Anti-Sway Bar Quick Disconnects
Independant Front Suspension (IFS) is one of the worst inventions applied to
off-roading trucks. Sure, they make for a better ride and better handling, but
it's a truck and it's supposed to act like a truck. When compared to a solid
axle, IFS is weaker, more prone to wear because of all the moving parts, and
severely limits articulation (the ability of the suspension to keep the tires
firmly on the ground, despite a severely uneven road).
To help increase articulation a trick many people use is to disconnect the front
anti-sway bar (or sway bar for short). Since the sway bar's job is to connect
the left and right sides of the IFS it necessarily limits articulation. However,
it's a real pain in the butt to unscrew the nuts and bolts to disconnect the
sway bar everytime one wants to go off-road.
Below, I outline what I did to make an inexpensive quick disconnect system that
is commonly used in one form or another. Specifically, this is for a 2nd gen
4Runner as the pickup truck uses a slightly different sway bar configuration.
However, it can be easily adapted to the truck and 3rd gen 4Runners.
Materials:
(1) 7/16" diameter, fine thread, threaded rod approximately 2' long (more
than enough) ~$3
(2) 7/16" rod ends ~$5-$10 each
(8) 7/16" fine thread lock nuts ~$0.20 each
(8) 7/16" washers ~$0.05 each
(2) 5/32" hitch pins ~$2 each
I soaked the various nuts of the sway bar links in penetrating oil for a day
or two before even trying to take them off. I then removed the driver side sway
bar link and kept the rubber bushings and washers. Only one side was taken off
first because I needed to know where to drill the hole for the hitch pin.
Using the OEM links I approximated the length I needed for the new QD links. This was the measurement from the middle of the ball to the end of the link. Then I added 1 inch for good measure and cut the 7/16" threaded rod with my dremel.
The OEM bushing washers are a snug fit on the threaded rod so I enlarged the
holes slightly with the dremel. With the washers enlarged I put together the
threaded rod, locknuts, OEM bushing washers and OEM rubber bushings and screwed
them to the lower A-arm.
Then the Rod End went on with 3 washers used to space the ball away from the sway bar. I tightened everything down except for the top lock nut. Using the bottom of the rod end as a guide, I drilled a 5/32" hole through threaded rod ( I also made sure I was parked on flat, level ground). Then in went the hitch pin and the top lock nut was tightened just enough to let hitch pin slide in and out freely.
Once that side was done I repeated it all for the passenger side. Pretty easy, it only took two or three hours.
Update: After driving around a while with
these disconnects I've discovered they do make a lot of clicking/knocking sounds.
Mostly, I think because of the inherent slop in the hitch pin/nut connection.
This will most likely be solved by tighting the nut to snug down on the hitch
pin. Although doing so will slow down the disconnecting process, it's still
a heck of a lot faster than stock.
Update 2: I tightened everything down and the clicking noises went away. The
locknut on the rodend seems to work its way loose a lot so I'm going to add
a second one to act as a jam nut. A castle nut is probably the best bet though.
Disclaimer: Altering the suspension of any vehicle can adversley affect handling
and result in a dangerous situation. I do not claim that any modifications I
make to my vehicle are safe, nor legal. If you choose to replicate my modifications,
you do so at your own risk.