So I was messing around with them last night and decided to stop by my grandpa's office to have them cut them and weld them back together for me. My uncle eddies did a nice job of welding them together and they are probably stonger then before since we ground them to a point and filled them in with the mig welder.


I measured my truck and I cut out 3 1/4 inches and that should be about right for me.


Also, on my way to my office I saw this guy and had to take a picture of his cobra, what a shame.
But on the bright side I think I found a new wing for richy rich. HEHEHEHEHEHE

 

This might be a dumb question, but what does cutting down your rear sway bar end link do?


haha, that wing is funny, and the yellow tires, but the burnout would be neat!

 

Hell look at the person's hair that is driving that thing.... LOL!!!

 

Shortening the rear sway bar end links is done to compensate for the different ride height of the truck when using these aftermarket lowerig kits.

 

When you lower your truck you need to shorten the sway bar end links the same amount as the drop kit in front and back so you ratain the handling ability that the sway bars provide.

Don't feel bad, I didn't know either until chickn and jay where talking about it one day. I've been driving around for 1.5 years nows with stock end links and the truck handled better with a 3/4 drop in it, so now I can't wait to see what it does with the correct end links on there.


Rich: That kids hair was like a pinapple with the points and he must have used glue to hold it together (I know people who do).

On a side not, the cobra did have a nice sounding borla exhaust on it, but its a rice mobile in my eyes with that wing on the back.

 

Would you still need to cut the sway bar links for a 2" rear drop ?

 

Yep.

 

Don't forget to also note that the temp that day was 50 degrees or lower. So Mr. Spikey hair had the top down showing off and was freezing his *** off.

 

50? I know you live just north of me, but its a sweet 60 to 62 degrees out by me and that sun is making it feel hotter then ever now! Its about time.

 

Thanks, I had no idea. It looks like they got a very nice weld on thier. You can see where it burnt the paint off a good way's.

 

RTKILLA,

Thanks for remembering me but I've already done mine. I didn't have my camera with me at the time so I didn't make pics. The only difference, on mine, was that I ground them down to a point and welded them like you did, but I also welded a short sleeve over them too (maybe overkill). Nevertheless, I think yours look real good and will work great.

I just got back from the alignment shop, I used the SVT specs for the alignment. It feels real good, no body roll that I can feel but I need to get out of town and give it a real tryout!

Tim

 

I just got done cleaning them up with a wire wheel and brush so I could paint them. First coat of paint was just applied so hopefully they will be done in about 2 hours, atleast enough for me to bring them home anyway.

I was thinking about sleaving them like you said cause I think you or jay said to do that, but after welding them they looked more then strong enough to get the job done. I haven't had a chance to drive my truck in a long long time so hopefully once this tranny is installed I'll get my chance to tear it up now.

Do you think it handles better then we you had just a drop kit on the truck with the stock end links, and how much different? I'm curious to see what its going to feel like.

 

Mr. RT,

I didn't drive mine lowered with the stock links. It's a long story why, and I know I should have, so I could know and feel the difference.

I can say this already, with my limited driving time since the installation of the 3/4 kit and shorter swaybar links, It's feels more stable in turns. Before, when it was stock, it felt like the rear was looser and now it feels more neutral. It could be due to the lowered center of gravity or a combination of both, meaning, the shorter swaybar links in combination with the drop.

We'll know more as time goes on. I haven't had a chance to REALLY throw it into a hard turn without worrying about traffic and such.

Thanks again, good pics.

Tim

 

check out this spoiler too...

 

Chickenears (and anyone else who does the end-link thing),

Before you go buy the bigger aftermarket swaybars, try the stockers before and after the end-link installation. The stockers are not exactly puny by any means. After I did mine, I didn't feel the need to get the bigger bars. I also noticed that because the swaybars were doing their job (and then some!) that I didn't really need super-duper shocks or springs, either. Now if I were seriously autocrossing- going for extreme performance. . .that's a diffrent story. Go with the biggest baddest parts you can find and hope you got enough.

If at all possible, drive the vehicle before and after. You will be amazed at the diffrence that 2" of endlink length makes on the effectiveness of the swaybar.

Oh- the sleeve over the weld isn't overkill at all. Think of the amount of force that gets transmitted through those links during a 65+ mph decreasing radius turn (remembering how much these trucks weigh) and you will see why it's almost mandatory. The picture that was posted of the unsleeved units looked to have a fairly beefy weld job, and for the street it's probably more than adequate, though.

It makes me happy to see everyone digging in and learning and working on their own vehicles. Reminds me of how the 87-93 Mustang croud used to be. I hope it stays this good for a long time.


Later,