Is it OK to weld a sway bar?
Welding the sway bar will not change its stiffness or performance – until it twists out of shape permanently or it breaks. The real question is are you wasting your time because there is a good chance it will happen. So it’s all about rating that chance.
Can you weld a sway bar link?
A sway bar is just a horizontal torsion spring, not some piece of mild steel. You can certainly get a weld to stick, but the metal is going to lose its spring-like properties wherever heat is applied.
Can I heat and bend a sway bar?
You can bend ’em. That’s how they build them, from straight steel bar stock. Pop them in the hydraulic pipe bending machine, and they bend them up. I would imagine a good heavy press would be just fine.
What type of steel is used for sway bars?
Hellwig sources 4140 chromoly steel for its sway bars and 5160 steel for its helper leaf springs from foundries in Chicago. Sway bars are either tubular or solid, depending on the application. Common diameters are 1-1/2-inches and 1-5/8-inches, although military and semi-truck applications can be more than 2-1/4 inch.
Can you weld spring steel?
Springsteel is a high carbon, heat treated steel which is impossible, or at least very difficult, to weld. Even if you could weld it, the heat generated by the weld would normalize the welded and heat affected zones and the springing properties would disappear.
What happens if you remove sway bar?
If you take off the factory sway bar you reduce your ability to control the vehicle. Reduced control puts other motorists at risk too. The last thing I want is to do is injure another person for minimal articulation increases. I travel with my family regularly and would not want them to be injured due to my negligence.
What kind of steel are sway bars made of?
4140 chromoly steel
Hellwig sources 4140 chromoly steel for its sway bars and 5160 steel for its helper leaf springs from foundries in Chicago. Sway bars are either tubular or solid, depending on the application. Common diameters are 1-1/2-inches and 1-5/8-inches, although military and semi-truck applications can be more than 2-1/4 inch.
Are sway bars spring steel?
Sway bar MUST be made of heat treated spring steel of some sort, regular mild steel will simply twist, bend, and ultimately fail.
What material is a sway bar made of?
steel bar
A sway bar is usually a torsion spring that resists body roll motions. It is usually constructed out of a cylindrical steel bar, formed into a “U” shape, that connects to the body at two points, and at the left and right sides of the suspension.