Sway bar question/Front suspension -- 82 F100
 

I'm about to do a front-end rebuild on my F100 2WD. Coil springs, ball joints, and all 4 tie rod ends.

I figured while I had it apart, why not go ahead and upgrade it as well.

I found a set of sway bars, F and R, off a 95 F150 2WD at a local junk yard for $35 a piece.

My mostly stock 4700GVWR F100 has 5x4.5 lug pattern, power discs up front, and no sway bars.

Does anyone know if the 'bars off the 95 truck will be a direct bolt on to mine?

Thanks in advance.

yes, the bars are bars are bars. Are you sure you have ball joints (using the stamped steel I-beam crap) vs king pins (using the forged I-beam crap)

I used a set of 90 bars (same gen as the 95) on my 81 (same gen as your 82 - if you have king pins)

also, if you do have kingpins, the 5 on 4.5 trucks use a smaller pin (like .860 ish vs 1.something ish)

Thanks for the quick response Quaddriver!

I believe mine is the stamped I-beams. Isn't 82 the year Ford went to stamped I-beams?

Autozone and Advance auto parts websites call for ball joints rather than kingpins on my truck.

And I went to the junkyard that told me they had the 'bars during lunch, and they actually didn't have them. So I didn't get a chance to look at a complete setup on another truck for comparison to mine.

:banghead: No U-Pull-its around here. All the yards require escorts etc.

I've got calls into three other yards. I will see what turns up.

82 is the model year but there was some crossover. and it matters if your truck said 'eh' (canadian)

do u have the bars yet or not? not to advertise, but I have a set Id dump for a lot less...pm me.

for the front bar, the big thing is to get the correct mounting for the 'commas' on the front bar. IIRC, the 4x4 is the same 'height' as the stamped TTB axle, so that may work as well.

also, the front bar bolts to the very front 'crossmember/dropmember' (its different than a true cross member) - you need one drilled with the holes to take these semi-trangluar plates that the bushing strap bolts to. get that as well (I also have a dropmember, but no triangular plates - they are easier to get off a junk truck than the member due to rust and clearance)

Well, another junkyard called me back. They have the front bar plus all mounting hardware. I will go there tomorrow afternoon for that.

I will make extra sure to get the 'dropmember' and the 'triangular plates' you mention.

I would be interested in a rear bar if you have one complete...

My truck is indeed Canadian eh. It's stamped with that all over the place.

It has the 9" rear end as well.

When I figure out how to PM I will get that to you.

Thanks again

I'm an idiot for I cannot seem to locate the PM feature as described in the forum FAQ. If you would be so kind as to PM me, then I can reply with the relevant info.

I appreciate your input and offering to hook me up with some parts at a fair price!

I believe members cannot PM until they have 25 or more posts.

I see, well then I need to get my post count up.

:lol:

I have the rear, the axle mounts and 4x4 link pins. you can either bend the link pins to be 4x2 (questionable practice) or get 4x2 ones (check em out in the yard and you will see how they mount) if u cant pm me, email me from the aol id on my profile

Here is my email: rshroyer@bellsouth.net

Once I hear from you I will edit this post.

I would like to take the rear bar/mounting hardware off your hands.

Unfortunately none of the junkyards around here have an intact truck with a rear bar installed. The place I'm going today has the bar, but they sold the rear end out of truck (86 F150 2WD), but they may have the end links. I will check.

I noticed on some newer models that the rear bar attaches to pre-fabbed plates welded to the rear end housing. like this one from EBAy:

The only decent pic I could find via google is this 77 Bronco. does yours look similar, espeically the way it attaches to the rear axle?

http://www.frontiernet.net/%7Ejmray9...SwayBar-11.JPG

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/92-96...Q5fAccessories



Here's one on ebay from a mid-90s model, that shows the factory welded/molded plates on the 8.8 rear end.

never mind. upon closer inspection and with a cup of coffee in me, I see that they are bolted on.

So if I can get the 2WD endlinks somewhere I will be good to go. Hopefully the place I'm going for the front bar today will have those.

I had a huge post on this that got lost??? dang, and I typed a lot! oh well...

In case anyone's interested...

I got a front bar, mount plates, spring seats, and crossmember for $50 from a non-upullit junkyard.

The good thing is that when I got home and started poking around, I realized that my stock, non-swaybar equipped truck's front cross member (located just behind the front bumper) was already pre-drilled for the sway bar mount plates.

The thrashed cross member that the 'yard gave me off the donor truck won't be needed. Mine is in perfect shape.

I go back to the same place on Tuesday to pick up the rear bar.

Both bars came off a 86 F150 2WD.

Now I will sand and paint all the stuff, and begin buying the new parts for the front end rebuild.

I'm excited to get this done. Thanks for all the help and advice Quaddriver!

:-dancing1

I think they might all be factory predrilled (more likely punched) as my x-member is like that too. One of the PO's had smacked into something and it was bent like a banana...

Just curious as to why you think you need a swaybar in the first place?

cuz as a matter of rote my 90 4x4 can snake thru turns (safely) at speeds that most guys in 'sports cars' wont attempt to keep up at. Now I am under no illusion that an F150 4x4 with bars and great summer tires would pull more than .75-.77G but most people bail long before they get there.

and on my 81 4x2, it was night and day.