Anti Sway Bars?

[bduke23]

I was reading up on some 2.3 engine mods on the web, and came across the mention of putting in anti sway bars. Seems like a good idea to me, what do you guys think? Does my ranger have them already? Its an 86 2wd reg cab shortbox. Normally I would just go look.... but its raining and miserable out . I'm guessing that it doesn't. What vehicles would I be able to grab front and rear ones off of at the junkyard for a bolt on fit? Did BII's have them? Off of newer rangers perhaps?

Here is the link to the website:
http://www.cadvision.com/blanchas/Ranger/index.html

The part about the sway bars is at the very bottom. All in all, I found this to be a good informative site with some good ideas. I already had the egr disabled, and the previous owner cut out the cat. I plan on putting in the electric fan though for sure.

 

[srteach]

Some do have them, some don't. Look under the front end to see if you can trace a solid bar from the right suspension to the left suspension. It will probably attach to the frame in the area under the radiator through rubber bushings and have short attachment bars with bushings on the ends. If you have one, you can firm up the sway bar by replacing all the rubber bushings with rubber or (for rougher use) polyurethane.

The rear bar (if there is one) will be a solid bar with a large rook around the differential case in the axle. Replace the rubber here as well.

 

[firedup]

Some do some dont and some have larger or smaller sway bars than others. The larger the bar the flatter it will corner. In my experience its better to get a larger anti sway bar than harder bushings for the sake of driver comfort. And urathane bushings tend to squeek. Softer bushings will deflect and make the truck not jerk so hard over bumps. You can get sway bar off the rear of a Bronco 2 that will bolt right on your truck. Ford makes stock front anti sway bars as large as 1" in diameter which is plenty sufficient. You can probably find what you need at any wrecking yard.

 

[robertc1024]

My front one on an '88 is 1 1/8" diameter - but the part that mounts to the frame is behind the motor. The two "arms" that mount to the suspension point forwards.

 

[AllanD]

Yea, Except on the '87-88 STX models all Rangers up to the end of '88
used a sway bar mounted BEHIND the axle.

It's literally mounted inside the "channel" in the middle of the radius arm crossmember
and monted to the insides of the radius arms.

the "ends" are clamped in a U-bolt that backs up the triangular brace
for the lower shock mount (The U-bolt replaces the simple bolt plate
that's on your truck now)

On an early 2wd truck it makes a HUGE difference.

This type of swabar is actually easier to install on a Gen1, because a gen
on lacks the brackets at the front of the beams to mount the endlinks to....


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[heptofite]

i thought that goofy looking crossmember in front of the pitman arm occupied the same real estate as a front mounted sway bar, and you could just remove it and install a B2 sway bar.

 

[AllanD]

i thought that goofy looking crossmember in front of the pitman arm occupied the same real estate as a front mounted sway bar, and you could just remove it and install a B2 sway bar.

Sure.... IF there was somthing to attach the endlinks to...

Simply mounting the bar to the frame is only half the job

There is no exsisting factory bracket that allows for end link mounts on the beams for a front mounted bar on a 2wd Gen1

If OTOH the OP was willing to swap in Gen2 front beams...

Those usually have the end link brackets on the beams.

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[heptofite]

what about gen 1 b2 beams?

i tore the front end off a gen 1 b2, and the end-link mounts were on the beams.

 

[AllanD]

2wd Bronco2 beams?

Yeah, they'd have the sway bar brackets, but lack the threaded pillars
to properly mount the brackets (which mount to the vertical bolt for the
radius arm and to the front of the beam)

he could use the whole beams only if he wants the truck to sit at 4x4 ride height.
Bronco2 beams are different.

It's FAR easier to use the rear mounted bar.

Frankly if he wants a corner carver 2wd truck I'd go the extra mile, install 1995-97 beams, knuckles and brakes (they are the better two-piston brakes)
then go hunting for an '87-89 STX High Rider to steal it's unique front sway bar

the '87-89 STX front mount bar is a 1-1/8" bar which while the same thickness
as the '83-87 rear mount bars is actually stiffer because it has shorter moment arms.

Sway bar theory 101:
what makes a bar stiffer?
1)Larger diameter
2)Shorter torsion section (the space between the two fixed mounts)
3)Shorter acting arms

Obviously the opposite of any of these three makes the bar softer.

On the rear mount bar it's nice and thick and it's got a short working section,
but the arms that work the bar are effectively the ENTIRE pivot length
of the radius arms.

The STX front mount is about 6" longer in the working section but
the arm length is well less than half as long.

Reducing body roll comes at a price however
while reduced roll inspires confidence it actually costs you lateral traction
particularly on rough surfaces.

this is best expressed with an old saying, "The stiff end slides first"

so a really stiff bar will help you corner "flat" but will make the truck understeer more.

BUT it will also allow you to run a stiffer rear bar without driving like
a slide car on ice.

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[heptofite]

I'm only asking so much because i'm getting an 86 in a few days and i want to sway bar it.

what kind of bar did the GT's use?

 

[bduke23]

This is sure getting complicated. No I don't want to swap in any different front beams. Let me get this straight... a rear sway bar is easy to swap in from a b2 or a ranger with one, while the front sway bar needs some extra work because there is nowhere to mount it to? Will installing just a rear one help any, or do they both need to be installed?

 

[superds]

This is sure getting complicated. No I don't want to swap in any different front beams. Let me get this straight... a rear sway bar is easy to swap in from a b2 or a ranger with one, while the front sway bar needs some extra work because there is nowhere to mount it to? Will installing just a rear one help any, or do they both need to be installed?

No. Install only one. There just were two different mounting locations through different model years and options.

 

[bduke23]

Ok, so only the front or rear needs to be installed. Just curious, is it okay to have both? Would a rear bar help the rear grip more in a turn, or the front? I am not interested in turning my truck into any kind of street machine, I have an unquenchable urge to tinker with everything I own. Mainly interested to help the truck ride a little better through a normal turn

 

[superds]

Ok, so only the front or rear needs to be installed. Just curious, is it okay to have both? Would a rear bar help the rear grip more in a turn, or the front? I am not interested in turning my truck into any kind of street machine, I have an unquenchable urge to tinker with everything I own. Mainly interested to help the truck ride a little better through a normal turn

Ok, I think I misunderstood what you were asking. You can put both a front and rear anti-swaybar on a vehicle. One for the front suspension and one for the rear suspension.

On certain models the front swaybar was mounted in front of the front suspension while on other years/models the swaybar was mounted behind the front suspension.

 

[robertc1024]

bduke - sure, it's ok to have both, it's just what you want your vehicle to do. Sway bar stiffness increases by a square of the diameter and linearly by the length - like Allan D was talking about earlier. I think that if you put a big, fat front bar in, your truck would be tail-happy. If you put in a big fat back bar in, it would make it plow. I'm not enough of an expert to dial it in and would personally go with the factory stuff for a particular weight distribution.