Ok, So my brother-in-law and I installed the Helwig 7271 Bigwig sway bar over the weekend. Everything was pretty straight forward but I would highly recommend 2 people doing the work. The bar weighs about 35lbs and is very awkward to support while on your back because of it's shape and how you need to maneuver it around your suspension and driveshaft.

For those of you interested in installing one, you will hear about all the horrors of installing the tie-rod for the passenger side. There is NO room to put the bolt in because of the DEF tank. DO NOT remove the tank or anything associated with the tank. Take 5-minutes, drop the spare tire and you can easily have 1 person slide their arm to the correct hole and hold the wrench while another person attaches the tie-rod and nut. It takes all of 5 minutes.

In regards to improvements I've noticed: I do believe this mod has improved my drive. I have not towed with it yet, so I can't comment on that. But I will also concede that the ride improvements I'm noticing might be mentally similar to the improvements you notice after washing your truck......placebo.

I do have a question for those who have installed one. The bar sits very close to the passenger side shock tube and only clears it by less than 1/2". Now, I know that articulation of the shock when the vehicle is going up and down will either cause it to move close or farther from the two parts contacting. I'm wondering if this is something I should be concerned with.

Here are some pictures.

 

you mean drivers side for the def tank chassis access

 

Can't comment on the Helwig setup, but I installed the Ford factory rear sway bar and the truck corners on rails. Doesn't improve ride quality, but definitely improves control and stability of the rear end when towing or unloaded.

 

How long did it take the two of you to do the install? I want to get one on my truck when it finally arrives.

 

about 45 minutes. Most of the time was torquing bolts and sliding in and out of underneath the truck..... old creaky bones.

 

took me two hours.. spent much too much time on that drivers side chassis bolt.. lost one, had to come up with a second.. (12 F250 SRW)

 

If I have to choose....I will take the 45 minutes.

 

I would too!.. I honestly don't know how anyone gets that bolt in there (I don't know how I did it!)

 

Drop the spare tire. Its easy after that. Trying to move other parts around to get to it adds a tremendous amount of time.

 

Sam, can you post a picture of the part of the sway bar that comes really close to the passenger side shock? I'm interested in how big the gap is on your truck. we are contacting Helwig to see if there's is a better design since the sway bar can easily come in contact with your shock housing.

 

I spoke with Hellwig and they are going to look into it with the engineers and the owner himself. They are taking this issue very serious and want to make things right if there is a problem with the design.

I am to take a pic with the truck lifted off the ground with the suspension hanging in order to see when it is making contact with the shock. I will get this pic to them so they can see what is going on. If any of you have a pic, or can take one quicker than I, then please post it up.

One thing is for sure, they are on top of it.

 

did that.. this is two yrs ago. I am a big guy. 6'2" 260. hands and arms don't move in small places.

 

sold the truck with the sway bar last year to get the dually.
I had Rancho 9000 shocks installed too with air lines.

I don't remember any clearance issues.

The sway bar cannot move side to side due to the center design, it can only go up/down at the chassis.. and the linkage bars prevent that.

so the only place it can move, is at the angled end in response to the axle moving.

 

It is more about the angle of the shock changing and hitting the sway bar as the axle increases distance from the frame. Not so much the sway bar moving and making contact.

 

ok, thats got to be some extreme axle movement. the bar is supposed to stop that.