Sway bar linkage question

[jjvw]

Sorry for the follow up questions, but I’m just trying to understand what I have. Talking about the disconnects got me to looking at my bump stops. See pics please.

So, even if the sway bar is disconnected, the up travel (and I’m assuming this directly limits the down travel on the other side), is limited by the bump stops. In the pic, that doesn’t look like a lot of travel. Maybe it is, I don’t know. And as mentioned, the shock comes into play somehow.

Now looking at the pic of the tire/fender flare…are the bump stops set so the tire doesn’t rub the flare when flexed? It looks like the bump stops will engage and leave about 1-2 inches of clearance between the tire and fender. Am I understanding this correctly?

If so, even with the sway bar disconnected, I’m limited by the bump stops. If that is due to the flares, to gain more travel I would need to swap flares, correct? Then reduce the length of the bump stops to allow the extra travel.

Everything was done by the PO. Again, just trying to learn so I can make informed decisions.

View attachment 307927

View attachment 307928

Again, your shocks determine the limits of travel. Both up and down. Not the sway bar, not the bump stops. If you want more travel, then you need to make room for longer shocks. This starts with a spring lift and is often further augmented with body clearancing using various methods and building new shock mounts.

 

[pagrey]

The bump stops protect more than the flares but it really depends on how they were setup by the previous owner. The most important thing they do is protect the shock from taking the impact when the Jeep bottoms out. Secondary is insuring the tires clear all around, not just the fenders. Some of us remove the springs and use jacks to move the axle all around to both correctly check the bump stop are protecting the shock and clearance things that are in the way. It's called cycling the suspension. There's allot of information floating around about how to setup the suspension, it's a whole can of worms. A great part about doing it is you can see for yourself on your suspension what people like @jjvw are talking about.

 

[pagrey]

While the axle at full droop on both sides sits comfortably limited by the shocks. When the sway bar is disconnected the opposite side can be fully pushed up. This pivots the caliper marked x in my stupid diagram down outboard the pivot point which is the shock mount. This is made worse at full steering lock as the caliper pivots down and away from the frame stretching the lines. I guess from all the comments this isn't a common issue, maybe with the springs in it's flat impossible? It's possible my experience is why JKS suggests the longer lines. You can't fully articulate the suspension like this with the sway bar connected. I personally don't see the harm in checking things like this and I'm glad it was said that it is best to test.

 

[NashvilleTJ]

While the axle at full droop on both sides sits comfortably limited by the shocks. When the sway bar is disconnected the opposite side can be fully pushed up. This pivots the caliper marked x in my stupid diagram down outboard the pivot point which is the shock mount. This is made worse at full steering lock as the caliper pivots down and away from the frame stretching the lines. I guess from all the comments this isn't a common issue, maybe with the springs in it's flat impossible? It's possible my experience is why JKS suggests the longer lines. You can't fully articulate the suspension like this with the sway bar connected. I personally don't see the harm in checking things like this and I'm glad it was said that it is best to test.

View attachment 307937

One thing to note, and you can see it on Paul's diagram, is why it is important to set the bumps at full articulation, rather than at full stuff on both sides. Note the dot on the right of the line that represents the axle at full articulation - think of that as the location of the bump stop. Notice that the x at the right of the axle is higher than the bump. So the bump stop has to be set so that when the tire angles up as shown, it does not get into the fender.

On my rig, when I bring the front axle to full stuff, I still have a couple of inches clearance to the fender. But at full articulation, the tire just kisses the fender.

As Paul said, that's why it's important to test every scenario - and find your happy medium.