Rear Hellwig Nightmere!!! (Pics)

[Harley#356]

What a nightmere! Took me at least 3 hours of working just on the swaybar, but i spent the whole day under my truck IN THE RAIN ;c
how stupid can these friggin weathermen get? They can't tell after how many years of doing that crap, whether its going to rain the very next day? They can't predict 12 hours ahead??? They said it was supposed to be sunny and nice today.....it did nothing but RAIN all friggin day right after i got the truck on the jackstands

just had to vent

Anyway, the install was a bear! The finish on the bar was really crappy, so i took the belt sander to it, and had it powdercoated red to match my pinstripe and calipers (Thanks crockett! )
Instructions were total crap, read them over once and chucked em. It would have helped a ton if they charged 2 more cents per kit, and used color ink for the pics, or at least a flash when they took the pics
Fit of the stuff was total crap. Bolts wouldn't thread onto nuts, washers missing, extra nuts, really bad universal fit design. Hellwig did a really crappy job designing the mounting system for this bar.

I'm sure it would have went quicker and easier if i had somebody helping me, but i still wouldn't buy a hellwig again. Its the same stiffness as a L bar, and that is OEM stuff, go with that instead. I should have known

Well, now for the pics of my cool red swaybar :k

[Harley#356]

without a doubt i gotta shorten my endlinks
probably wont get them all the way level with my 3" rear drop, but i'll get it close. gotta find some shorter grade 8 bolts though 1st.

[Harley#356]

Pic from the rear...can't really see the bar, but you can see my freshly painted leafs, and axle

Didn't get a chance to test the truck out, still raining when i finished and was dark out. It better handle a million times better though after going through all that BS to get it in there

[Harley#356]

o yeah, i disconnected the lower shock mounts to make the bar go into position easier (yeah right ;t) and boy did i have a fun time trying to get those bastards compressed enough to line up with the mounting holes. Didn't feel like jacking the truck up all the way in the air to take the weight off the springs since it was pouring out. The anger and frustration was built up enough in me that i actually compressed them all the way up by myself and got the bolts in LOL!

for anybody else that got their hellwig and didn't install it yet, all i gotta say is goodluck and have fun LoL

[dubless]

Dammnnn Harley#356,
Your undercarriage is friggin clean looking

Excellent job cleaning and painting.

Oh and BTW I know personally how bad the quality was on the HELLWIG. Had one before my 4/6 drop. Had to chuck it when I put the drop on because of clearance issues.

[2002GreyHD150]

Josh, sorry to hear about your pain man...

It took me reinstalling the side "L" brackets (on the frame) 2-3 times to get them where they looked right... Mine is paralell to the ground (within about 3 degrees or so) but it took a lot of adjusting...

I noticed from the rear you cannot see the top "hoop" of the bar... you might try rototing the bar up wards so that it is just visible above the pumkin... mine fit better when I rotated it up a bit...

My finish was pretty good.. plack powder coat was pretty textured but complete... some guys have reported getting there's bare metal...

Anyway.. my Helwig goes to St. louis Harley when i get my Hotckis bars in June...

[Harley#356]

I'd like to rotate it up more, mostly so you can see it from behind, but then it would throw off my endlink angles even more than they are now, which are pretty bad ;t
Gotta go to home depot and look for some shorter grade 8 bolts for them. If they dont have it Fazzio's will.

STILL haven't gotten to take her for a test drive. its monsoon season here aparently

[Crockett59]

I ordered my Sway bar unpainted. Had it powder coated some stupid gray color, then Painted it myself Hugger Orange (Yeah baby)

Still waiting to install though, poor Josh has me wanting to sell in and buy a L sway bar.;c Grrr.... I hated the finish on the other parts in the kit so I had those painted gloss black.

[Harley#356]

;t have you put your rear shackles on yet dave? If not, then it would probably be alot easierr for you to get the swaybar in place. I put the swaybar in the day after i lowered the back another in (3" total now) and should have done it the other way around, because that extra inch clearance would have made it a LOT easier. If your rear is stock, it would probably be even easier to get in place, which was the hardest part.

[00 Harley#4056]

looks good josh like ya truck its really starting to come to gether

[truckbrandon]

i installed a hellwig rear sway bar on my 03 hd today, it took me about an hour... i must agree that the instructions are aweful... but the ride improvement is awesome... i will probably order their front sway bar as well pt# 7646

[fastphil_v]

I put the Hellwig on last weekend on my '03 with the 2" drop shackles. I was able to get the bar located without removing the shock-just had to play with it for a minute. I bought some 5" bolts to replace the 6 inchers in the kit and cut an inch off the spacers and my bar is nearly level. I also removed the vent fitting/brake line tee and put a fat washer in there to give me more clearance under the brake line. My only beef is that the axle clamps are so close to the pumpkin that the bushings are right at the point where the sway bar starts to bend upward so I fear that the bushings will wear prematurely. Sure made a big improvement in the handling.

[HrDScrew]

I installed Hotchkis swaybars on my 02, more money, but a piece of cake. Instructions were simple to follow and did both the front and rear in my garage in one afternoon. The handling now is to die for. To think this is a 5400lb truck. I've taken an off ramp from the intestate that is a full circle pushing 60 mph, before maybe 40-45 mph. Also put in Bilsteins, definetely worth the money.

[Jacks2002HD]

I have a 2002 HD. I am trying to figure which sway bar to go with, can you guys give me your sugestions. In doing the research, they really don't give you the diamiter of the bar any more so I am trying to figure out which is going to handle better. Thanks!

[Ayrton]

Unless you want to replace both the front and rear bars then you can go with either the Hellwig or the OEM Lightning bar. The Hotchkis bars are much stiffer, but you will need to run both the front and the back.