Agreed, the ride is 100x improved, we overall love the upgrade. I think the rear 2.0 valving is a bit light (bouncy) and would benefit from a little more rebound.
Sorry, I wasn't staring at it when it bent :) My "guess" is the sway bar moved in the bushings on extension, and then decided to not move on compression, and the link was the weak point.
NADA. You will bend the link that remains attached, BTDT, and got to purchase a new end link.
Better to remove both and tie the links to the bar for day trips. For multi-day events, removing the bar entirely takes a minute with an impact (4 bolts). That will be our plan in the future.
Our OBX...
The front sway bar isn't really needed for "normal" daily driving and is a definite hindrance offroad. We removed ours entirely in Ouray a couple weeks back. My wife drove 7+ hours home today at 80mph without it, no issues.
Where it DOES come into play is emergency avoidance....ie: two deer...
We have the 2.0 Eibach lift, set almost as low as possible. The rear shocks are a bit light on rebound, but overall the trail/street ride is great, far better than stock. IMO, too soft for aggressive/speed driving.
I keep forgetting to contact Eibach and see what I can do to adjust the shim...
I have everything dropped to less than 4 thread turns, so almost as low it they can go. Still allowing it to settle, and the front bumper will be going on today so a bit more adjustment will be needed. About 2" of rear lift, a bit more in front to reduce the rake.
I cheat and have a full hobby...
I just installed the Stage2 Eibach on our 2023 OBX 4dr 2.3 (non-SAS) along with 34"/295 Milestar XT's on powerdercoated OEM OBX wheels. Daily driving is a night/day improvement, the suspension absorbs the road far better (ran a week with just the 34's to compare).
I have the adjusters threaded...
Curious if you've tried no front sway bar, and keeping the rear.
That's how my FZJ80 is now (solid axles however), and how most rockcrawler or Ultra4 comp rigs with sway bars are set up. Granted, the Bronco is a completely different animal than either of those, but it woiuld be a worthwhile...
My 1996 Land Cruiser FZJ80 also scored 780.
Zero chance of getting the same articulation numbers out of IFS. Good comparison numbers however, and not surprised the Raptor scored the best.