Sway bar bent? Stabilizer / sway bar links worn

[robby830]

So I replaced my sway bar links yesterday with Raybestos Professional Grade. Driver side went on with no problem. Passenger side was a really tight fit. Looks like the sway bar is lower on this side and end is pointing a bit to the floor. Driver side is about parallel with floor. Old links were really bad so I'm thinking it could have damaged the sway bar. Could the sway bar be bent? Does it need to be replaced or would it level itself off while driving? The passenger side of the truck is a half inch lower than driver's when measuring from floor to center of fender.

Old links

Driver side new link

Passenger side new link

 

[Rich95602]

I'm currently having the same problem. I'd be curious to know how it worked out for you or if you received any tips.

 

[dacaur2]

The sway bar doesn't do anything to hold up the truck when its in your driveway. Bad swaybar links would put less stress on the swaybar, so no they couldn't have damaged it. Any impact that would actually bend the swaybar would absolutely destroy the rest of the suspension. Have you checked the swaybar mounts where it mounts to the frame? There are only two, once at each end, nothing attaches in the middle.

That said, the height of the end of the swaybar is determined by the height of the lower suspension arm above the ground + the length of the link. For the link to be closer to the ground, it would mean the suspension arm is closer to the ground, which means the suspension on that side must be sagging Thats backed up by your measurement of the fender.... But that measurement is only valid if your explorer is parked on completely level ground... Is the ground on the drivers side a bit higher?
Its hard to tell from your fuzzy pictures, but it looks like you have the passenger side way tighter than the driver side. Both sides should look the same, you want just a little bit of squish in the bushings. Measuring from the suspension arm to the swaybar end should be the same measurement on both sides. If its not, its because you didn't tighten the links the same amount. Even if the swaybar were actually bent (which is super unlikely), it wouldn't affect that measurement.