sway bar , recondition, upgrade?

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bud40
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sway bar , recondition, upgrade?

Post by bud40 »

good day

looking for some help!. i have a 99 y61 TD42 . it has 430000 on the clock . If i put 3 fingers on the car roof n pull reasonably hard the car sways. driving over or through potholes at very slow speeds gives your abs a workout to stop yourself from swaying in the car! i look under the car at the rear sway bars and when the cars is pulled on the roof , i see the say bars moving at least 1 or 2 inches . ive disconnected the sway bar and it doesnt make that much of a difference. does it mean the sway bar has lost its springiness? can it be reconditioned? if so how? Should i get a thicker bar? the present one is 19 mm in diameter.
i use it daily on Harare roads and sometimes go offroad but nothing serious.

could it be the springs or shocks? the shocks are gas adjust kyb. i figure i dont need heavy duty shocks as i dont really do any serious offroading. ive not changed the springs and ive had it for about 100000 km.

thanks in advance

Hithen
Craig Lord
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Re: sway bar , recondition, upgrade?

Post by Craig Lord »

This sounds like a shock problem to me :oldtimer: the actual sway bar itself does not function like a "sping" in that sense. If rock the vehicle from side to side and it keeps rocking back and forth for a while after your you let it go then it's the shocks... the sway bar is there for stability, it distributes load to better stability particularly during cornering but does not act as a shock absorber.
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Re: sway bar , recondition, upgrade?

Post by Craig Lord »

Also, do you have a roof rack and carry loads on the roof? This will perpetuate the issue... it still would come down to a shock issue though and maybe also new springs
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Kagiso II
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Re: sway bar , recondition, upgrade?

Post by Kagiso II »

At that mileage it sounds to me like combination of shocks fubar AND the coil springs also at the end of their tether
FIRST replace the shocks, then check again .. if problem persists the consider replacing coils [I trust you have already confirmed all the RUBBER BUSHES are a O K ?
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Re: sway bar , recondition, upgrade?

Post by Peter Connan »

The sway bar itself will not lose it's springiness. The mounting bushes might be worn, but that doesn't really have much effect. Do you have a sway bar on the front axle as well, or onpy the rear?

As already said, weight high up will make it worse, as will worn shocks.

The only other thing to look at is whether there is a suspension imbalance.
If you drive over a speed-bump at an angle, does the vehicle sway when the front axle passes over the bump, or the rear axle? The axle that causes the most sway is the stiffer one. You can either reduce the roll resistance on that axle, or increase the roll resistance on the other axle.
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bud40
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Re: sway bar , recondition, upgrade?

Post by bud40 »

Thanks so much for the info gents.
i really was leaning towards the sway bar!

i have replaced the bushes not too long ago and they still look tight.
i am not using a roof rack at present - i do have one but its off at present.
ive replaced the shocks- ive tried not to upgrade them to ome, ironman etc but rather kept them so called standard replacement by using kyb or monroe. the car doesnt bounce. i.e. it dampens out pretty quickly like 1 n a tiny oscillation.
i think i'll look into the springs then - can you give me any suggestions? i'll have to get them from SA as nothing here really

oh can the sway bar be reconditioned?

thanks so much again

hithen
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Re: sway bar , recondition, upgrade?

Post by Craig Lord »

You can look at Bilstein for springs. They are competitively priced and they have a range of load carrying options. Decent shocks too. I run them on my patrol, happy so far but I will be going to a higher constant load spring for the rear.

If you really want to deal with the sway bar just order another one from nissan. I dont think they can be "reconditioned" other than changing the bushes. As far as I understand it's just a static bar that's there to distribute load forces and to reduce body roll during cornering but it doesnt flex or bend like a spring so it shouldnt ever need to be reconditioned in the way that I think you are thinking? If your shocks are new then I would look at the coil springs and make sure that the correct shocks have been installed relative to the weight of the vehicle. If you have front and rear bull bars and a roof rack then all that added weight will make the standard shocks inadequate for your needs....
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Re: sway bar , recondition, upgrade?

Post by Tinus lotz »

I can arrage the bilstein man to look at your car where abouts are you ?
bud40
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Re: sway bar , recondition, upgrade?

Post by bud40 »

thanks again

i live in Harare Tinus .

Craig do you have a number i can contact for bilstein? the idea they can be reconditioned is apealing. the car is pretty standard so no bull bars etc but thanks for reminding me about the extra loads.

i took off the rear bar today and it really isnt doing much even with the bar off. a bit more roll but very driveable. ive seen a second hand one im gonna see if its thicker than mine . if i can try it great, more info the better.

thanks again gents.

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Re: sway bar , recondition, upgrade?

Post by Craig Lord »

Tinus is the one to talk to re Bilstein, helped me getting mine sorted out :thumbup: good luck
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