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Thread: Lightning Sway Bar Install (Pics)

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    DSG
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    Lightning Sway Bar Install (Pics)

    Since there is a hellwig install sticky I thought this would be good additional info. A lot of people have wanted to try this but were not sure if it would fit/clear easily on the HD. I hope this will help someone with their install and eliminate any trail and error.

    Do not trust the factory holes in the frame. The driver side hole is a perfect match for a vertical end link (drill it 1/2 inch). The passenger side is a completely different story. If you drill the rearward exhaust hanger hole you will be about 3/4 of an inch too far back. The same goes for the front hole. You need to drill pretty much in the middle of these two holes. Measure off of a common point and make your passenger marks accordingly. (The front hole on the bottom of the frame rail is a good reference point)

    L sway fits fine and looks very factory. Just need a little fab work to make it look clean (for exhaust hanger and brake lines). Great ride but I think you need the Bilsteins or Q1As to fully complement the new ride.

    Brake lines were really no big deal. I took the 3 way block loose from the diff vent line and made a very simple bracket to relocate it a little bit lower. The driver side lines clear the u bolt this way. the passenger side line I left in the stock location and had enough room to run between the U bolt and the axle tube.

    I rotated the exhaust hanger bracket on a vertical plane behind the large opening in the frame. I used the opening as a guide on where to install the hanger bolts.

    I also measured ~8 1/8 inches off of my factory trailer hitch bracket. Like I stated in my previous post, this lines up almost perfectly with the forward hole (small holes) on the bottom of the two frame rails.

    IMHO I think that this install looks very factory and better than the hellwig option. I wanted to use Ford parts on my truck so I went this route.

    I do not see any issues with clearance any where. The truck does handle much better now. Please feel free to comment or ask any more questions.

    The first picture shows where I placed my exhaust bracket holes and where I drilled the end link hole. The factory hole on the passenger side was way off. Has any one noticed this before??

    I was going to fab a new exhaust hanger bracket but figured it looked more original using the factory hanger and just turning it vertical.

    After driving the truck for a week with the rear swaybar I am very impressed with the improved handling of the truck. Please feel free to ask any additional questions!

    Exhaust hanger and passenger end link location:
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    Last edited by S/C-HD2002; 03-07-2007 at 05:15 PM.
    2002 DSG

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    Brake line bracket and brake line clearance:
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    DSG
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    Sway bar diff clearance:
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    Passenger u bolt location and brake line routing:
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    Factory exhaust and spring clearance:
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    Another angle of the passenger end link clearance:
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    Brake line relocation bracket. Basically fabbed out of a flat piece of 1/8 inch bar stock. I drilled two offset holes (one for the vent and one for the brake line T) and bolted everything back in place. I used a shock bushing insert (cut in half) to take the place of the T block on the vent tube.
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    Picture of exhaust clearance from under the end link:
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    Passenger sway bar mount, u bolt location, and brake line routing:
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    Driver side end link location. I drilled out the existing factory hole on the driver side (1/2 inch bit) as it seemed to line up perfect.
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    S/C-HD2002,
    I'm new here, but have the L Sway bar already and need further clarification on one of the steps.
    In one of your steps above, you said the following:

    "Brake line relocation bracket. Basically fabbed out of a flat piece of 1/8 inch bar stock. I drilled two offset holes (one for the vent and one for the brake line T) and bolted everything back in place. I used a shock bushing insert (cut in half) to take the place of the T block on the vent tube."

    2 questions:
    1) You didn't happen to snap a pic of the bracket before installing it did you?
    2) What do you mean by using a "stock bushing insert (cut in half)....."?

    Feel free to e-mail me if you wish. Thank You.

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    DSG
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    Originally posted by wildcatf150
    S/C-HD2002,
    I'm new here, but have the L Sway bar already and need further clarification on one of the steps.
    In one of your steps above, you said the following:

    "Brake line relocation bracket. Basically fabbed out of a flat piece of 1/8 inch bar stock. I drilled two offset holes (one for the vent and one for the brake line T) and bolted everything back in place. I used a shock bushing insert (cut in half) to take the place of the T block on the vent tube."

    2 questions:
    1) You didn't happen to snap a pic of the bracket before installing it did you?
    2) What do you mean by using a "stock bushing insert (cut in half)....."?

    Feel free to e-mail me if you wish. Thank You.
    Wildcat,

    First of all welcome to the site!

    You can see the bracket that I made in picture #2. It is just a piece of flat stock with two holes drilled in each end. It is just used to relocate the brake line T a little farther to the back. If you notice in the same picture it is necessary to move the brake lines because of the ubolt for the sway bar mount.

    Your second question is an easy one. You must have misread my post. Shock bushing insert cut in half, not stock. The little metal insert that goes inside the urethane or rubber shock eyes is the pefect diameter for a spacer. Anything round will work, as all you are trying to do is make something the same thickness as the brake line T that you just moved. (otherwise the vent nipple wouldn't have enough thread to fully tighten down into the axle tube)

    Clear as mud?? Feel free to ask any other questions.

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    ***note***

    if your truck is lowered in the rear, the holes drilled for the swaybar endlinks should be higher on the frame...

    the sway bar should sit as parallel as possible to the ground.

    i made the same mistake...it's an easy fix

    http://www.timskelton.com/lightning/.../end_links.htm



    also, here is a pic of a brake line extension/adapter that comes with the hotchkis tvs kit...you might be able to order one from them.

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    Lightning sway bar brake relocation bracket FAQ

    I noticed some questions on how I relocated the rear brake line when installing the factory lightning rear sway bar. Hopefully this will make it a little bit more clear for everyone wanting to try this mod.

    Maybe the mods could add this to the original thread?

    When you install the drivers side u-bolt and sway bar mount there is some interference with the factory brake lines. I found it necessary to relocate the brake line distribution block away from the axle tube. Once this was done installation of the sway was pretty straight forward.

    I imagine that you could probably bend the snot out of the lines to clear the sway bar hardware, but this solution seemed much cleaner and straight forward.

    I basically started with an 1/8" thick piece of bar stock that was roughly 2 3/4" long x 1 1/8" wide. I then placed two holes ~ 7/16" dia. 1 3/4" apart (on center). I off set one of the holes so it would be slightly toward the driver side. (You could probably just rotate the bracket more if you drilled both holes on the centerline of the bracket) This was done to help the rubber brake line clear the axle vent tube.

    Next pull the axle vent hose off the nipple. Unscrew the vent tube nipple from the axle tube, and the brake line distribution block should come loose.

    Now find your self a metal shock bushing sleeve or something with similar measurements of ~5/8" OD, ~15/32" ID and 11/16" tall. The shock sleeve that I am talking about usually comes with the install hardware in offroad style shocks. This "spacer" will take the place of the thickness of the soon to be relocated brake line distribution block.

    With your spacer and vent tube nipple in hand, bolt your fabricated bracket to the axle tube.

    Next move the brake line distribution block over the lower hole of your fabricated bracket. Find yourself a 7/16" x 1 1/2" bolt with a flat washer and nylock nut. Some careful massaging of the brake lines will provide enough movement to center everything over the second hole in the relocation bracket. Install the bolt with the washer on top of the brake distribution block and the nut on the bottom.

    This should provide you enough clearance to bolt the driver side sway bar bracket up with out and further modification or problem.
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    Last edited by S/C-HD2002; 02-24-2007 at 08:34 AM.

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    DSG
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    You can see from these close up pictures where the sway bar bracket hardware imprinted on the axle tube (bracket had been removed in these pictures). This was why I found it necessary to relocate the brake lines as I did.

    Hopefully this will help everyone wanting to try this mod.

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