Which factory rear sway bar is better? the one that is flat all the way across, or the one that follows the rear end more?
Rear stock sway bar
- Thread starter mbartell
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I prefer the one that's straight. Don't really have a solid engineering reason, but I feel more comfortable with the torsional load distributed across the whole length of the bar. I just have a suspicion that the "bent" bar distributes the torsional load unevenly, considering a slight lever arm near the center. My guess is that it was a production change to save some time in warranty repairs. Early 7.5 rears had a poor warranty repair history. The pinion shaft locking bolt would break, and the pinion shaft would move out of position, sometimes with catastrophic results. Removing the sway bar added to the labor time in the repair. After 35 years experience with GM Dealers, solutions like bending the sway bar strictly to reduce repair time wouldn't seem unusual to me. In reality the difference is probably trivial, but I had a choice when I got a rear bar for my Camino, so I went with my preference.
Bill
Bill
I just removed the one the follows the rear and went to the straight one. Why? It is much easier and safer to jack the rear of the car up under the housing. You can do that with the flat bar. The other one goes under the housing so it's right in the way of where you want to put the jack. As far as performance........who knows?
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