Yes, I know all about the dangers of disconnecting the front sway bar, but...

A post in the Newbies section got me to thinking, a few new trucks use an electronic sway bar disconnect system. I know the new Wrangler Rubicon does, and I also found out via Google that the 2005 Dodge Power Wagon does too.


I'm guessing it's the grey box thing in this pic;


I wonder how easy it would be to get one of these boxes as a spare part from Dodge and fab it up onto the KJ. Presumably you'd have to cut your sway bar in half? What would be cool is if you could wire it up so that it disconnects when you engage Low Range (just tap into the switch that activates the dash light!) and re-connects when you go back to another mode.

Anyone got access to a Power Wagon to know how this thing works?

_________________
KJ 2002, 3.7L Sport
Stuff | Pics
Lifetime Member # EJ062115

let us know how it works out....

No power wagons down under

anybody stateside wann have a look ?

_________________
http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/742957
aussie KJ Lost No#150605
3" OME lift + Rancho RS9000xl's front and rear
prototype Airflow snorkel
Magnaflow cat back
265/70R16 Hankook MTRT03 on MOABS baby
4.10's and a truetrac up front
super skinks
coming soon
a myride wireless controller

Turns out the Rubicon and the Power Wagon use the same disconnect module. It's the SmartBar developed by American Axle & Manufacturing, Inc. There's all sorts of spin about "microprocessor controlled" and "24,000 lines of code", but I imagine all that's to do with the decision to connect or disconnect automatically. I would think that the actual modul itself would be relatively simple.

We just need someone to write-off a brand new Power Wagon so we can find out!

_________________
KJ 2002, 3.7L Sport
Stuff | Pics
Lifetime Member # EJ062115

Those new incab disocs are sweet!!

Ed, what are the dangers of disconnecting? I DD my XJ and have no swaybars. It doesn't handle like a car, so I don't drive it like one. I also almost never have to drive in any traffic or anything. When on the highway, I take it easy.

Anyways, I'm just asking because my girlfriend has a KJ and we're slowly going to build it up to be able to do light wheelin. Does disconnecting the swaybar with IFS do anything??

_________________
Civilisation exists by geological consent, subject to change without notice. -Durant

xjma, do a search to find out more about disconnecting the front but in a nutshell, disco'ing the front of an ifs vehicle leads to really bad mojo in the handling department unlike an sfa vehicle where it just gets a little squirrely

it has something to do with how the swaybar also helps to retain camber or something. alot of guys are just removing them on the trail and putting them back on afterwards, but a disconnect option isnt available because if it failed at speed you would almost positively roll the vehicle

A sway bar does nothing more than control the amount of body roll while going around corners. It doesn't matter if you has IFS or a solid axle. Disconnecting it will give you better articulation off-road, but can compromise on-road handling. My recommendation is that you disconnect it for the trail if you need the flex, but hook it back up when hitting the streets. If you choose to leave it disconnected for street driving take the time to become familiar with how your Jeep handles.

going for the shock value?

This is pretty much the case for almost ANY KIND of suspension failure... but you don't see manufacturers ommitting springs from their designs. It's more likely that the cost of the system cannot be justified on a vehicle that is not specifically designed to excel off road like the Rubicon or Power Wagon.

hey i dont care if you want to run with it off or not. i was just reiterrating what i had read (mostly from here) and experienced

i ran a lifted tj on 33s w/o swaybars for years and it drove like crap but was controllable and predictable. took a short drive in the libby (one trailhead to another) with the front swaybar off and it was squirrely as he11

if it was such a "no big deal" item, you would think there would be at least 1 set of commercially available quick disconnects available for the liberty. eh?

either way, the subject has been beaten to death...try the search button

Sorry for beating a dead horse!! I know a lot about SFA jeeps but not that much about the KJ, so I like to ask. Shoulda used search, my B.

_________________
Civilisation exists by geological consent, subject to change without notice. -Durant

Always Ask on L.O.S.T.
Educating new folks about the KJ is one of the things this forum is all about.

BTW< the swaybar on the KJ has a Lot of affect on the camber. W/out the bar on the front the top of the tires will move all over the place and want to roll inward. It makes for some real bad handling on road and is not safe.

_________________
99 TJ
71 C101
04 KJ
03 SFA KJ Sport
LOST JEEPS So-Cal

The sway bar can in no way affect the camber of a KJ, or any other vehicle. The camber is set by the position of your upper control arm relative to the position of the lower control arm. as the control arms move through their range of motion there might be slight changes in camber, but in a design such as the KJ's it is kept to a minimum. Like I said, removal of the sway bar on the highway will result in increased body roll which can make the vehicle unstable during cornering. If you choose to drive on the street with the swaybar disconnected make sure you are very familiar with the handling characteristics and take it slow.

Does anyone make quick disconnects for the Liberty sway bars?

No and i really wish they did, kinda stupid someone doesnt yet.

_________________
LOST KJ'S
Where are you going???
Current Jeep: 2004 Jeep Liberty
-Atlantic Blue
-Air Ride Rear Suspension ; OME/Rustys Lift ; Powertrax Locker ; Moog Lower Ball-Joints ; 245/70/16 Yokohama Geolander A/T-S's on MOABS ; Flowmaster 50 SUV
Lost #007082
http://www.cardomain.com/id/jeepjeepster

I was looking around under there the other day, and as has been mentioned many times, you can disconnect the swaybar, but it can't be moved up far enough without interfering with all the IFS components. If you have the money, then the autolock thing in the first post would be nice, but $$$$$$. Only thing I can think of, is a link similar to the XJ JKS disco, that is adjustable and you just change out the lower bolt on the arm for a post that a hitch pin would go into. You pill the pin, slide the disco off the post, then you would have to unbolt the four nuts that secure the swaybar to the center section, and your done. Takes a little longer than someone with a solid front, but if you keep those four front bolts lubed, they would take very long at all unbolt. Just keep a ratchet with the correct socket, antiseize the four bolts, and your golden. I haven't done it, but I bet with the adjustable link idea with the hitch pin and post, I could have the swaybar completely removed in under two minutes, maybe even one.

_________________
WWW.ROCKLIZARDFABRICATIONS.COM

OK, just went outside and looked at Ted's KJ, and I would think if you remove the four nuts for the center section and used a set of these to replace the stock links, it would work:



With those, you could pull the pin on the top of the link at the swaybar instead of the link at the lower mount on the A arm, and just lay the disco on the arm and zip tie it down. Having adjustable discos really makes hooking back up very easy since you can adjust each side for different lengths to make up for any inconsistancies in height.

Just FYI. I tried this same setup about 3 years ago...The problem was the bar is in the way of all kinds of things. As one side goes down it clears OK but if the other side is up you beat the sway to death. I know these are just standard sway bar disco's but the KJ is a different animal. Please try this before a lot of folks jump on this. Hope that helps. later. Clint

_________________
http://lostkjwest.com
http://www.azlostkj.com
http://lostzj.com
KE7JLP

That's what I was saying in the earlier post, that you can't just disco the swaybar and leave it on because there isn't enough room with all the IFS components, the swaybar would get beat up. This is why I said the discos make discoing the bar easier from the suspension, but you still need to unbolt the four nuts that hold the swaybar to the front of the crossmember. I'm already researching the JKS disco thing and starting to get some answers, so I will let you guys know what I find out, and I will probably get a pair to test they will work out.

Awsome rock lizard, i would love to see some made!

_________________
LOST KJ'S
Where are you going???
Current Jeep: 2004 Jeep Liberty
-Atlantic Blue
-Air Ride Rear Suspension ; OME/Rustys Lift ; Powertrax Locker ; Moog Lower Ball-Joints ; 245/70/16 Yokohama Geolander A/T-S's on MOABS ; Flowmaster 50 SUV
Lost #007082
http://www.cardomain.com/id/jeepjeepster

I'm not going to make them, I'll just experiment, find out what on the market will work, then point you guys in the right direction. My hands are too full with KJ bumpers to mess with discos right now.