bjmoose fabricates 2nd gen sway bar disconnect

OK, so I've wanted a detachable sway bar for a long time. You can't just disconnect the ends and leave them there - they'll interfere with suspension components at best and puncture CV boots at worst. But, maybe we can just disconnect both ends and swing them out of the way and fab up a little bracket to attach them to? Let's start with a few photos of the sway bar end in the wheel well. I've got mine on a ToyTec sway bar relocate bracket.





OK, so let's disconnect both ends, and "swing it out of the way."

Well, that didn't work out so well; once it's disconnected, it can't clear the spindle and UCA.



So, if we want it disconnected, we're gonna have to remove an end. Here's one that someone else did for an FJ cruiser once:


OK, now before we go any further - I've tried to get two fabricators to build me one of these and neither one would take on the liability. If you want one of these, you're going to have to build your own. This mod, like all mods illustrated on TW is for informational purposes only. I don't recommend you to do this. Don't blame me if you die.

A lesser, but more real risk, is that you'll ruin your sway bar. I recommend you get a spare one to perform this on. I bought one off another TW member who was no longer using it.

You're gonna need an angle grinder, a grinding wheel and couple cutting wheels, some lumber (I used about 9' of 2x6) a bunch of fasteners, plumbers strapping, a length of 2"x3/16" steel, and a length of 1"x1/4" steel. I used a 4" grinder, but a 7" wouldn't be overkill for the job. The first thing I found out is: the sway bar is constructed of SOLID steel. It's not tubing.





We're going to cut the sway bar. Once it's cut - we don't want anything to move, so we can fab up a new disconnect able link in between them. If the end moves - we'll never be able to re-create the original shape. So we need it in a jig.

So, make up a STURDY wooden frame and rigidly strap the sway bar to it. Think about moving a potential neck-injury victim. You want more clearance around the side you're going to cut, and you want that end more rigidly supported. In addition to more lumber, and the plumbers tape, I used a lag bolt through the link-end.



Keep in mind the sway bar is upside down. So whichever side you're looking at is on the opposite side. In this case - I'm working on the passenger side end.



We don't have to be so uptight about the other end, but it does still need to be rigidly attached to keep the entire bar in place.



OK, so, here's the basic concept: we're going to use the raw steel to make a "two part" I-Beam, half of which is attached to the main bar, and half is attached to the removable end. Top view will be something like this:



Cross section like this, only with TWO pieces instead of one. When I took this picture, I hadn't cut the bar yet and I was thinking it was made of tubing. So my original concept was for a single thickness of this 3/16" strip. Ha.



This yardstick shows the intended positioning a little more accurately. Before we start grinding anything, we'll want to change into real shoes. :-O



Despite all my efforts, once I cut through the bar, the end shifted down a fraction of an inch as a result of the pressure from my tie-down strapping. I drove this 1x2 into position to return it as close as possible to the original orientation.



In cutting the bar - now's when you find out it's SOLID STEEL. But once the bar's been cut - no going back. Success or scrap metal.

OK - here's the most important marking. I ran a yardstick along where the new I-Beam member is going to go and marked both ends as they'll be cut parallel to it so each end can be welded to one half of the the split I-Beam. These will be the next cuts with the grinder.



Now, I've used the grinder to mark the line where the next cut will be



Rough cut of one end completed:


Using that cut to confirm the measurement and direction of the next cut on the opposite end:


And, once that cut is made, again using the yardstick to show how far off the included angle is between the two cuts. We need these to line up!



Here' I've cut the two pieces of 2" x 3/16" to length and started to use them as a jig since they represent the exact final thickness of the I-Beam that will be connecting these two pieces.



Marking the "high point" we need to grind down to correct for flatness and orientation:


Here's the "double I-Beam" concept - two adjacent verticals, with a 1" x 1/4" top and bottom plate. The top plate will be welded to one side, and the bottom plate will be welded to the other side.


The "I Beam" pieces cut to final size


The completed sway bar cuts:



The verticals will be separate - one attached to the end, the other to the "main" part of the bar, and held together with two bolts. So when we drill (I used a drill press) we want to drill through both pieces at the same time - at least the pilot hole. Since I expect to weld the bolts into place on the inner piece, I made those holes slightly smaller, just barely large enough to accommodate the bolts. The other side, I used one "over" size on the holes to allow for easier alignment and fitment. Since the link-end is a 17mm nut, I obtained nuts and bolts in the 17mm size, so I'll only need one wrench to remove the sway bar end.



The whole thing (mostly) in place. The bottom plate won't fit while the lumber jig is still in position. But that's OK. Only the vertical parts of the I Beam have to be welded (or at least tacked) while it's in the jig. The top and bottom plates can be welded on after.


I've mentioned before
on TW - there are two things I don't do: I don't weld, and I don't perform jobs (like setting up gears, or adjusting valves) where the difference between success and failure is measured in thousandths.

So now, I just need to find someone to weld it up, and then I can do a test fitting.

To be continued…

 

I've wondered if someone ever made a disconnectable sway bar or something like this its gonna be pretty awesome if this works and ima want one for sure. Subed for further info.

 

whoa. pretty ambitious! I'm curious to hear how it turns out.

 

Nice writeup BJ, on a side note if anyone wants to buy my sway bar you can

 

Make sure you tack them up well and then disassemble before you do the production weld or you will probably melt your bushing.
Good job BTW. I had to put mine back on cause the wife said I have to if I want those pelfreybilt bumpers...

 

cool

 

what does she know?

I am without a sway bar and my truck is super stable. it leans in hard corners but totally manageable and not neeeeeearly as much as any 4runner.

 

Oh yeah, I will take it back off for sure and hide it. It's mostly cause I left it in the garage she never said put it back on and leave it on

 

sub'd

 

Cool

 

From a strength perspective - I think I'm most concerned with the welding the fabbed pieces to the sway bar itself. One thought that occured to me was to drill a 1/2" hole in the I beam where it mates to the sway bar cut end to provide an additional linear surface where welding can occur.

 

I wanted to use "off the shelf" stuff. Angle tends to be square - e.g. 1" angle. If I could even find 2" angle iron, the top dimension would be WAY too wide so I'd end up running the entire length with a grinder, though I suppose that's possible.

As far as index marks for alignment - I figured the verticals would be tacked up while still on the jig - then removed from the jig for welding.

 

Since the piece I cut is neither round, nor straight, finding or creating such a sleeve could be challenging. If you do it, post up pics.

 

No worries. Even if I don't end up taking some of these suggestions, they could be valuable to the next guy who comes along and tries to build it.

 

My concern here is that I am pretty sure that sway bars are made from spring steel and are heat treated. Welding on spring steel can be done but iirc, it is quite a process. You need to normalize the part (take out the temper), weld it, then re-heat treat it. If you just go and weld a piece of heat treated steel like that you will create an area that is very brittle and when you are twisting that piece of steel in two different directions it is likely to break

 

My thoughts exactly, and having a swaybar suddenly and unexpectedly break when pushed to its limit could cause worse stability issues than not having one to begin with.

 

This. They are made of spring steel so that the can flex and stay in the elastic portion of the stress-strain curve indefinitely. You will make it brittle by welding to it, in addition to using non-spring steel for your disconnect which will fatigue and deform/break over time.

Not trying to rain on your parade, and props for trying something new. But, that setup will be dangerous for yourself, passengers, and others on the road.

 

I noticed a pink sticker on my sway bar, and somebody mentioned that the OR has a softer swaybar. Maybe guys with sports should start picking up OR swaybars?