Anti-Sway bars questions

[Snakebitten]

Hopefully that Steeda (and others) option will bring some sense back to Helwig?
I've been a Helwig guy for a few years. I don't understand the money grab?
I'm no economics expert, but there's gotta be plenty of profit at the previous $450-500 fetching fee for a steel bar and some mounting hardware.

Regardless, I'm very happy with the Steeda myself. I hope they sell a ton of them. And every F150 that can afford the ground clearance hit with a rear Antisway will benefit from one.

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[SRHAGEN]

Are there any F150s that have rear sway bar from factory? I see Dodge and Toyota have them on upper trim trucks. I’d like to find an OEM bar to instal

 

[Snakebitten]

No oem rear bar on F150

 

[ronaldfreemanjr]

I’ve got a Steeda on order. Unfortunately I slept on it overnight before the purchase and they went out of stock. I appreciate all the feedback here. I installed the Fox 2.0 setup and was shocked at the results. I can’t wait to see what this adds.

 

[hotrodmex]

No oem rear bar on F150

Really a shame since there used to be, and since they offer one on the Super Duty (Camper Package) I feel like there should at least be one on the MaxTow option for F150. Yeah, it's dinky, but it exists.

Also, I hate how they mount the aftermarket ones. I know there is a lot in the way, but I still feel like the older F350 style would still work somehow.

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Only needed for someone who goes off-road and wants the clearance, and the amount of those people that might want a swaybar for the street is even smaller, so I get why they don't, but still...

 

[PatchManager]

No oem rear bar on F150

You have mentioned previously that you have also installed a RAS, which I of course plan to do now. Have you also added a spacer to the front end to level truck.

I literally just got done installing the Steeda rear sway bar and went for a drive. It only took about an hr, and I was really taking my time. Didn't need to lift it at all; I was able to do everything with the truck on the ground.

The truck feels planted, less roll, and it might just be placebo effect, but turn-in seems way better too. It's no Ferrari for sure, but totally worth the investment. It's a very noticeable difference.

I went for a quick drive, no noises, squeaking or anything that made me think it's going to fall off. ?

I just installed my Steeda rear sway bar today. The printed instructions and video from Steeda state that the bar should be parallel to the ground. Were you able to get yours parallel to the ground? The closest I could get was the low point measured 9.25" from the ground near the end link and about 10.25" close to and before the sway bar bushings. It looks to me like the endlinks are a little too long, but I shortened them as much as I could and used the inner most holes to connect to the sway bar. My truck is not leveled, but a lot more leveled than the sway bar is now.

It look me about 3 hours to install, but I wasted a lot of time trying to get the bar level.

 

[Snakebitten]

You have mentioned previously that you have also installed a RAS, which I of course plan to do now. Have you also added a spacer to the front end to level truck.

It look me about 3 hours to install, but I wasted a lot of time trying to get the bar level.

I have not attempted to level the truck in any way. I might someday if I get an itch for some manly tires, but I'm enjoying plush quiet soft balloons that Ford equipped the truck with, at least until they get noisy or wear out.

And yea, I really like the endlinks Steeda provides, but in my opinion they are too long for my truck because the adjustability isn't doing me any good. They are too long at their shortest setting, thus they aren't truly level (parallel) with the ground.

The physics involved aren't compromised enough though to make a noticeable difference. Switching between the 3 stiffness settings is far more influencial than the less than parallel status.

 

[Buyer2021]

Pursuant to the earlier question of using bags for sag adjustment along with a bar for roll-resistance .... can someone who has installed the Steeda bar measure the space between brackets on the axle as in the pic below (pic stolen from @Snakebitten's install pics)?

I'm curious to know if there's likely conflict between the Steeda mount and the Air Lift 5000 PN88355 bags mount.

Thanks In Advance!

 

[Beardogfriend]

For those of you who installed the rear anti-sway bar, have you noticed any differences in the shifting? Almost like the truck is just a little confused in lower gears? Is there an adjustment period for the transmission after install? What do y’all think of disconnecting the battery to reset the transmission?

 

[JerseyGlock]

For those of you who installed the rear anti-sway bar, have you noticed any differences in the shifting? Almost like the truck is just a little confused in lower gears? Is there an adjustment period for the transmission after install? What do y’all think of disconnecting the battery to reset the transmission?

With Hellwig setup, no issues with shifting while running JB4.

 

[Beardogfriend]

For those of you who installed the rear anti-sway bar, have you noticed any differences in the shifting? Almost like the truck is just a little confused in lower gears? Is there an adjustment period for the transmission after install? What do y’all think of disconnecting the battery to reset the transmission?

Maybe the traction control has an adjustment period?

 

[Snakebitten]

I'm not sure my transmission is the least bit aware that I added the rear Antisway.

 

[Buyer2021]

For those of you who installed the rear anti-sway bar, have you noticed any differences in the shifting?

I can't imagine any reason that the addition of an anti-sway bar (or air bags, RAS, or change of shocks) would have any bearing on transmission behavior whatsoever.

If you experience that I suggest it is a coincidence of timing, unrelated to any of those changes; OR, the improved handling is prompting you to drive in a different manner which might alter perceived shifting.

Have you inadvertently changed the drive mode?

Highly unlikely but did you somehow manage to dislodge any of the electrical sensor connectors or pinch any wires on the axle / differential while doing the bar installation (those provide feedback to the PCM which might alter shifting)? A careful 'bare-handed feel' should reveal if anything is pinched between the U-bolts and the hidden top of the axle.

 

[Beardogfriend]

You made me nervous so I ran out and checked, the u-bolts are definitely not hitting or pinching anything. You could be right, I’m just not accustomed to driving with it yet. Still loving it. I think the truck and I are adjusting to it. Thank you for the info!

 

[PatchManager]

Pursuant to the earlier question of using bags for sag adjustment along with a bar for roll-resistance .... can someone who has installed the Steeda bar measure the space between brackets on the axle as in the pic below (pic stolen from @Snakebitten's install pics)?

I'm curious to know if there's likely conflict between the Steeda mount and the Air Lift 5000 PN88355 bags mount.

Thanks In Advance!

The length of the green line or the distance between the two brackets is almost exactly 3" in my case with the Steeda bar as shown. In my case, I have the U bolt up against the brake bracket, which seem to work nicely.

As I previously mentioned, I'm not happy the length of the end links because they are too long and hang down at least 2" lower than they need to be. I think Steeda tried to accommodate lifted trucks with the same end linke setup and it is too long on a non-lifted trucks. I have them adjusted as short as they will go. I think I'm going to modify mine to shorten the adjustment bolt by 1 1/2". I can easily see most people not caring about this, but I do. Everything else regarding the Steeda setup seems excellent.

For those of you who installed the rear anti-sway bar, have you noticed any differences in the shifting? Almost like the truck is just a little confused in lower gears? Is there an adjustment period for the transmission after install? What do y’all think of disconnecting the battery to reset the transmission?

I didn't notice any difference in shifting or traction control or anything adverse.

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