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Can you bend a sway bar?

G

gotstang

Member
We jacked the car up by the sway bar so we could block it up and make room to jack it up properly. I got an email this morning that said "pretty sure we bent the sway bar, car drifts back and forth on the road".

I was under the impression that swaybars were a pretty stout piece of spring steel?? I wouldn't imagine you could bend one too easily...and the fella driving the car is a little bit VERY paranoid.
 
While not the preferred place, I've used the sway bar quite a few times to lift cars. Never had one bend - they are stout as you say-
 
Never seen one bent that way and I have seen several jacked and worked on that way. Stupid but so was the cars owner.
 
"pretty sure we bent the sway bar, car drifts back and forth on the road".
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Who is saying this? An alignment shop maybe?

It's extrememly unlikey that jacking the vehicle resulted in bending the sway bar. It's more likely that you need more positive caster.
 
"daveSanborn" said:
Who is saying this? An alignment shop maybe?

It's extrememly unlikey that jacking the vehicle resulted in bending the sway bar. It's more likely that you need more positive caster.
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The guy that owns the car is saying all this. He's about as mechanically minded as a goldfish, so things have been "interesting". But, the car doesn't seem to need an alignment; the tires are wearing OK and it seems to drive just fine.
 
Sorry but I would never jack up a car by the sway bar. I am surprised that people think it is acceptable.

While hard to bend it isn't meant as a jacking point.

Just my $.01, giving you a discount.
 
"daveSanborn" said:
I'm missing something somewhere..... if it isn't your car, how is this your concern/problem?
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That's the scariest part...I'm the "professional help" in this little endeavor. I volunteered to help, somehow wound up as the brains of the thing, and I haven't done some of this sh*t before in my life... :craz

"70_Fastback" said:
Chuck Norris could bend it....













.... just by staring at it.
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Chuck Norris doesn't bend metal. Chuck Norris scares it so bad it puckers. :lol
 
"Sluggo" said:
Very, very, very, unlikely.

What were you doing to the car?
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We were trying to make room so we could get the jack under the K-member. Jack was on the sway bar for less than 5 minutes. Like I said, the guy that owns it comes up with some weird stuff...I was just curious to see how possible it was.
 
"gotstang" said:
We were trying to make room so we could get the jack under the K-member. Jack was on the sway bar for less than 5 minutes. Like I said, the guy that owns it comes up with some weird stuff...I was just curious to see how possible it was.
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Ask him to measure it. Should be fairly easy to measure. It would have to be pretty bent to cause the car to wander all over the place, like so bent it was massively pre-loading one side which should be obvious to spot.
 
.....and placing a straight edge could verify that assuming it didn't bend at the factory bent locations. Agree that it'd have to be really bent to make it noticeable during the drive, in which it'd be pretty obvious looking at the bar.
 
"gotstang" said:
We were trying to make room so we could get the jack under the K-member. Jack was on the sway bar for less than 5 minutes. Like I said, the guy that owns it comes up with some weird stuff...I was just curious to see how possible it was.
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For the sway bar to affect alignment, it has to be bent sufficiently to pull either (or both) sides of the front frame rails inwards, affecting the lower control arms primarily and only the UCA secondarily. Both frame rails are very structurally secure, since they are welded to the seat pans and to the radiator supports. Unless the rails are heavily rusted and flimsy, there simply isn't enough force due to the weight of the car to cause that much damage.
 
"gotstang" said:
We were trying to make room so we could get the jack under the K-member. Jack was on the sway bar for less than 5 minutes. Like I said, the guy that owns it comes up with some weird stuff...I was just curious to see how possible it was.
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What I was wondering is why you jacked the car up up in the first place. Replaced something?
 
"Sluggo" said:
What I was wondering is why you jacked the car up up in the first place. Replaced something?
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Oh.Geez I'm slow. :lol That was so we could R&R the driveshaft to get it balanced.

This afternoon, took the car to a friend of mine that has a shop. He said there is NO tailshaft bushing at all. That would explain a lot of things...like the leak. Fark!! This POS is hoodoo'ed!!
 
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