How-to Rear 1ton sway bar install

Discussion in 'Suspension/Chassis' started by SD YOTA, Mar 7, 2014.

  1. SD YOTA

    SD YOTA Grand Toyotaholic

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    OK guys, so here it is. after some time, i finally got the 1ton bar installed into the truck. this next how-to writeup will walk you through the process on how to install a 1ton sway bar off of a the toyota 1ton dually trucks, stake beds, box trucks or motorhomes.

    this process is going to be fairly simple as the only real modifications needed to install the sway bar is the relocation of the brake line bracket on the drivers side of the axle, and drill 2 holes at each side of the frame.

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    so here is what yer gonna need in order to complete this project.

    you'll need 1 rear sway bar off of any toyota 1ton dually truck.

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    given the amount of drop, the stock links for the sway bar were waaay too long for me to use on my truck so, i opted to find shorter ones i could use. my answer came from a mid to late 90's Land Cruiser FJ80's rear sway bar. these were the within the correct length for me to use. $15 each at orielly's auto parts.

    as you can tell, these are 3" inches shorter than the stock 1ton links.
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    the next parts you will need are the axle mounts to hold the sway bar in place since the stock non-1ton axle does not have mounts welded in like the ones on the dually. i found that either mounts from a mid or late 90's Ford BroncoII rear sway bar will work and are a perfect fit. rear sway bar brackets out of a mid to late 90's gmc jimmy or blazer will also work.

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    a little clean up, some sanding and a fresh coat of rustoleum red didnt hurt so i did it.
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    there are a couple of things i took care of to clear the sway bar. first i cut off my bpv bracket off the axle housing. then i cut the bracket that gets in the way of the axle mounting bracket and moved it up.

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    after all that jazz, you can start the mockup with the sway bar mounted to the axle.

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    i tried it the way it was mounted but i found the rear still hung too low for the links to line up level enough. so i flipped it. keep in mind when you are mocking things up, you will want the axle in "ride height" position.

    after mocking up the links and mounts in a proper level position, i marked the hole positions on the frame and drilled 2 holes on each side, each large enough to run a 10mm bolt through and mount up.

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    now i did try to tap threads into the frame however it was not thick enough to have good holding strength so i fished a couple of nuts in through the rear side opening of the frame and lined em up. (yes its a pain in the ass but it can be done... :lol: )

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    with all that done, everything gets sinched down and ready for a test drive.

    [​IMG]


    for the most part it REALLY is that simple. on a side note, if you want to run poly urathane bushings on this sway bar, i bought the same 25mm sway bar bushing kit from energy suspension as i did for the front for the rear. i used the "D" bracket bushings for the axle side mounts, and the doughnut type on the top end of the links. now, the lower link sway bar bushing comes with the Land Cruiser links. since energy suspension does not list a kit for the 1 ton rear sway bar, this is the best option i found to replace this bushing. the kit number for energy suspension is 8.5104G (for black)



    Now as for the official review, the bar made a HUGE difference. tightened everything up back there. i love the feel of it and if it were not for the fact i have weak or blown shocks up front the truck feels like the sport truck toyota SHOULD have made back then when they had all the parts available i used to build my truck where its at now. the rear sway bar setup cost me a total of about $100 including the bar itself. if yer lucky enough to even find one of these bars, you should jump on it since any belltech or aftermarket upgrade bars run about $200 for a kit...
     
  2. YOguyDA

    YOguyDA Addict

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    Awesome write up SD!

    Ill have to keep my eyes open for the rear sway bars.... I'm still kicking myself for not jumping on a motorhome that was being parted out on CL a few months back...
     
  3. KERTWOOD

    KERTWOOD Enthusiast

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    X2 :waytogo:

    Just added this to my to do list..
     
  4. TDS909

    TDS909 Veteran

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    How does the truck handle? Been looking into this
     
  5. Arpegius

    Arpegius Member

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    Thanks for writing this up for us. I've been in search for some sway bars on my '77 pickup. I assume this same set up will work for my truck. Where was it you found the mounts for the frame? The ones you had to measure and drill two holes for to attach the end links. Were they the same as the ones off of the donor vehicle you got the axle mounts from? Or did your truck already have them and you just had to do some relocating. I only ask because my truck never came with a rear bar and I'm wondering how I could do this same setup. Thanks!
     
  6. SD YOTA

    SD YOTA Grand Toyotaholic

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    fosho, thanks guys. you really gotta jump on these 1ton parts. there's not many of em out there as it is.

    the truck handles great, WAY flatter through a turn and into any hard corner... the rear feels more planted.

    the mounts for the frame were off the vehicle i got the bar from, however you can find the same mounts off of a 90's 4runner rear of a 4runner from its sway bar setup. even the rear sway bar off of a 4runner could be swapped over to be used in the rear of any truck. ive seen it done but i think the bar is a bit on the small side... still, a small bar is better than none.
     
  7. wtsane

    wtsane Member

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    found 2 bars in a local yard. bought one for me, one is still there
     
  8. toy_spd

    toy_spd Addict

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    To avoid fishing the nut in the frame. Weld brackets to frame. Also note bar is upside down on sd's toy for clearence purposes. On stock and on my set up its flipped the other way. And allows clearence for the bpv.
     
  9. TheLoLux

    TheLoLux Toyotaholic

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    Very good right up son!!
     
  10. SD YOTA

    SD YOTA Grand Toyotaholic

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    thanks man!

    cisco, i would have tried to weld a quick bracket on there but i wanted to try and make this as "bolt-on" friendly as possible as i know a few people dont have the luxury or otherwise means to weld on the frame...
     
  11. paseobeater

    paseobeater Member

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    is the rear sway bar is one inch or 3/4 like the belltech ones?
     
  12. SD YOTA

    SD YOTA Grand Toyotaholic

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    One inch...
     
  13. YOguyDA

    YOguyDA Addict

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    Just scored a rear sway bar today @ PnP....

    Spent a couple hours trying to find axle mounts.

    The late model blazers/Jimmys mounts looked like they'd work, but the Toyota axle is 3" and all the blazers i checked had a 2 5/8" axle.

    I found that out AFTER I took one off and tried to fit it on the Toyota I got my bar from(no go)....lol.

    I ended up taking the DRIVERS side sway bar mount off of 2 different Rangers. The pass side mount wasn't level because of how Ford's differential is offset.

    The Toyota "D" bracket holes don't really line up with the ranger mounts, but I've got a cheap welder, I'll make it work! lol

    Thanks for the write up again SD!
     
    Last edited: Aug 3, 2016
  14. grn yota

    grn yota Newbie

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    What are the mounts that you used on the frame rails?

    Mike
     
  15. YOguyDA

    YOguyDA Addict

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    Pull them off of the donor or you could fab your own.

    From above:

    "the mounts for the frame were off the vehicle i got the bar from, however you can find the same mounts off of a 90's 4runner rear of a 4runner from its sway bar setup. even the rear sway bar off of a 4runner could be swapped over to be used in the rear of any truck. ive seen it done but i think thebar is a bit on the small side... still, a small bar is better than none."
     

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