Rear Lift - Upper Arm to Sway Bar Link Clearance

[HawkeyeC25]

Hey all,

After doing my rear lift with the 2.5" pucks AND Z71 springs, I noticed that there is very little clearance between the upper trailing arm and the sway bar link. In fact, when I installed the new shocks, the arms were actually resting on the links and I had to compress the shocks by almost and inch. Which means the axle wants to sag further before bottoming out the shock, but instead will rest the upper arms on the sway bar link.

Anybody run into this? I'm not seeing anything hitting on normal driving, but I'm worried about when I go off road with more articulation.

Thoughts?

[Anthony Hernandez]

Meh, just get rid of your rear sway bar all together...

[HawkeyeC25]

I saw a lot on this forum about doing that, but I've got a longer length and more weight with the EXT. Not sure I'm ready to do that yet. But it still didn't answer my question of whether or not people have this issue as well?

[Aries]

Meh, just get rid of your rear sway bar all together...

That's what I did with my EXT and I'll do the same with Old Blu

[HawkeyeC25]

Any other opinions? Is everyone just pulling their rear sway bar? I might try it since I have the z71 springs back there.

Does anyone still have theirs in and run into any interference with the upper arm and sway bar link?

[KingBird]

My rear sway bar is still in, but I've disconnected it on one side. Yes things are close back there but that hasn't stopped it from operating the way it should. Before I disconnected the rear sway bar, I was able to run around like normal. It had good flex too. Thing is, I have very little extra body roll with it disconnected with lift blocks, normal Tahoe springs, and Tahoe Z71 shocks.

My advice would be to disconnect the rear bar and drive it around for a week. If you don't miss it, pull it out. I'll be doing that once we thaw out.

[v7guy]

Generally speaking, most guys just pull the rear sway bar, the front makes the biggest difference, and even so, there's a large number of guys that have pulled the front too.

[HARDTRAILZ]

Pretty sure mine hit before removal. Seem to remember dings in the stock arms before swapping them out.

[hilljb]

I don't have an EXT, so I can't speak to what is the norm there, but I definitely have a bit more room than what's in your photos. And, I'm using 2.5" spacers plus Z71 springs.

Mine is a 2003, and it seems like the rear sway bar was redesigned somewhere in that year. Before that redesign, the bar bushings bolted into place. After, and I've read that it is a more welded/permanent mount that needs to be cut. Mine is the bolt-on design. That may have an impact on clearance.

I was trying to maintain the links, but found that they wear very quickly and make a ton of noise. So, about half a year after replacing them, I just took both the front and back bars off completely. I was worried that the sway would be bad when going around turns. It's noticeable, but not as bad as I expected. I'm glad I took those things off. The truck is much quieter over bumps now too.

[HawkeyeC25]

I also have the bolt on rear sway bar bushings so it would be easy to remove completely.

So I just drove down the road and drove through a ditch. You can see that I definitely hit the upper arm on the sway bar link. The rear left tire isn't completely off the ground here, but it did start to spin with little to no pedal input (G80 locker works!!)

A couple things to note with my truck that may be a little different than yours hilljb, I'm currently running no spare, nothing inside the truck, and my springs were new moog springs for a z71 - not sure if they still need to settle in with some weight. Either way, this is a little too close for me - I think I might just pull the sway bar and see if the HD Bilstiens, Z71 springs, and front sway bar are enough to prevent body roll.

[Brendon]

I'm a total Newbie so I apologize in advance if this doesn't make sense. In all the reading I have been doing to plan my build it seems that once the rear gets lifted 3" or so that the standard length shocks aren't long enough. Could this have anything to do with it?

[Brendon]

I'm a total Newbie so I apologize in advance if this doesn't make sense. In all the reading I have been doing to plan my build it seems that once the rear gets lifted 3" or so that the standard length shocks aren't long enough. Could this have anything to do with it?

Oops, scratch my last comment...just checked out your build thread and saw you have the 5125's on the rear

[HawkeyeC25]

Thanks for chiming in (I'm fairly new here as well), but no. I would actually prefer the shock to bottom out first (which it would on the stock suspension). But since it's lifted, in order to not always bottom out the shock, one must install longer travel shocks in order to have more down travel (which I did). However, it's this added down travel that now allows the upper arm to drop far enough to hit the sway bar link.

[HawkeyeC25]

Oops, scratch my last comment...just checked out your build thread and saw you have the 5125's on the rear

Haha no worries... I replied at the same time I always appreciate questions and input. It's how we all learn!!

[Brendon]

Oops, scratch my last comment...just checked out your build thread and saw you have the 5125's on the rear

Haha no worries... I replied at the same time I always appreciate questions and input. It's how we all learn!!

Ya, I've really been enjoying this forum and putting all the pieces of the puzzle together. By the way, I really like your rig and got the same wheels after seeing your build, thanks. I hope you get your issue figured out.

[HawkeyeC25]

Ya, I've really been enjoying this forum and putting all the pieces of the puzzle together. By the way, I really like your rig and got the same wheels after seeing your build, thanks. I hope you get your issue figured out.

Thanks Brendon!! Glad my build helped you make some decisions! Looks like you are on your way to a pretty sweet build yourself!! My issue isn't really that big...Just curious what others have done and if anyone had breakage from too much lift with sway bars installed. I'll probably try pulling them and see how it rides.

[Brendon]

Ya, I've really been enjoying this forum and putting all the pieces of the puzzle together. By the way, I really like your rig and got the same wheels after seeing your build, thanks. I hope you get your issue figured out.

Thanks Brendon!! Glad my build helped you make some decisions! Looks like you are on your way to a pretty sweet build yourself!! My issue isn't really that big...Just curious what others have done and if anyone had breakage from too much lift with sway bars installed. I'll probably try pulling them and see how it rides.

Glad to hear it's not a big issue. Look forward to seeing your progress. Take care Bro