Anti-Sway Bar Removal
Edit: I ended up putting the anti sway bar back on before my summer of 2010 trip through Labrador. Although it significantly improved off road handling, the combination of adding a camper and knowing that I travel 99% on road (paved and gravel) made replacing it the best choice.
The great weather and the arrival of Overland Journal gave me the motivation to work on my truck. Time to take the anti-sway bar off. I've wanted to do this for a while. BCJC removed his about a month ago with good trail results. I wanted to do the same but in the process take some precise measurements along with some before and after pictures. This is what I did.
I used a set of ramps that were about 6 inches high. I put one behind my passenger side rear wheel and one behind my driver's side front wheel. I did this so that I could simultaneously look at and measure compression (drivers side) and extension (passenger side) in the front. Basically seeing how level the front of the truck was before and after removal of sway bar. I also wanted to look at something that caught my eye in the back.
Measurements taken from ground to fender flare at center line of tire.
Here are the results:
With anti-sway bar
Drivers side (tire up on ramp) 42.25 inches
Passenger side (tire on ground) 38.5 inches
A difference of 3.75 inches
Without anti-sway bar
Driver's side 41.5 inches
Passenger side 39.25 inches
A difference of 2.25 inches
Somebody check my math but I believe this means the trucks front end is sitting 40% more level without the anti-sway bar. (2.25 being 40% less then 3.75)
Before anti-sway bar removal
After anti-sway bar removal
I'll be doing some trail, highway and mall testing in the morning but the "driveway test" makes it look like it was worth the effort.
This is what caught my eye in the back.
picture taken on drivers side but both sides are the same
Notice the tire scuff on the plastic. I can live with that but the red metal flange sticking out will need to be ground down about .25 to .5 inches. I can tell it has made contact at some point because the paint is rubbed off.
This is what it looks like stuffed from underneath on the passenger side. Notice the leaf spring isn't up to the bump stop yet.
There is very little room between the tire and the flange. You can just see a sliver of light passing through. I'll save this project for another day.