	Re: Rear Sway Bar? some venicles put the sway bar behind the axle with the arms pointing backwards and links upwards to the frame. some have a sway bar that is narrow to fit between the frame rails and some are wider and make the U bend outside the frame rails-which may not work depending on how much room you have with tires there. you could use a system like stepside jim has and possibly try a front swaybar, with less dip in the middle, on the rear. use a little caution on the size when choosing, and remember what vehicle it came from, because too much stabilizer bar for the vehicle weight can end up making the inside tire lift off the road surface, so less traction and possibly wheel spin on the rear. lots of factors to consider since all kinds of things contribute to the equation. frame stifness, spring pliability, how much the leaf springs flatten to steer the rear axle as the springs on the inside of the corner will be arced and the ones on the outside of the corner will flatten out-which means the rear axle is actually not square in the frame anymore, center of gravity height, weight bias front to rear, etc etc. just saying if you get a sway bar from a certain vehicle, like, say, a camaro, there could be several options of sway bar diameter so if you find the one you chose is too stiff or not stiff enough you could have options without having to rethink the whole process again. since you have a quick change gear you may wanna consider the "through the frame" style stabilizer bar which would leave room to work behind the axle. you can use heim joint style rod ends easily adjust the lever height/angle. they have no forgiveness like a poly or rubber bushing has though. a frame mounted bar would also work except the exhaust may be in the way as stepside has pointed out. I tried a few options on a 57 frame with 4 link and an explorer axle. I ended up with a bar from a ford ranger, fabbed some mounts on the axle and faced it forwards to link up to the frame. you could do the same in reverse of that and mount the bar to the frame with links down to the axle, depending on what else is in the way.