Rear Sway Bar Length

Unknown

I recently discovered something I wonder if anyone else has had experience with. On my '49 Super Six, I removed the rear sway bar to replace the well-worn rubber bushings that were about as mushy as sponges. When I installed the nice new bushings I got from K-Gap, I discovered that the sway bar is now about an inch too short!

It appears that the old soft bushings allowed that sway bar to shorten itself. I can imagine if you hit a big bump just right, it would in essence further bend the two bends that are already in it, which would shorten the overall length, but the mushy bushings would still allow it to fit.

So my plan is to use a press to try and gain back this inch that I need. Along with the two 'sharp' bends in the bar, there appears to be a very large radius 'third' bend in it, that doesn't look like it belongs. I'll start by removing this one, and see what that gains me.

Anyone ever heard of this one?

Thanks for the help.

bob ward

I'd be wary about altering the locating rod until you've had a look at and measured another one. They won't be too hard to find. I know the rods are not straight, they curve to miss the diff centre.

I'd be thinking more of loosening the spring shackle bolts, fitting the rod, then retightening the shackle bolts

Unknown

After reading your post I went out and looked at my "49 Panhard Bar (swaybar, if you will, although the purpose is to limit lateral movement of the rear end) and as far as I can tell there is only two bends in it. I didn't have a tape with me to get a length.

Unknown

LOL, been there, done that......the sway bar is almost impossible to get back on with the weight off the springs.....I assume you have the car's body supported on jack stands and the axle at full droop ? The sway bar, as it swings down, also describes an arc to the right about 1 inch or so! I seriously doubt the sway bar can get bent from just having mushy bushings in it. With the sway bar off the axle, the springs and axles now go straight down when the car is jacked up, and weight is off the springs, at full droop. Try this, jack the axle back up with floor jack until the car body just starts to come up off the jack stands, but leave them in place for safety. Attach the sway bar to the stud on the right side of axle first, then swing the upper end up into the "box" on the crossmember above the axle where frame kicks up , on the left side. If the holes dont like up exactly, use a big screw driver or awl to move the Panhard rod over and then push the bolt thru, and possibly tapping the bolt thru with a hammer. Don't forget to install the thick spacer washer between the rubber bushing and the inside of the "Box" bracket on upper frame crossmember, before you push the bolt thru! If you forget this, you will get a heavy rattle under accelleration! Check the Hudson Shop manual for illustrations of the bushing and that spacer washer! I think at some point, maybe about 1951 or so, they issued a factory service bulletin recommending the steel spacer bush on the upper end of the older Stepdowns be shortened a bit so that the washer could compress the rubber more, to prevent a rattle on accelleration that owners had been complaining about. I think I saw this in one of my old Hudson Service Merchandisers, about '51 or so. Kenneth

Park_W

I recently had the second experience with the Panhard bar on a '51 being 1/4' too short to match up the holes, with weight on the springs. And prying the bar over to get the bolt in is much easier said than done. The first time, I took the bar to a local welding shop and we heated it enough to take a little out of one bend, to lengthen the bar by 1/4'. May have to do it with this latest one, too.

[Deleted User]

When I replaced the worn out bushings in my 54 hornet, I had the same problem and had to jack up the rear end to get the bolt into the bushing.....
BJ

Unknown

I had the same problem and took a small bottle jack and put it between the frame and differencial and pumped it over enough to get the stupid bolts in. once back on the ground and on the road it was fine. I doubt you could bend the bar under normal use. It helps to have new engine mounts, AMC Gremlin ones work great, and a new trammy mount as well. But never bend the bar, move the axel. As [Wilford Brumley?] would say, "It is the right thing to do."