suburban rear swaybar on obs ??

[92terminator]

hope im not beating a dead horse with my question, i searched but didnt find much on the subject,
is anyone running a suburban rear swaybar on their obs?
is it worth the hassle to rig one on the obs trucks ?

thanks in advanced,
jorge

 

[sewlow]

Did that exact project on my '97. You'll need (2X) 3" heavy duty exhaust clamps. Mount 'em between the shock brackets, so that they are directly under the shocks. You'll need the sway bar bushing shells that have the longer ends & slotted holes. The factory shells can be made to work, but for the $20, get new ones. I'd recommend to replace all the other bushings on the sway bar, too. Another $20. The factory frame mounts can be used, but on the passenger side of the frame, one big rivet has to be knocked out. Use that hole as on of the two holes to mount the frame bracket. Position the sway bar, with everything attached, & locate where the frame brackets are to go. You may be lucky & the driver's side will have a pre-existing hole that you can use. Mine did. Mark & drill the holes on the frame. Be prepared for really hot bits of steel to be going in your face, & down your shirt! Everything should be hand tight, except the frame brackets, until the vehicle has the weight on the suspension/wheels. Adjust the position of the sway bar until the 'dog bones are perpendicular to the frame, & tha sway bar is horizontal to the ground. Tighten it up. *** If your vehicle is lowered, you may have to shorten the dog bones*** The factory sway bars are kind of on the small side, but even so, it really helps. Makes the front & rear feel like a more cohesive unit. I'd also recommend to replace the front sway bar bushings at the same time. Use the urethane ones, with the grease fittings. Good luck!

 

[sewlow]

Almost forgot. If you get to remove the sway bar from the donor vehicle. Take a bunch of pix, before you take it apart, so that you can see things such as the direction of the frame mounts, etc.

 

[92terminator]

Did that exact project on my '97. You'll need (2X) 3" heavy duty exhaust clamps. Mount 'em between the shock brackets, so that they are directly under the shocks. You'll need the sway bar bushing shells that have the longer ends & slotted holes. The factory shells can be made to work, but for the $20, get new ones. I'd recommend to replace all the other bushings on the sway bar, too. Another $20. The factory frame mounts can be used, but on the passenger side of the frame, one big rivet has to be knocked out. Use that hole as on of the two holes to mount the frame bracket. Position the sway bar, with everything attached, & locate where the frame brackets are to go. You may be lucky & the driver's side will have a pre-existing hole that you can use. Mine did. Mark & drill the holes on the frame. Be prepared for really hot bits of steel to be going in your face, & down your shirt! Everything should be hand tight, except the frame brackets, until the vehicle has the weight on the suspension/wheels. Adjust the position of the sway bar until the 'dog bones are perpendicular to the frame, & tha sway bar is horizontal to the ground. Tighten it up. *** If your vehicle is lowered, you may have to shorten the dog bones*** The factory sway bars are kind of on the small side, but even so, it really helps. Makes the front & rear feel like a more cohesive unit. I'd also recommend to replace the front sway bar bushings at the same time. Use the urethane ones, with the grease fittings. Good luck!

gotcha, thanks alot for the info. i can pick up the exhaust clamps from a semi truck auto part, those are really heavy duty..
yeah i got a 6'' flit kit in the rear what are the dog bones?? i know what they are on a sport bike but not on a sport truck, lol.
these trucks really need a sway bar i took my bros suburban for a spin and you can really feel how it does not have that rollover feeling as your taking a turn, or turning while your pressing the brakes.

 

[92terminator]

Almost forgot. If you get to remove the sway bar from the donor vehicle. Take a bunch of pix, before you take it apart, so that you can see things such as the direction of the frame mounts, etc.

cool, ill have my bro bring over his suburban and park it next to my truck for visual reference.

 

[sewlow]

The 'dog bones' are the short upright bars that connect the sway bar to the frame. That's what they look like, dog bones. If the bones are too long, it puts the bar at a wierd angle, & when the suspension reaches max compressed travel, the sway bar has a tendency to hit the pumpkin's cover. If they do need shortening, what I did was to cut them so that one side of the bone has a longer stub than the other. Remove whatever amount that you feel is right, (the sway bar has to be parrallel to the ground. Measure the distance sway bar eye to frame mount eye, when you get the sway bar at the right angle.) off the longer stub, drop a fairly snug fitting piece of steel pipe over the shortened longer stub, weld the db's together, slide the pipe over the ground-down weld, & weld the pipe at both ends. The sleeve is a brace for the welded db's. If your confident in your welds, you may not want to add the sleeve.
The sway bar makes the truck fun to drive. Confidence inspiring, & safer, too. Well, I tell myself it's safer. That may be just an excuse to push harder in the corners!

 

[92terminator]

The 'dog bones' are the short upright bars that connect the sway bar to the frame. That's what they look like, dog bones. If the bones are too long, it puts the bar at a wierd angle, & when the suspension reaches max compressed travel, the sway bar has a tendency to hit the pumpkin's cover. If they do need shortening, what I did was to cut them so that one side of the bone has a longer stub than the other. Remove whatever amount that you feel is right, (the sway bar has to be parrallel to the ground. Measure the distance sway bar eye to frame mount eye, when you get the sway bar at the right angle.) off the longer stub, drop a fairly snug fitting piece of steel pipe over the shortened longer stub, weld the db's together, slide the pipe over the ground-down weld, & weld the pipe at both ends. The sleeve is a brace for the welded db's. If your confident in your welds, you may not want to add the sleeve.
The sway bar makes the truck fun to drive. Confidence inspiring, & safer, too. Well, I tell myself it's safer. That may be just an excuse to push harder in the corners!

got it, sounds easy enough.
i really apreciate you taking the time to explain these steps in full detail.

goona take a look around the junk yard, might find a vehicle with shorter dog bones if not ill just cut them to fit.

 

[sewlow]

Check out the sway bar mounts a buddy & me made up today

You must be registered for see images attach

Just installed & road tested. When the new rearend goes in next week, we're also going to pull the box off, change the upper shock locations, & install the urethane bushings in the leaf springs. I'll clean everything up & get the dog bones & the new mounts powder coated. Black db's & red (?) mounts. All the bushings are red. Maybe just red tips on the mounts. Hmmm.

 

[gimmel1]

What year suburbans will work

 

[sewlow]

All obs suburban sway bars will work. Haven't tried the nbs style. They attach to the rear of the frame. They look like they are backwards compared to the obs's. If the frame widths of the two body styles are the same, behind the axle, I don't see why the nbs's couldn't be fabbed to fit the obs's.