Has anyone looked at their rear sway bar bushings before?

[RangerJoey]

Hi Guys,

I was replacing the end link bushings in the rear and figured I'd take off the actual sway bar bushings, (that attach on the axle), while I was at it. Was going smoothly enough until I went to remove the rear sway bar bushings. These things look bulkier than the Moog replacements. Fine, whatever. But I noticed there's no split to get these things off. AND there's a slight curve where it attaches to the axle and a weird metal fastener there too.

I started to take a hacksaw to split them and swap the new guys in, but now I'm second-guessing myself. Were these supposed to last the life of the truck or something? I took some pics but need to upload/post for better reference. In the meantime, has anyone had any experience with the rear sway bar bushings before? For what it's worth, it's a 99 4WD.

 

[scotts90ranger]

The factory ones are pushed over the ends of the bar down to where they go, so that's normal... I haven't looked at a RBV rear sway bar in a while, it's been a while since I've had the rear of an Explorer apart since neither Ranger I've had has a rear bar...

 

[gaz]

@RangerJoey,

Any pics would be neat, I've never seen a factory rear anti-sway set up.

 

[RangerJoey]

Got to grab some more pics from the camera, but finally uploading from my phone. I only have some closeups of the underside of the bushings that attach to the axle, (please ignore where I was about to hacksaw through).
And thanks Scott! I knew I wasn't crazy. It's just so odd these aren't split bushings. I'd love to just slide them off, but no way these babies will make it over the eye where the bar attaches to the endlinks. Which has me thinking: how did they get them on in the first place? The second pic kind of shows an inner part that would roughly measure out to the same diameter as the eyelet. So is that metal nail just holding those two pieces together? This is like a ship in a bottle scenario





Gaz, I can grab the other photos if interested in the whole setup. I have the bed off so really easy angles/clear views.

 

[gaz]

@RangerJoey , I can see now what you.were describing. Thank you fir the pics .)

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

What metal nail? If it is the round thing on the flat part you are refering to that is just rubber that got squished into a hole in the axle bracket.



Mine slid pretty freely on the sway bar, they were old/hard enough they couldn't quite do the corner to fully get off but the would move around.

 

[RangerJoey]

You sir, are totally correct! Looking at the rust around those "nails" led me to think they were some sort of fastener that connected an inner bushing to the main bushing, (the second photo kind of shows that smaller circle inside the sway bar bushing). But you're right on point. Took a magnet to it and nothing. That poked it and was able to pierce it like... like rubber

 

[RangerJoey]

Just updating to what should've been a hour job that's now pushing a week or so and met with another issue.

In this article, towards the bottom, it mentions rear sway bars from 93-97 were mostly 5/8". Unfortunately, no mention of post-97. The Moog replacements (K201284) list an inner diameter of 1/2 inch. Since a lot Rangers didn't seem to come equipped with sway bars, it didn't surprise me that Ford likely saw them as unnecessary and shed some weight/size on those trucks that did get them. So wrong. Thought it was weird I had a heck of a struggle sliding these guys over the bar....




That's when I finally found my old harbor freight caliper and did what I should've done in the first place:


So moral of the story: measure before buying anything! Now the struggle is finding the bushings for a 16mm/ 5/8" sway bar. They definitely seem more elusive than a left-handed unicorn

 

[cbxer55]

My 98 didn't have a rear when I bought in in early 2000. I was going to be towing a fairly heavy trailer from CA to OK in 2002, and wanted the truck as stable as possible. So I installed a Hellwig rear bar at that time. I definitely noticed the difference. In 2015, I noticed while the front tires were off, there were four missing bushings on the front end links .At that time, I replaced all the end links and frame bushings, even on the Hellwig, with Energy Suspension parts from Auto Zone. Nice thing is they now all have zerk fittings. Did the same on the front and rear bars on my 04 LIGHTNING. The fronts were bad on it as well.

 

[RangerJoey]

When you bought that Hellwig, did it include bushings already? I'm having a heck of a time tracking anything down for the 5/8 "stock" Ranger size. It seems like no one makes bushings for the 93-97 generation, (the one the article mentioned uses a 5/8 bar), and the only other options seem to be Universal 16mm bushings.

Thing is, I can find the original Ford part, (E7TZ-5493-A), but they're one piece design. It'd just seem counterintuitive to cut a new bushing, (no way my hacksaw blade is as narrow as the pre-slotted bushings).

 

[cbxer55]

Sorry for the delayed response. I didn't get a notification that you posted since you didn't use the quote function. Yes, the Hellwig came with bushings when I bought it in 2002. And they also needed to be replaced in 2015 when I did all the others. That's why the pics I posted show all red bushings. Those are Energy Suspension bushings purchased at Vato Zone.

 

[RangerJoey]

Thanks for following up! I'm betting you went the better route. Given the size of the stock bar, (16mm), I was stuck looking for universal bushings. There are some out there, but I just had a feeling they weren't what I was looking for. Like thing a small compact car. Usually when the inner diameter is that small, the body of the bushings is pretty small too. So I pulled the trigger on tracking down some new/old stock Motorcrafts. I greased those babies up and even compressed them with locking clamps to force the circle into an oval in an attempt to slide them over the eye holes on the sway bar. Tons of cussing later, no dice. In the end, I did have to cut them. But I used a new razor blade and a lot of downforce to basically "push" the blade through and avoid removing much material.

Not sure if it'll help anyone searching the forums, but if someone is foolish enough to not get a Hellwig and put a lot of money into old Ford parts, (they were around $25 each), be sure you measure the inner diameter before cutting. On a Harbor Freight caliper, they came out to .551", (about 14mm), compared to the Moogs that sit at .50".

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Thanks for following up! I'm betting you went the better route. Given the size of the stock bar, (16mm), I was stuck looking for universal bushings. There are some out there, but I just had a feeling they weren't what I was looking for. Like thing a small compact car. Usually when the inner diameter is that small, the body of the bushings is pretty small too. So I pulled the trigger on tracking down some new/old stock Motorcrafts. I greased those babies up and even compressed them with locking clamps to force the circle into an oval in an attempt to slide them over the eye holes on the sway bar. Tons of cussing later, no dice. In the end, I did have to cut them. But I used a new razor blade and a lot of downforce to basically "push" the blade through and avoid removing much material.

Not sure if it'll help anyone searching the forums, but if someone is foolish enough to not get a Hellwig and put a lot of money into old Ford parts, (they were around $25 each), be sure you measure the inner diameter before cutting. On a Harbor Freight caliper, they came out to .551", (about 14mm), compared to the Moogs that sit at .50".

Ranger (and BII) bars vary in diameter depending on configuration and vintage.

I have the later 5/8" rear bar on mine because it is all I could find at the time and I love it. Handles great on the road both empty up to carrying my slide in camper. And then it still has decent articulation offroad (I do disconnect the front sway bar)

 

[holyford86]

I'd just run the half inch bushings, they'll wear in over time