Front and Rear Sway Bars

[jhenegh]

So I picked up a pair of axles out of a '94 F350 4x4 to do a D60 swap in my '94 F250 and maybe eventually the rear axle too just for the bigger springs. Question is, the F350 axles have sway bars front and rear, and I think the correct frame brackets (got a box of brackets from seller) . My F250 currently does not have them front or rear. Are sway bars hard to add (holes already in frame)? What benefit would I see with them? What happens without them?

Thanks

 

[towcat]

are you sure you didn't buy parts off a F350 cab&chassis truck? fronts are the same as the pickup but the rear is a dffferent animal.

 

[jhenegh]

Seller was going to do a F250 swap till he sold his truck. Dude ran a body shop and saw the pickup these axles were removed from before removal so that an 06+ suspension could be installed. They're SRW. Not dually... I think the truck they came out of was a stroker but the front calipers aren't bolt on so they must be 94s I think.

 

[darkbluefoxbody2]

D60 front sway bar bolt right on any F250, bolt holes "Should" be there mine were. D60 sway bars are mount to the rear behind the axle, gasser F250 are too the front, "Some" F250 non a/c short wide radiator Diesel models had front sway bars too, only with short core support.
Rears are all the same

 

[wildman7798]

In general terms sway bars are nice to have over not having them. But they need to be in good shape to be most effective, good bushings on the bars and good rubber on the end links. They can even be enhanced a little more by using poly bushings and poly end links. When the bars work correctly they provide extra anti-lean and anti-dive characteristics during cornering and braking. They especially work well when hauling loads or towing. The truck will corner flatter and have less body lean or body roll and less push into corners. It can actually be a little dangerous not having them on certain vehicles especially if someone removes the front one. They are not always found on the front of heavy 4x4's like 3/4 and 1 tons with leaf springs. You will almost always have one on the front of a coil sprung truck. The rear one is usually optional from the factory and is provided with a tow package or added on somewhere during the life of the vehicle. I personally prefer to always have front and rear on my rigs. When your rolling down a 6% grade with a 16,000 gvw coming into a corner it's a little extra stability and smoothness in the handling. It is good to make certain all the parts are in good shape as a few worn rubber end links can nearly render it useless and if the bushings are bad they can actually cause binding and the bar can cause the suspension to work against itself. You can also upgrade the size of the bar to tighten up your cornering. eg. most 250's and 350's use a front bar that is 1" or 1 1/8" and the rear is typically 1". There is a huge resistance difference going from say a 1" to a 1 1/8" - approx. 150% stiffer just in that small size diff. They are usually very easy to install and most times the bracket holes are all in place for the factory ones. There are many aftermarket ones like Addco, Hellwig and others. They do get fatigued over time but I have never had the need to change one like you would shocks or springs.