Has anyone put a sway bar on a stock I-beam axle setup?

Wondering what bars can be adapted width-wise. I'm happy to fab everything up, but hoping to save the time of hunting something that is the right width and close on the ends...

Sway bars are pretty simple and fabricating mounts for them is straight forward, but finding a bar that fits can be the trick...

Not looking to go autocrossing, just keep the old girl from leaning too much going around the curves...

A search didn't turn up too much...

 

edited....

 

I have read from a few that all it does is make for a very stiff ride with little to gain on a leaf spring suspension. No personal experience though.


AX has commented on it several times.

 

I have ran sway bars for the last 30 years on my 56 F100 with an I beam.
Some say they wont work with I beam but I have always seen a great improvement.
I'm using the front and rear sway bar off of a Bronco 2. They work very well.

 

Many years ago I built a 40 coupe with a dropped axle and a sway bar. I drove it from Tulsa to St Paul Mn for the street rod nats. While there the front end was making noise due to the sway bar hitting the shock mounts [I think] so I disconnected the sway bar. I drove it home with the sway bar disconnected and man what a difference, it was nowhere as nice to drive without the sway bar. Never been without one since.

 

If everything is in good shape, especially the spring eye bushings and links, a sway bar should not produce a significant effect. The leaf spring and axle function as a sway bar. If one understands how a sway bar functions in a turn it is obvious that the shocks are far more critical to resisting body lean than a sway bar. If all the rest of the suspension is in good shape, replace the junk, off the Big Box store shelf, 35.00 shocks with some good ones valved (and/or adjustable) for the spring rate and weight to experience a major difference. I'm always amazed that people just won't accept that advice and will spend more $$$ in the wrong places. Sway bars have a functional place on a IFS suspension.
The first vehicle modification advice given to novice AXers wanting to improve their car's handling is to upgrade their shocks.

 

I'm all for a good parts and shocks but when you get the camper special package or later models like lightening's they install a sway bar on the rear axel and it's a solid axel with leaf springs.

 

Bronco II - got it.

I've been building cars with all kinds of suspension for many years now. I'm familiar with the sway bar, it's functions, and its drawbacks. I understand very well the interaction with the rest of the suspension, but appreciate the education.

A suspension is a system - it is more than the sum of its parts, it's the product. What I see from most folks who have them and say they don't like them is it's not really the sway bars' fault necessarily - it's the combination of parts. No one component can "fix" a bad suspension, but a mis-matched component can ruin a good suspension.

So, with that said, I believe based on the weight of the truck and the type of suspension, a giant bar is overkill, but a moderate sized bar would be good (7/8"-1"). Rear bars have a profound effect on handling in vehicles with a heavier back end - not the case with a pickup. But if you have a panel truck, with a top-heavy butt, you might find a much bigger difference (for the better). However, rear bars need to be much smaller - I'd be hesitant to go larger than 3/4" on one of our trucks - maybe a panel, but a pickup I'd stay with 1/2".

My question was really which bars have the right shape and width. I can bend up a bar, but I'd rather just adapt something that already has most of the right shape...

Thanks for the inputs....

 

Ernie, my rear axle came from an explorer. I didn't use the rear bar, but I remember the width being correct for my F1. I would think that the frame width would be the most critical measurement. You have to attach it to the frame where the frame is, but you've got more choices of attachment on the axle.

 

Another good to know tidbit on the Explorer - roughly Bronco II size, so there's a pattern. There's some flexibility on fabricating the mounts as far as frame width goes, but it's limited. Thanks

An ideal bar wouldn't have too many dips in the straight part...as I said, I could fabricate my own with some 7/8" bar stock about 6-7' long, but it'd be far easier to find something that already is close...

 

Yes they do to balance the effect of the front bar otherwise the handling would be horrible, push like a dump truck.

 

If you go Bronco 2 bet everything, the rear axle mounts [wraps] links both front and rear. They worked well. The front bar is 1'' and rear is 3/4''.
Good luck.

 

I think the Bronco II was based on the Ranger chassis...might be another more plentiful option...

 

1987 to 1995 Jeep Wranglers use sway bars with leaf springs on solid front axles. They improve on highway handling and stability a bunch. The should be about the right width also for F1 trucks. Off roaders often remove them for more droop on uneven terrain. Some disconnect them off road and reconnect them for the highway trip home so they must offer something. The type of spring, leaf, coil whatever has no effect on swaybar function.

 

Gosh, here I thought I could trust my seat of the pants driving experience. Guess I am just wasting my money using another one. Oh well.