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Tassa
Dodge Dakota
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9/27/2005
20:31:39
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 Subject: sway bar brackets
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Message:
I have a lifted 02 dakota and i bought it in june, my problem is the sway bar brackets keep braking. I dont really know what kind of lift is on it eathier. It has a big TS smybol by the torsion bar mount. I just want to know if someone has any idea, i am trying to find some replacement brackets to go on it we have welded the ones to get by.
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JD
Dodge Dakota
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9/28/2005
13:09:13
| RE: sway bar brackets
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Message:
Since you said torsion bars, you have a 4x4.
Which brackets are breaking, the ones at the A-arms, or the ones that hold the bar to the cross-member?
The ones at the A-arms are cast iron, and a special procedure must be used to weld them or they will keep breaking. The ones at the cross-member are stamped steel.
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Tassa
Dodge Dakota
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9/28/2005
17:28:42
| RE: sway bar brackets
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It would be the ones on the sway bar, they look like aluminum and they are visiable by the tires when looking at the sway bar. Sorry i am kind of a beginner with this stuff. I found them once online, but cant remember where.
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JD
Dodge Dakota
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9/28/2005
20:07:03
| RE: sway bar brackets
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Just to be sure we’re talking about the same thing, I stole some pics from a parts manual.
Here’s the 4x4 front suspension exploded view of the driver’s side from under the truck and from behind. Numbers 6 and 7 are the sway bar brackets and there are two of each. Number 6 is bolted to the front cross-member. Number 7 clamps the sway bar to the underside of the lower A-arm.
Here’s the 4x2 front suspension exploded view of driver’s side, but from the front. Number 8 is the sway bar bracket, and it has a “dog-bone” link out on the end that connects to the lower A-arm..
Which is it?
How lifted is your truck?
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Tassa
Dodge Dakota
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9/29/2005
19:12:12
| RE: sway bar brackets
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Message:
It would be the 6 in the first picture but it is pretty small cuz we got the piece original to it and it is diffrent from what is on my truck but it is the same on a stock one that my bro's gf drives. I think it is a 3 or 4 inch lift.
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JD
Dodge Dakota
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9/29/2005
20:28:01
| RE: sway bar brackets
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Message:
The reason I asked about the lift is because of the geometry changes inherent with a lift on the Dakota 4x4 front suspension as designed.
The sway bar is directly connected to the crossmember and the A-arms. That, plus the lift, the shape of the sway bar, and no real "give" to the assembly except for the rubber bushings, causes the sway bar to constantly pull those brackets away from the crossmember to the rear and down, and pull forward on the lower A-arms, especially under extremes of articulation. The weak link appears to be those crossmember brackets.
Options?
Reduce or remove the lift.
Replace those crossmember brackets with a stronger version, perhaps from another year 4x4 Dakota or Durango if you can find some that fit. 2003 and earlier 4x4 Durango uses the same front suspension components.
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tassa
Dodge Dakota
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9/29/2005
21:16:01
| RE: sway bar brackets
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Message:
yeah okay i see what you are saying. So basically the truck was lifted by an idiot cuz, I bought it off a used car lot with it already done and i dont really know crap about it which sucks cuz it cost me alot of money but i really like it. i already fixed wheels, got a fix it ticket cuz they stuck out to far but it had to do with the wheel offset and i didnt want to put huge flares on it so i bought a set of narrower wheels. this whole situation sucks cuz i really like the way it is.
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JD
Dodge Dakota
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9/29/2005
22:09:35
| RE: sway bar brackets
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Message:
I just read through your other post on this subject in the OFF_ROAD forum. The Les Schwab guy is right.
I recommend you befriend a mechanically-inclined individual very near you. Maybe the lift can be reduced a bit to take the strain off the parts.
A real mechanic who lives and breathes this stuff will often do some weekend work for you cheap. They just wanna get their hands dirty.
What size tires are on your truck now, and do your current wheels have the factory offset (backspacing)?
Maybe we can figure how much you can reduce the lift without rubbing the tires on stuff, and still leave it lifted enough for you.
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tassa
Dodge Dakota
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9/30/2005
13:13:31
| RE: sway bar brackets
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Message:
I just put some 17" x 8" wheels on it that pulled the wheels back to where they belong as my dad says. and 33" tires it had 15" 12" on it that stuck way out. and the truck is handling better with the new tires. My dad is gonna fabricate some thicker brackets but he is painting our house and just cut his thumb real bad and we are heading into winter and i was gonna order some new ones that are on it i found a set before but we already put the old one back on. They are the Greaseable bushing/brackets that come with your suspension kit. I think cuz that is how i found them before it is like 20 dollars for a set but none of the auto part store here sell performance parts.
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JD
Dodge Dakota
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9/30/2005
17:49:30
| RE: sway bar brackets
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Message:
Good luck, then.
Afterthought:
I wouldn't recommend removing the front sway bar. A lifted truck has a higher center of gravity, and needs some anti-sway device to help keep it controllable in turns. If you remove the front bar, the rear suspension roll stiffness will then be greater in relation to the front, and the rear end will tend to slide on you.
Might be fun, but as you said, winter is coming.
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