Tools used

The purpose of a sway bar is to attempt to keep the body and axle parallel to each other. In other words, it's purpose is to eliminate articulation. Sway bars shine on pavement in high speed turns - they greatly reduce body roll enabling the driver to more easily maintain control of the vehicle. But on many Jeeps, removing the sway bars would be extremely hazardous at freeway speeds. In the dirt, where we are normally not traveling at 75 mph, we want the axles to follow the terrain freely with minimal effect on body movement. We don't necessarily want the frame parallel to the axle(s). Off road, a disconnected swaybar can actually reduce the tendency for a roll over at slow speeds. If that sounds a little odd to you, take a look at these pictures. In the first picture with the swaybar attached, you'll see that the axle and body are very near parallel and leaning heavily. In the second picture with the swaybar disconnected, the body of the Jeep remains nearly parallel to the ground while the axle is allowed to move freely. Which Jeep would you rather be riding in?

Swaybars connected

Swaybars disconnected

As you can probably gather from the above pictures, an axle uninhibited by a swaybar will allow your tires to maintain contact with the ground (assuming adequate suspension travel) when encountering obstacles such as rocks, deep ruts, or ditches, etc. This benefit is extremely important to anyone who doesn't have a traction aiding differential. If you were crossing a 2-foot-deep ditch at a 45-degree angle in a stock Jeep with swaybars and open differentials, you'd likely wind up with two tires hanging uselessly in mid-air and find yourself stuck. However, that same Jeep with the swaybar(s) disconnected will likely keep all four tires on the ground and probably provide enough traction to get you through the obstacle.

OEM links

Disconnects

We'll admit, you don't necessarily have to purchase swaybar disconnects to receive these benefits. You can unbolt one or both of your OEM end links prior to hitting the trail, then reinstall them before returning to the pavement. We used this method for a while and believe us, the job gets old quickly. You'll have to crawl on the ground to attach the lower portion of the link, and you'll have to be sure to carry the appropriate hand tools every time you might even think of venturing off pavement. The last time we used this method we spent 30 minutes searching for a nut in some tall grass. At that point, we drew the line and called Rubicon Express.

Rubicon Express manufactures swaybar disconnects for virtually every late model Jeep as well as complete suspension lifts and accessories/necessities. The swaybar disconnects for our Cherokee are available in a variety of lengths to accommodate any amount of suspension lift, guaranteeing a perfect fit. Ours were very easy to install, requiring about 30 minutes of our time (the tire was removed solely for photography purposes) using simple hand tools. Now that we're spoiled on the easy disconnect system, we'll never go back to unbolting end links again.

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Dirt Road Magazine is sponsored by Turner 4WD Parts Co.