Hey guys, im new, and know almost nothing about vehicles in general (i'm only 15,i know,its not a good excuse but hey, its the truth!) and i hope you can help me along with my question. Ok, here goes- My dad owns a 1990 Aerostar and has shown us little or no problems since we'ved owned it. When we were going to topeka this past weekend the frame started moaning and groaning. i asked him what this was and he said that the swaybar had broken. well heres my question to you, what is a sway bar and what does it do? what could happens when it breaks? and im almost positive it was in the front. any help at all would be appriciated. thanks!

 

sounds to me like your "sway bar" would more correctly be known as the "front stabilizer bar". its found underneath, upfront attached across the vehicle fron the right lower control arm to the left lower controll arm(big arms leading from the chassie to the wheel. the stabilizer bar controll side to side sway or rock of the vehicle. very important in a van as they tend to be top heavy and sway a bit on the road. i doubt if it is actually broken, as in cracked in two. more likely the bushings, or rubber mounts are wore down, and it is not supporting the body as well as it used to. this would allow a side to the sway bar, or front stabilizer bar as it is called in the aerostar runs across the front, from right to left connecting the right and left lower controll arm (the controll arms are the large arms extending out from the chassie to the wheel.) its job is to reduce body roll side to side, otherwise known as sway. since vans are tall they tend to rock side to side while on the road. the bar helps diminish this roll, allowing the van to be more managable, or easier to drive. this bar is held in place by brackets which can break, and bushings which do wear out. i doubt that your dads sway bar is actually broken, as in pieces. more likely, the bushing are wore out, causing the bar to be loose. this would allow excessive roll or sway,and may have been the origin of the noise you heard.
the front stabilizer bar , or as is more likely the bushings can be replaced with new bushings, the haynes repair manual has a few good pictures of the bar and bushings, with suggestions of what to look for if bad. worn or cracked areas etc. if you don't have one, pick one up at a good parts store, or maybe look in the local library.
been there,done that, rick




91 ford aerostar ext. 4.0 litre. 165 thousand miles and going.......

 

sorry the message got a little messed up....but hope you got the idea rick