I received the sway bar today from Summit. On the box was a Summit catalog. I looked up the sway bar under SUVs and it says "*Does not work with limited slip heavy duty differential.' I have a 2wd vehicle and am not sure what I ordered when it was new. Any thoughts or ideas about this?

 

No problem - it worked better than fine on my 02 4x2 X !!!

go drive a few entrance ramps and curves and notice at what speed you start to feel "squirrely" and top heavy at....
(with my 4x2 it was VERY early - even around slow intersection corners....)

then put the hellwig on - we had to tie everything down in the X you could twist so much better !


I am convinced the Hellwig was a fuel saving device....
I didn't have to slow down and accelerate as much after putting it on - true !

 

Do you have a limited slip differential?

 

Go to Hellwigproducts.com and check their application guide. The horses's mouth so to speak. It may be the way it bolts around differential housing that's the difference, or just call the friendly folks at summit--they are pretty knowledgeable. Also, you can go to the FAQ's at the start of the Superduty/heavyduty section and the codes to see what equipment is installed on your vehicle is there. The VIN tag on the front drivers door opening lists your axle code (among others) and you should be able to tell.

 

Thanks, Will do.

 

I have the limited slip on the X & standard axle on the F250. I added limited slip to the F250, housing is the same. Should installl with no trouble.


My advice is Lay out all parts on the floor in relationship to how it goes together & have someone hand you parts / tools as you need them.

Good luck!

 

Try and get all nuts and bolts assorted together in relation to where they belong also. I ended up getting a couple shorter bolts for the end links, (I believe they were grade 8, 7/16"x 2 1/2" fine thread) than what was supplied in the kit. I also replaced four of the standard 1/2"x20 nuts with all metal lock nuts. When you're done, you won't belive the differnce in handling.

 

I'm glad I'm not the only one that did that--seems like the instructions could have been a little clearer where the lock nuts went, but after sorting it became clear. Did the backing plates for your u-bolts bend backward when you torqued to specs??

 

I hadn't noticed. I'll look tomorrow. I just installed mine friday and will be re-checking torque on everything tomorrow.

 

I have a 2000 4X2 with the 3:73 LS. I had no problems. The instructions pretty much suck, though. Like others have mentioned, you have to put it together on the ground to figure out which bolts go where, then take it apart to put it on the truck. To get the forward facing bars close to parallel to the frame, I had to cutt off all but 3 holes in the drop down mounting brackets.
INCREDIBLE difference in handling!! You'll feel like it was $$ well spent!!

 

I am convinced the Hellwig was a fuel saving device....
I didn't have to slow down and accelerate as much after putting it on - true !

And only John could think of this one....

 

TeeHee...
well it worked for my justification in getting it...
just like with the predator....

Well, that one was more of a stretch

but think about it....
if I have to slow down to 5 mph per curve versus 30 mph.... that's a lot of accelerating I don't have to do with the Hellwig - right ?!?!?!?

(and believe me - I know my wife is smarter than that - she is a blonde but I thought she was just being nice and letting me get my toys....)

now I know why.....
she's LOADING up the new house with LOTS of her toys.... payback is Heck !!!!

 

I brought the Sway Bar over to the local garage. I also copied the photos that had been posted on this forum. He said that there was no way that it would fit. I told him that the photos were of an F250 and to forget them and follow the Helwig instructions. 3 hrs and 175.00 later it is installed. He had to cut half of the rear Billstein shock mount and cut off part of both U-bolt plates. the fore and aft bar was parralel to the ground when it was on the lift and now tips forward about 30 degrees. In the directions, it says to maintain the vehicles weight on the wheels. I guess that he didn't read that part. I also found that one of my front Billsteins had pulled through in the front and was just hanging there. Just on a short ride, the difference is just short of amazing. I hated the way the vehicle waddled around. it feels tight and stable with zero wandering at speeds up to 55. I can't wait to get it on the highway. I installed the Putco tubular grille and the Sterling emblem myself. The emblem is a direct replacement for the Ford. Even the pins line up perfectly. I looks good. I don't know whether to bring it back tomorrow and have him try to make the fore and aft bar parralel or not. It certainly seems to work and there is no reference to parralel in the Helwig directions, which are confusing at best. I'm going to order the grille side pieces tonight. It is a very well made product and looks sharp.

 

If he had to alter the kit you should have called Hellwig FIRST--sounds like he didn't know wtf he was doing. Their instructions say NO ALTERATIONS required--at least mine did--I'd call them anyway just to be safe.

 

He had to cut the Billstein shock mount. He cut the bottom end of the three hole u-bolt plate to make sure thae it didn't catch on anything. Any feelings about the angle of the fore to aft portion of the bar?