Forum Discussion
ron_dittmer
Mar 31, 2016Explorer II
tenbear wrote:A rear sway bar (also called an anti-sway bar or a stabilizer bar) is easily identifiable.ericsmith32 wrote:I don't know if mine has a rear sway bar. I'm not sure if I could tell if it does. I didn't install one. In any case, there are a couple of inches of snow on the ground and it's raining, so I'm not crawling under it right now to see.
Mine didn't come with a rear sway bar. Tenbear does yours have one? Perhaps that the major issue handling wise.
Look under the vehicle and look for a round bar (usually painted black or is rusty) that resembles the rear silver bar in this picture. For reference, the big thing in the upper left area is the fuel tank on this 2007 E350. If you look close, you can see that the sway bar passes around the differential in the center of the rear axle.
There is a simple test you and your spouse can perform together to "help" determine if your rig would benefit from suspension improvements. Of coarse this is a layman's test. It is best to get a professional opinion, but this should reveal much, especially if your problem is severe.
1) First make sure your rig is parked on a flat surface and not parked so close to a tree, a garage door opening, or other obstacle such that a rocking rig could bump into it.
2) You and your spouse stand inside the rig on the floor, feet spread apart as your floor plan allows, positioned over the rear axle, and face the windshield. Rock yourselves in unison side to side and try your best to get your rig to rock.
3) Repeat the process standing as close to the front axle as possible.
So what happened?
If you both worked together, but could not get your rig to rock, if you two just couldn't make it happen rhythmically, then you are in good shape.
If you were able to get the rig-a-rocking into a good rhythmic pattern, then you surely could benefit from upgraded stabilizer bars and shock absorbers, or it could be that your current stabilizer bars need to be serviced.
On a "good" suspension, what happens is that instead of the rig rocking & leaning side to side, thanks to a good stabilizer bar it moves more vertically instead. Then with good shocks, the vertical movement is difficult to maintain for they cancel out that movement. It feels like the rig is in a vat of molasses.
On a rig that "Needs Help", you will be able to get a rhythmic lean side to side fairly quickly and it may continue shortly after you stop.
There will always be some leaning and vertical motion regardless. The real question here is how much is okay, and how much is not. It is near impossible to describe on a forum. If you can rock the rig side to side fairly well, you could benefit from a heavy duty stabilizer bar for the axle you are testing. If you get vertical rhythmic motion, then your shock absorbers should be looked at.
Have fun with it and get your neighbors talking :)
For the record, when we test our rig equipped with front & rear heavy duty stabilizer bars and four Koni-RV shocks, we get the "molasses" feeling.
A You Tube video would be real handy right about now.
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