swaybars?

[Rusty_S85]

Im looking at maybe installing swaybars on my '82 F150, I got the OE part numbers for the front but I am curious, would it benefit my flareside to add the rear bar as well? all my vehicles have no rear swaybars but my '78 Mercury and not sure if its something I would need.

Also I found some aftermarket kits, they are 1 1/8" bars, does anyone know what the OE swaybar size was? I don't want to go too large and hinder my ride quality especially considering I am going to be adding a 2 1/2" taller front coil spring to level my truck out.

[Rembrant]

Factory swaybars are 7/8", front and rear. My '84 2wd Flareside came with none. I bought both front and rear bars to install, but have so far only installed the rear bar. The front is ready to install, I just haven't gotten to it yet. The reason I've waited so long to do the front was because I couldn't find the proper brackets that go under the springs, but I do finally have them now. They are on my to do list. Hopefully soon.

I've found even with just the rear bar a big difference over having one at all.

[FuzzFace2]

Factory swaybars are 7/8", front and rear. My '84 2wd Flareside came with none. I bought both front and rear bars to install, but have so far only installed the rear bar. The front is ready to install, I just haven't gotten to it yet. The reason I've waited so long to do the front was because I couldn't find the proper brackets that go under the springs, but I do finally have them now. They are on my to do list. Hopefully soon.

I've found even with just the rear bar a big difference over having one at all.

It is strange the bars are the same size front & rear?

For cars most of the time the front is larger of the 2 bars.

Also if you have a front bar and add a rear the front should go larger, again for cars.

I would like to add front & rear bars but finding the front frame & spring mounts will be the hard part and why I have not looked into it more.

Dave ----

[Rembrant]

It is strange the bars are the same size front & rear?

For cars most of the time the front is larger of the 2 bars.

Also if you have a front bar and add a rear the front should go larger, again for cars.

I would like to add front & rear bars but finding the front frame & spring mounts will be the hard part and why I have not looked into it more.

Dave ----

I should clarify...in my answer I was referring only to 2wd half tons, but all I've ever seen or found on both 2wd and 4x4 F150's were 7/8" bars. I believe there are larger bars on the F250's and up, or possibly on F150's with HD options like for towing or snow plowing...I'm not 100% sure.

For guys like me with the newer Bullnoses (with 8.8 rear diff) the rear bars are easier to find since they were the same up through 1996 (and more commonly found post Bullnose era).

The front bars are out there, but finding the brackets under the springs is the hard part. The Bullnose brackets are Bullnose specific, and around here they never ever get removed because of the rust on junked vehicles. Ever try to remove the long bolt that holds the spring to the beam when the threads are all rusted?...lol.

I was told that the 7/8" bars are all the same, even between 2wd and 4x4, so finding them is not so difficult. Finding the hardware and brackets to mount them is the harder part. The end links and bushings are no problem...they are all available aftermarket.

 

[Rembrant]

It is strange the bars are the same size front & rear?

For cars most of the time the front is larger of the 2 bars.

Also if you have a front bar and add a rear the front should go larger, again for cars.

I would like to add front & rear bars but finding the front frame & spring mounts will be the hard part and why I have not looked into it more.

Dave ----

I should clarify...in my answer I was referring only to 2wd half tons, but all I've ever seen or found on both 2wd and 4x4 F150's were 7/8" bars. I believe there are larger bars on the F250's and up, or possibly on F150's with HD options like for towing or snow plowing...I'm not 100% sure.

For guys like me with the newer Bullnoses (with 8.8 rear diff) the rear bars are easier to find since they were the same up through 1996 (and more commonly found post Bullnose era).

The front bars are out there, but finding the brackets under the springs is the hard part. The Bullnose brackets are Bullnose specific, and around here they never ever get removed because of the rust on junked vehicles. Ever try to remove the long bolt that holds the spring to the beam when the threads are all rusted?...lol.

I was told that the 7/8" bars are all the same, even between 2wd and 4x4, so finding them is not so difficult. Finding the hardware and brackets to mount them is the harder part. The end links and bushings are no problem...they are all available aftermarket.

Feast your eyes on this!

http://www.garysgaragemahal.com/sway-bar.html

[FuzzFace2]

Feast your eyes on this!

http://www.garysgaragemahal.com/sway-bar.html

For the rear looks like I would need the 80/82 for the 9" rear axle and all the hardware.

I know the front hardware can be a hard to come by.

And yes I have undone that long bolt when I redid the front suspension, did it 2 times and I took it apart on the parts truck also to mix n match good parts.

Maybe one day when not looking it will all fall into my lap

Dave ----

[Rusty_S85]

Factory swaybars are 7/8", front and rear. My '84 2wd Flareside came with none. I bought both front and rear bars to install, but have so far only installed the rear bar. The front is ready to install, I just haven't gotten to it yet. The reason I've waited so long to do the front was because I couldn't find the proper brackets that go under the springs, but I do finally have them now. They are on my to do list. Hopefully soon.

I've found even with just the rear bar a big difference over having one at all.

Ok so then no aftermarket for me, aftermarket is 1 1/8" which is too big of a jump over OE stock, will ride very stiff going that large. We have a '84 F150 long wheelbase extended cab truck at work that we might be parting out cause we did a 351M motor in it 2 years ago now and we cant get the owner to pay nor come and get it. Going to look under it see if it has swaybar stuff if it does then I will rob off as much as I can before we crush the truck.

I do want to do the front at the very least, not sure if the rear will also help or not. but I got a list of OE part numbers for a 2wd F150 and got them saved on ebay incase the parts get posted one day as NOS.

I just know I wont be doing it anytime soon. Still got to get the engine, transmission and axle taken care of first then my plan is front and rear coil springs, while I have the front springs off I would want to throw on the end link piece while I am there and install the front swaybar.

[Rusty_S85]

For the rear looks like I would need the 80/82 for the 9" rear axle and all the hardware.

I know the front hardware can be a hard to come by.

And yes I have undone that long bolt when I redid the front suspension, did it 2 times and I took it apart on the parts truck also to mix n match good parts.

Maybe one day when not looking it will all fall into my lap

Dave ----

Can always do like I do and do a ebay search for the part numbers and save the search. get a email and a text when a new listing is posted for said part number.

I also have the 9" rear axle as well on my truck but its OE. need to get the rear leaf springs as well as the front leaf springs. I figure ill cross the bridge when I get to it on the front swaybar end links as I don't know if the swaybar will fit properly with a 2 1/2" lift in the front to level the truck out with the new leaf springs in the back.

Then I might just forgo it all for now as I know the parts are hard to find.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Ok so then no aftermarket for me, aftermarket is 1 1/8" which is too big of a jump over OE stock, will ride very stiff going that large. We have a '84 F150 long wheelbase extended cab truck at work that we might be parting out cause we did a 351M motor in it 2 years ago now and we cant get the owner to pay nor come and get it. Going to look under it see if it has swaybar stuff if it does then I will rob off as much as I can before we crush the truck.

I do want to do the front at the very least, not sure if the rear will also help or not. but I got a list of OE part numbers for a 2wd F150 and got them saved on ebay incase the parts get posted one day as NOS.

I just know I wont be doing it anytime soon. Still got to get the engine, transmission and axle taken care of first then my plan is front and rear coil springs, while I have the front springs off I would want to throw on the end link piece while I am there and install the front swaybar.

Wow, that seems crazy.

In CT 90 days after completion of work you file a mechanics line.

DMV notifies the owner and 30 days past that they send you the title.

Then you can sell the vehicle to recover costs or even make a profit.

[Rusty_S85]

Wow, that seems crazy.

In CT 90 days after completion of work you file a mechanics line.

DMV notifies the owner and 30 days past that they send you the title.

Then you can sell the vehicle to recover costs or even make a profit.

Yep but boss doesn't like doing that cause its money out of his pocket and in this case the truck isn't worth much to sell as the truck is not in the best of shape. the column is all busted up interior is trashed, body and exhaust is bad. Engine is the most valuable aspect to it.

Im trying to nudge him towards doing the paperwork and lets strip it down and sell the engine for the cost of the engine and sell some of the better parts and scrap the rest.