Straight Axle - Front Sway Bar - Another Option

[64Ranger]

Max...you aren't actually going to drive that beautiful truck on the road, are you? Thanks for the optional sway bar hook up. It is nice to have it tucked up under the truck. I used Skip's method and it seems to work very well. I can't wait to see that baby in person at SSIV.

Again...GREAT WORK!!!!

[snopek]

looks nice. you know national parts depot makes one for 65-79 f-100s for 114.95.

[Fanatic]

Mounted mine off both studs. 3/8 plate. I put a slight bend in it so that I could mount the bar farther forword to clear the splindle horseshoe. Yes this was before I put on the other rubber!

[Max]

Spark, you could very well be right - I just don't know. I'm not a structural engineer or anything. I just looked at sway bars in the junk yard and everywhere else and this is what I decided to do. I'll find out soon enough.

I'm building a cruiser anyway so if something were to go wrong, maybe I'll see some warning signs - bent attachment points, etc.

I almost did what Tim did with two attachment points per side but decided to start with this first.

[The Big M]

Not to be negative, but I think you have built something that compromises the entire front end of the pickup.

When you twist the roll bar in a corner or over a bump, you will pul all the load on a single, from what I see unsupported, leg of the axle U-bolt. What is to keep the plate you fabricated, and hooked the sway bar link to, from twisting downward and bending or breaking the u-bolt? You doubled the plate so it wouldn't bend, what's to keep the u-bolt from bending?

There is a tremendous amount of force being applied to the lower mount and you are planning on using a single nut to hold everything in place? Not too sure that's a good idea. On a car sway bar, the lower link bolts through the lower control arm so it keeps everything in compression except the sway bar itself, which is in tension from the torsional loading. You are putting your lower mount in tension, not compression as it needs to be.

I could be all wrong, and for your sake I hope I am, but I wouldn't do this to anything I planned to drive.

JMO,
SPark

In this case the lower mount is loaded in bending, not tension, and it's not entirely unsupported. It should be stabilized, at least partly, by the underside of the spring mounting pad. I think it'd be difficult to bend the u-bolt in this configuration. The lower mount doesn't have a particularly long lever arm and the loading isn't that much different than the loading on the shock mounts.

It does place an additional tension load on one leg of the u-bolt, which could be problematic and lead to a fatigue failure at the attachment point. Especially if the u-bolts have been in service for a while. For this reason I'd say that using two attachment points would be better. Using two would also prevent the lower mount from rotating.

[Gary Seymour]

I can definitely see the fatigue issue with one leg of the u-bolt solely carrying the load. Two is definitely better. I can now see adding a leg to the bracket bringing it down the face of the axle, adding a gusset between them, and drilling a hole trough the plate and axle for more support.

[Max]

It's alright. I don't plan on 'swaying' much.

[blackagatha]

I like over engineering the hell out of everything.... I think it should definitely be mounted with both bolts, if not for fear of breaking the one off, just to keep it from unscrewing....

Gary's idea of bolting thru the axle is probably overkill, but again, I like overkill.... it would definitely put the hamper on any flex....

I might consider such things when I try to modify my suspension....


lol max, you're gonna be swaying a lot less in any case, but dont under-do anything because you aren't planning on experiencing certain conditions....

[blackagatha]

hey, what keeps the steering rack "situated" on the axle? it seems like the constant vibration and bumps, and pushing the wheels back and forth would cause the rack to slip on the axle...... I thought they were generally drilled thru and bolted on???

[Leeroy]

Just waking up this thread, thinking about how to do this mod when it comes time myself.

Looking at the way fanatic mounted his sway bar got me thinking....

CPP are making these shock mount pads for 57-60 trucks (The bottom one)


Wondering if this would bolt up under the spring mounting ubolts and can be used for a sway bar mount?

Any thoughts?

[Gary Seymour]

The two holes would have to be opened up for the U-Bolts, and the spacing might have to be altered.

I am not sure how the bend will work, but that might depend on the bar you are using.

I made mine out of flat 3/8" plate. The bar drops down from the frame at a slight angle, then the link mount end is bent up so it levels off. The links end up perpendicular to the lower mount.

I feel pretty good about this method of mounting. The weak point is the link bolt, which is 5/6" I believe.

[Fanatic]

I will scan the pattern for my mount if anyone wants it. I bent it after trial fit in order to find the correct angle. This angle will change depending on the sway bar and where it is mounted to the frame.

[Hunter's 64]

Fanatic PM sent !

Thanks, Danny

[Hunter's 64]

Fanatic, Thank you !

Danny

[sully5]

Hate to point out the obvious. but the worry about a 5/8"(?) u-bolt leg seems a little . . . um . . . irrelevent when we are trusting athe sway bar to a 10"x3/8" end link bolt. No pun intended, but if there's a weak link, it will most always be the smallish diameter end link bolt, even in grade 8.

If I'm missing something, don't hesitate to call me on it cause I'm not an engineer and I did NOT stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night.

[craigerf100]

so max how well did the addco sway bar work out for you?

[BobbyFord]

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1667 ... y-bar.html