Its a stock one off my 02 f350 crew cab, SRW 4x4 auto. I'm in the middle of a dually swap to an 04 dually, so will have a spare front and back one off the 02. The fronts are the same as I can tell, but the back one is slightly different shape on the dually. I don't have them side by side, but I think the SRW rear one is more square shaped around the pumpkin, and the Dually makes a kind of point shape. I'm not sure though. I haven't taken the SRW apart yet, I'm just finishing the restore on the donor parts, then its coming out. I'll look later. They may be the same, but since the dually has shorter axles, I'm guessing it is different. So you would need an SRW I think. Not sure.

 

Same story for my L99. Added the Helwig and airlift bags with snubber. Made a huge improvement. The reviews for the front Helwig are good, but the bang for the buck is with the rear bar when towing.

 

I'm not trying to hijack your thread here Sous but I figured it's good for all to combine it.

Here's what the rear sway bar on that E-450 short bus looks l like. I'm guessing it's 30mm. My 1 1/8 open end was a perfect fit and an inch is about 26mm. The axle mounts are welded and the end links mount to the frame up near the front spring mounts.







They're not the best but I think you can make it out.

 

The F350 Pickup rear one is in front of the pumpkin, and crosses up over the front of the pumpkin in a big square shape, the dually one does the same thing but is all rounded on the corners instead of tight, and its pointed shaped over the pumpkin. Completely different shape, same location. Here's whats interesting. The dually is thinner. The SRW is 1 1/8 like yours, the dually is thinner, so must be the 26. Although, the SRW one has way more clearance and goes higher over the pumpkin, and wider on each side. So it may fit on the dually, in which case I will be using the 30, and I will have the 26 as spare. Unless its a no fit.

 

The Hellwig sway bar arrived last week and I finally had a chance to install it. No test drive yet though, so the anticipation will just have to build a bit longer for that review. Below are some pictures comparing the stock 2000 F-250 bar to the Hellwig 7268 bar.

OEM sway bar... not very intimidating is it...



Hellwig 7268 side by side with OEM



Hellwig mounted driver side



This is my only area of concern which is at the top of the differential. I can lengthen the end links to get the bar further from the guards of this sensor, but I also wanted the bar as level as possible to the frame of the truck. I will keep an eye on it because it might be just fine the way it is and if not, I will make adjustments to the bottom of the end links.



Picture from the back. Never mind all of the oil residue. I sprayed all of the bolts down with ATF/acetone a couple of days ago.

 

I found that bar to be well worth the cost of purchase and installation. I hope you do as well.

 

I woke up this morning and couldn't stand it any longer, I had to take the truck out for a test drive. I mostly wanted to make sure there was no clunking or banging happening before I really needed to use the truck. The spot above the differential I was slightly concerned about was not a problem in any way at all. With that said, the fit and finish was great. The instructions left a bit to be desired, but I got through them just fine.

The truck is definitely more planted to the ground and flat going around turns, even at higher speeds. There is a long sweeping turn that I could take at 50, maybe 55 before the Hellwig and I went around it at 65 MPH this morning and had total confidence in the way the truck was tracking around the turn. I didn't really notice a difference in the way the suspension worked going over bumps, but the roads out here in the country are pretty smooth and I suspect I will have to wait for a longer trip.

I am hopeful the new bar helps control the travel trailer and future 5th wheel a bit better, but only time will tell for those. We just got back from a week long camping trip and the next one won't be until May.

I would say that it was worth the $315 it cost me to purchase the bar, but I am glad I didn't pay much more than that at this point. Of course, I am a tight *** when it comes to money and always looking for the bargains and best bang for the buck.

I hope this helps someone else make a decision on the Hellwig bar vs F350 vs F250 sway bars.

 

Were you able to mount the bar parallel to the frame? In the pics above it appears angled downward.

 

There is maybe a 5 degree angle difference at the most between the bar and the frame. Your right about the picture though, I looked at it and thought well that doesn't seem like what I remember. I had to run out and look at the bar in person again just to be sure. I guess it was the angle at which I had the camera pointed at the bar when taking the picture.

Hellwig mentioned nothing about the orientation of the bar in relation to the ground or the frame. I seemed to remember from installing a bar on another car 20 years ago that it should be as level as possible though. The adjustable end links are up as high as they would go, then backed off a half a turn. So, there is no bringing the front of the bar up higher at all.

I could rotate it down a bit by loosening the u-bolts on the axle, but I have them rotated up that far because that was what was in the instructions from Hellwig.

 

What you describe rings true, I recall balancing the mounts of the bar with the end links to arrive at level. To heck with what Hellwig says-who reads instructions?

 

I think once the ground dries up a bit I will go out and loosen the u-bolts on both sides, rotate the bar down a little bit and then re-torque them to 60 ft lbs. I think if I don't do this, then I will be thinking of it for quite some time and I should just do it and move on to the next project.

Thanks for the advice and experience you had. I don't suspect this slight rotation will yield much of a change, other than in my mind it will make the bar 100% right.

 

Could You measure the diameter of the Hellwig 7268 Please.

 

The Hellwig measures 1.5" in diameter throughout the entire length of the bar until it flattens out to meet the end links.

 

Thanks Sous,the website I looked at couple years ago showed 1-5/16 diameter,now that You confirmed 1-1/2 I will invest in one.

 

No problem. It is very heavy and solid all the way through the bar, not hollow. The box was had a weight of about 40 lbs noted by UPS, and I can say with confidence most of that was the bar itself. When you get one, you will immediately see the difference in the construction of the bar.