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Hellwig Anti-Sway Bars

vroomzoomboom

Elite Canuck STOCK SUCKS!
Elite Explorer
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City, State
selkirk, manitoba
Year, Model & Trim Level
98 supercharged 347 sport
so i am flipping thew summit on line when i cam across this

http://www.summitracing.com/int/parts/hel-7648/overview/year/1998/make/ford/model/explorer

i didnt know anyone outside of explorer express made a rear sway bar for the second gens. now, i am wondering if anyone else has. i would like to get a new rear one. i know everyone that has a EE bar swears by them, but they are pricey to send up to canada (where i am from).

anybody have anything to add?
 



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I always figured the EE sway bars were just re-labeled Hellwigs. They never said where they source them, and they don't tout the material as being the 4140 cromo like Hellwig does, so maybe not.

Either that or they were powdercoated Addco's - Addco has had them for a long time too.

The 98-01 rear bar listing on the EE site specs the rear bar as being 1.125 in. diameter, but I think that's either a misprint, or it really is a HUGE custom made bar. The Hellwig is smaller at 7/8 in.

There aren't many other options for Explorers, and there aren't a whole lot of companies making custom sway bars, in any quantity.

That rear bar is pretty common though, search online and you will find lots of other sellers (re-sellers, since it drop-ships from the manufacturer), might even get a better shipping price to Canada.

If you haven't already replaced the suspension or sway bar bushings, you might consider replacing them with Energy Suspension polyurethane bushings. Doing this, even with the stock sway bars, yields some impressive results.

If you get a larger diameter rear sway bar, and it comes with polyurethane bushings, I'd suggest at least buying matching polyurethane bushings for the stock front bar, otherwise the increase in oversteer might be to the point it's unsafe, especially on a supercharger-equipped vehicle at speed.

The 7/8 in bar (with polyurethane bushings) would be an improvement over stock, but you might get comparable performance for less money just using polyurethane bushings on the stock sway bars.

If that EE rear sway bar really is 1.125 inches in diameter, that would be a MASSIVE change, possibly well worth the extra ~$50-60, depending on what you're after.

You could call EE to inquire about the shipping cost to Canada, and if it seems inflated, maybe you could get a member in California to receive the bar (or even pick it up) and then send it to you for a better price than what EE charges.
 






i am going to replace all the sway bar bushings with polly as it sits. tired of having to do it every couple of years anyways. or at least the fronts. i havent ever touched the rears, but one member on here gave me a set of moogs for the links.
the one problem with EE is i asked them last year if i could pay for it, and they drop it to a u.s. address, but they wont do that.
 






How hard is it to add these rear sway bars? Do they come with diagrams on where to drill holes and bolt things up or is it bolt on kit?
 






They bolt on in place of the original bar. The OEM rear end links are retained, not part of the EE kit anyway. The EE kit adds a steel two piece brace that goes next to the mounting points on the rear end, just to keep it more stable. There are no holes to drill.

The EE rear bar is much larger than stock, 1.125" sounds about right.

14802Duals.jpg


EE rear sway bar.JPG
 






I am planning on doing a full suspension rebuild. When buying new leaf springs, Were there different types on different models? Rock Auto seems to have a couple of different ones. 1 7/8, 1 3/4 etc also the 3/1 or 2/1.

Also from my understanding when redoing the leaf springs is that alot of times youll have to melt the bushings out etc. Would it be advisable to buy all new hardware for them as well?
 






I am planning on doing a full suspension rebuild. When buying new leaf springs, Were there different types on different models? Rock Auto seems to have a couple of different ones. 1 7/8, 1 3/4 etc also the 3/1 or 2/1.

Also from my understanding when redoing the leaf springs is that alot of times youll have to melt the bushings out etc. Would it be advisable to buy all new hardware for them as well?

Hunt for some of the threads here showing how others R&R'd the leaf springs. Seeing it or reading how people got it done will help more than a manual. I haven't yet bought leaf springs, so I can't help with how to choose those.
 






I use their front sway bar in my ranger but kept the stock 2nd gen explorer bar for the rear.pretty sure the stock 2nd gen rear bar is 7/8"..definitely made a difference in body roll and handling. .the rear i dont get much roll so didnt look for a thicker bar..

I also did all red poly bushings all the way around,they can be squeaky.every couple thousand miles i spray them with synthetic spray... If i was to do it again id use the black poly bushings, they have a ""lubricant"" built into them..

20131123_173422_zpsd921754a.jpg


20131123_173443_zps233b2cca.jpg
 






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