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Manual Sway bar disconnects

Bronco1971

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Non-Badlands swaybar disconnect.

Ford Bronco Manual Sway bar disconnects SWAYBAR DISC
Ford Bronco {thread} {filename}


Very simple, takes under 5 minutes if you're prepared. Less time than it takes to air down.

13/16 socket, Ryobi 18v cordless impact and 4 zip ties. Remove bottom bolt of end link underside of LCA. It will take some effort to push the bar up for the end link to clear the LCA and rotate back against the swaybar. Zip tie it to the bar, I used two because I'm just that guy. Bailing wire would be better. The bar will not rotate on it's own, lots of bind in there. There are no touch marks after me stretching it pretty hard.

Functionally, there is a lot more roll on the street,... imagine that.
Ford Bronco {thread} {filename}
It does wallow around turning even moderately hard. That said, I drove it at 70 mph in crosswinds with wheel ruts. It's not as stable as with the bar, but not at all uncomfortable. I'd say that it still drives better than a solid front axle vehicle. Now that I think about it, the position sensitive Bills actually did a nice job with the bar gone. There is a lot more roll, but no more oscillations.

Off road the difference is profound. Seriously. I was seeking out the cross axle stuff and there's so much more articulation in the front that it more or less leaves the body flat(er). The overall traction is much, much better, overall download on all four corners is improved. In the spots where one front drops down before the other, the other front tucks up much, much farther, and it takes a a lot more to lift a rear. Stability and traction are massively improved. I would say the there's a good 5" difference in total motion. Interesting side note, I believe this actually reduced overall center clearance.

Reinstall, as seen above, definitely clean it out first as I'm sure all that shit will gall the hell out of the alloy LCA. Highly recommend doing this before tackling the tough trails, and I see no reason to spend $300 on a kit.
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redone17

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Non-Badlands swaybar disconnect.

Ford Bronco Manual Sway bar disconnects tongue
Ford Bronco {thread} {filename}


Very simple, takes under 5 minutes if you're prepared. Less time than it takes to air down.

13/16 socket, Ryobi 18v cordless impact and 4 zip ties. Remove bottom bolt of end link underside of LCA. It will take some effort to push the bar up for the end link to clear the LCA and rotate back against the swaybar. Zip tie it to the bar, I used two because I'm just that guy. Bailing wire would be better. The bar will not rotate on it's own, lots of bind in there. There are no touch marks after me stretching it pretty hard.

Functionally, there is a lot more roll on the street,... imagine that.
Ford Bronco Manual Sway bar disconnects tongue
It does wallow around turning even moderately hard. That said, I drove it at 70 mph in crosswinds with wheel ruts. It's not as stable as with the bar, but not at all uncomfortable. I'd say that it still drives better than a solid front axle vehicle. Now that I think about it, the position sensitive Bills actually did a nice job with the bar gone. There is a lot more roll, but no more oscillations.

Off road the difference is profound. Seriously. I was seeking out the cross axle stuff and there's so much more articulation in the front that it more or less leaves the body flat(er). The overall traction is much, much better, overall download on all four corners is improved. In the spots where one front drops down before the other, the other front tucks up much, much farther, and it takes a a lot more to lift a rear. Stability and traction are massively improved. I would say the there's a good 5" difference in total motion. Interesting side note, I believe this actually reduced overall center clearance.

Reinstall, as seen above, definitely clean it out first as I'm sure all that shit will gall the hell out of the alloy LCA. Highly recommend doing this before tackling the tough trails, and I see no reason to spend $300 on a kit.
The only side note is, and I’m sure it’s not detrimental, but - those nuts on the link at the LCA are single use only according to the service manual.
 

Bronco1971

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The only side note is, and I’m sure it’s not detrimental, but - those nuts on the link at the LCA are single use only according to the service manual.
I did not know that. Thanks. I am certain there is a solution to that, which I will look into.

Though, it's almost certainly not a mission critical component. If it fails catastrophically it's just a sway bar you're out.
 

kodiakisland

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Non-Badlands swaybar disconnect.

Ford Bronco Manual Sway bar disconnects tongue
Ford Bronco {thread} {filename}


Very simple, takes under 5 minutes if you're prepared. Less time than it takes to air down.

13/16 socket, Ryobi 18v cordless impact and 4 zip ties. Remove bottom bolt of end link underside of LCA. It will take some effort to push the bar up for the end link to clear the LCA and rotate back against the swaybar. Zip tie it to the bar, I used two because I'm just that guy. Bailing wire would be better. The bar will not rotate on it's own, lots of bind in there. There are no touch marks after me stretching it pretty hard.

Functionally, there is a lot more roll on the street,... imagine that.
Ford Bronco Manual Sway bar disconnects tongue
It does wallow around turning even moderately hard. That said, I drove it at 70 mph in crosswinds with wheel ruts. It's not as stable as with the bar, but not at all uncomfortable. I'd say that it still drives better than a solid front axle vehicle. Now that I think about it, the position sensitive Bills actually did a nice job with the bar gone. There is a lot more roll, but no more oscillations.

Off road the difference is profound. Seriously. I was seeking out the cross axle stuff and there's so much more articulation in the front that it more or less leaves the body flat(er). The overall traction is much, much better, overall download on all four corners is improved. In the spots where one front drops down before the other, the other front tucks up much, much farther, and it takes a a lot more to lift a rear. Stability and traction are massively improved. I would say the there's a good 5" difference in total motion. Interesting side note, I believe this actually reduced overall center clearance.

Reinstall, as seen above, definitely clean it out first as I'm sure all that shit will gall the hell out of the alloy LCA. Highly recommend doing this before tackling the tough trails, and I see no reason to spend $300 on a kit.

Mine have been zip tied up like that for a couple months now. I drive it like normal and don't even notice it's not connected, and it's a huge improvement offroad.

I'm not worried about those nuts. I mean, they're not even on right now, and when they are they aren't torqued to high amounts. I just run them on with my cordless wrench as tight as it goes and don't worry about it.
 

NVCowboy

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He added brackets to hold them up when disconnected. Originally came with Velcro straps.
Oh, good. I was wondering if there was some sort of subscription. For $x we’ll send you a new set of straps once a year for the next five years.

Used to run a rubber boot on my barefoot horses when I was in the rocks, and the Velcro definitely had a shelf life.
 

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Frankie945

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Only thing really bad about the heim joint style disconnects is over time they will start to make noise. I used quality heims and mine wore out in about 7 months. I’ve since put the factory ones back in till someone comes out with a better solution. I do miss the better ride offroad when I was disconnected. Before I added eibach springs I could drive without the sway bar but with these new springs being softer and higher than the factory ones the body roll is just way too much for me on the road.

Keep ‘em lubed up with some wd40 or 3 in 1 oil or they will seize up sooner than later down the road.
 

redone17

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Yeah, they are a bit noisy. I keep fluid film on them. It helps.
 

Bronco1971

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Mine have been zip tied up like that for a couple months now. I drive it like normal and don't even notice it's not connected, and it's a huge improvement offroad.

I'm not worried about those nuts. I mean, they're not even on right now, and when they are they aren't torqued to high amounts. I just run them on with my cordless wrench as tight as it goes and don't worry about it.
I'm probably going to forge a clamp with a thumb screw for the job, just because if it's worth doing, it's worth over-doing.

I now have it on good authority that the nuts can be re-used so long as they are torqued to spec, 165Nm. Which I believe means a 1/2" torque wrench and 13/16 impact socket needs to be added to the tool kit. The cordless impact isn't going to get anywhere near that tq.
 

redone17

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@DDraht - Just a little creaky - but once lubed up - they are fine. They come with a rubber 0-ring too. Make sure that is intact and not pulled off when detaching.
 

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jlh4480

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Hi all, thanks to those who have contributed in this thread.

Question, tonight I removed the lower nut, but am unable to push the swaybar up high enough to clear the LCA. If I understand correctly, you are actually pushing on the swaybar until the bolt clears, correct? Which would then allow the link to fold up and be zip tied.

What am I missing? FWIW, I'm not a small dude so I feel like I'm missing something.
 

kodiakisland

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Hi all, thanks to those who have contributed in this thread.

Question, tonight I removed the lower nut, but am unable to push the swaybar up high enough to clear the LCA. If I understand correctly, you are actually pushing on the swaybar until the bolt clears, correct? Which would then allow the link to fold up and be zip tied.

What am I missing? FWIW, I'm not a small dude so I feel like I'm missing something.
So the cheat here is raise one side with a Jack after removing both nuts and it comes out on its own. Not so easy if you are on the trail trying to do it, but easy at home. I have several inches of lift so mine is bound tight. Jack up the front on one side though and it comes right out.

I use the Jack in reverse to reinstall them. Again, very easy as it does all the work.

If you are having problems on the trail, remove nuts on level ground then position to flex one side and it should come out.

I reinstalled mine last week to get an alignment today. I’ll remove it tomorrow. I’ll try to grab a few pictures.
 
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jlh4480

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So the cheat here is raise one side with a Jack after removing both nuts and it comes out on its own. Not so easy if you are on the trail trying to do it, but easy at home. I have several inches of lift so mine is bound tight. Jack up the front on one side though and it comes right out.

I use the Jack in reverse to reinstall them. Again, very easy as it does all the work.

If you are having problems on the trail, remove nuts on level ground then position to flex one side and it should come out.

Thank you. Mine is also lifted so this make sense. I'm not sure I was ever going to get there with "me" power.
 

dj101nyc

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I have a 2021 BIG BEND and I put these on. I love them. It took a minute to figure out that I could disconnect at home instead of in the dirt before going on trail. It makes a much comfier ride off road and the Bronco can handle the streets and highways home so you can reconnect in your driveway or level surface. I mean I drove it the last month all over LA on road and high ways disconnected just to see what it was like and it was fine as long as I wasn't trying to take sharp turns in Sport Mode. Anyway... I've never had the e-disco. I'm sure its convenient. But this works just as well and Jeepers have been doing it for decades. Just remember to lubricate the links as needed. Send it!
Ford Bronco Manual Sway bar disconnects tongue
I'm considering the AC-Fab, but there is mention of some annoying sounds coming from the link, have you noticed any?
 

redone17

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I'm considering the AC-Fab, but there is mention of some annoying sounds coming from the link, have you noticed any?
That's normal with any metal on metal joint like that. Just keep it lubed and no noise. I personally use Fluid Film.
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