OEM front sway bar sizes

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canyncarvr

canyncarvr

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Looking for replacement bushings, I followed the 'does it fit?' recommendations from a website, got to 15/16" bushings. Ordered some.

Having put the cart in front of the horse I then thought, 'I wonder what stock sizes were used?' Went looking on the web, didn't find anything definite. The great idea, 'I should have just measured mine,' came next. I did. It is 13/16" (.812").

That seems to be an odd size. 15/16" seems to be more common and what I might have guessed at (and what the fitment tree said to order), the car coming with a 340.

My question for those that know this kind'a stuff: Is my '73 340 car having a 13/16" sway bar unusual? The handling effect is not important...this is no slalom running road race car. That a smaller bar came OEM in the car is fine. That a 15/16" might be considered to be a bare minimum spec...that's not going to happen.

I'm just curious about the 13/16" part. Maybe some line person ran out of the 340 size (15/16") and slapped in what was sitting in their parts bin... and should have gone in a 225 car. The car being a '73 and the 340 getting choked to death that year, maybe some injuneer decided that the small bar was good enuf?

Looking for an education on OEM bars and why whatever size was used.

Thanks!
 
There’s only one size 73-76 front sway bar that I know of. I don’t remember that exact measurement. But I’m sure it’s what you measured. Catalogs on these older cars are often wrong.

Only possible bigger size might have came on the 1974?-1976 A-body police cars. Very rare. An relative anomaly.

It is was it is. Different OE cars have different sizes. The width, arm length, control arm attachment point, wheel rate, and a bunch of other stuff go into determining the thickness of the sway bar.

There’s lots of different ways to get to the same place.

It all factors into the vehicle’s overall roll stiffness.

Get the right bushing and run it. If you want more roll stiffness (resistance) get a bigger sway bar and/or torsion bars.
 
canyncarvr said:
Looking for replacement bushings, I followed the 'does it fit?' recommendations from a website, got to 15/16" bushings. Ordered some.

Having put the cart in front of the horse I then thought, 'I wonder what stock sizes were used?' Went looking on the web, didn't find anything definite. The great idea, 'I should have just measured mine,' came next. I did. It is 13/16" (.812")... I'm just curious about the 13/16" part. Maybe some line person ran out of the 340 size (15/16") and slapped in what was sitting in their parts bin... and should have gone in a 225 car. The car being a '73 and the 340 getting choked to death that year, maybe some injuneer decided that the small bar was good enuf?...
Click to expand...

Chrysler engineers were very careful with everything. Mundane cars (read "/6 and 318 cars without HD suspension") in 1973 did not come with front sway bars. See post #2. Your sway bar is most likely original and what a 340 Duster was meant to have.
 
Do the end links (outside attachments) vary with specifics to bar thickness? Not saying those links have anything to do with how thick the bar is, but maybe how thick the bar is leads to different size/fit/length/hole size for the links?

I ordered some of a 'one-each' set said to fit my car from Energy Suspension. They are listed as 'L 1-5/8 in.' which is a term I cannot even guess at. It's not 'Length', and a 1-5/8" diameter seems way too big.

Having seen references to 15/16", 7/8", and even 1"+, I was getting to wonder where my 13/16" came into being.

Not likely something that was ever fussed with. I bought the car in '75. I have replaced the end-link bushings, but never touched the center mount bushings.

Thank you for the responses autox and 66fs. I appreciate the learnin'.
 
canyncarvr said:
Do the end links (outside attachments) vary with specifics to bar thickness? Not saying those links have anything to do with how thick the bar is, but maybe how thick the bar is leads to different size/fit/length/hole size for the links?

I ordered some of a 'one-each' set said to fit my car from Energy Suspension. They are listed as 'L 1-5/8 in.' which is a term I cannot even guess at. It's not 'Length', and a 1-5/8" diameter seems way too big.

Having seen references to 15/16", 7/8", and even 1"+, I was getting to wonder where my 13/16" came into being.

Not likely something that was ever fussed with. I bought the car in '75. I have replaced the end-link bushings, but never touched the center mount bushings.

Thank you for the responses autox and 66fs. I appreciate the learnin'.
Click to expand...

Sway bar diameter offered by the aftermarket varies on what you want to do with your car, hence the diameter and construction choices. The end links are specific to the car, not the bar diameter, the attaching points should be the same. Just match length with the originals.
 
I would expect the end links for a 1-1/8" bar to be considerably different from those that 'go with' a 13/16" bar.

The end links I ordered are said to fit my car, they are (supposedly) specific to the car. That should mean the spacers/ferrules are the right length, the bolts themselves are the right length, the end link actually fits. That might even turn out to be true! If not, I'll just use my hardware and use the new bushings.

Thanks for the input.
 
canyncarvr said:
I would expect the end links for a 1-1/8" bar to be considerably different from those that 'go with' a 13/16" bar.

The end links I ordered are said to fit my car, they are (supposedly) specific to the car. That should mean the spacers/ferrules are the right length, the bolts themselves are the right length, the end link actually fits. That might even turn out to be true! If not, I'll just use my hardware and use the new bushings.

Thanks for the input.
Click to expand...

End links will just very in length per application. Not really bar thickness.

Eyelet on the bar and the LCA are the same size regardless of bar diameter.
 
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