Pickups are great, especially crew cabs! I appreciate a vehicle that can carry you, your family, and all your gear to destinations beyond paved roads, plus tow a trailer and haul household appliances when necessary.
There is always a set of compromises to consider when deciding between a ½, ¾, or 1-ton model pickup to meet your personal needs. After years of owning ¾ ton Ram 2500s, I switched to a ½ ton Ram 1500 Ecodiesel to optimize fuel economy and ride comfort. Let’s face it: Even though backroad adventures are fun and I’d rather spend my time on dirt, gravel, and sand, 85% of my driving is around town or up and down the highway. I have found, however, that ½ ton pickups can struggle when approaching the upper limits of their payload and towing capacity. I’d never recommend exceeding stated capacities for payload and towing, but it is nice to have help as you near those capacities, especially for long trips towing trailers. A sway bar helps with this!
A look at the OEM rear sway bar and the rust from the long Ashton, Idaho, winters. Hellwig instructs that vehicle weight should remain on the axle and springs. Do not jack up the vehicle for this install.Checking out the new Hellwig sway bar and installation hardware.Here are the tools I used to complete the OEM sway bar removal and the install of the new Hellwig setup: 18mm wrench, 11/16 sockets regular and deep, 5/8 socket, 15mm socket, two 18mm sockets, 5/16 Allen, ratchet, breaker bar, adjustable wrench, impact guns, PB Blaster, and the instructions from Hellwig! The torque wrench I used for the final snugging of nuts and the bench vise used on end link bushings are not pictured.The folks at Hellwig are helpful and quick to respond. Included directions indicated that collar clamps should be placed near the axle mount bushing. I had no collar clamps! Hellwig tech support let me know that they are no longer needed.
My family enjoys camping in a 2018 Taxa Industries Mantis trailer. This trailer is a perfect companion for my 2018 Ram 1500, and to make long trips even better, I am installing a Hellwig Rear Sway Bar Kit for ’09-’22 RAM 1500 4WD W/ 2-4-inch lift (Part #7883). Already installed were 2-inch Bilstein coil springs and an Air Lift 1000 HD air suspension kit.
In this article, we will go through the steps I took to replace the rear sway bar on my 2018 Ram with a rear sway bar from Hellwig. I hope this helps some of you when you take on a similar project!
One side disconnected with help with a preplanned application of PB Blaster. Repeat on the other side.This photo doesn’t do justice to how much beefier the Hellwig sway bar is!Grease the bushings mounted on the axles prior to installation. This photo better represents the increase in sway bar diameter. I missed the grease in the package initially and brought out grease from another repair, but the Hellwig grease is thicker and more tacky. I ended using the Hellwig grease.The new bushings holding the new Hellwig sway bar. I first used the original bolts but finished the job with the supplied Allen head bolts.I used my bench vise to seat the bushings in the end links. Grease the bushing liberally before insertion into the end link.Assemble the end links as shown in the instructions by threading the 9/16-inch nut on the male piece and then threading the male and female halves together. Here are built end links. I ended up threading the male end into the female end about another inch to achieve proper alignment of the sway bar.Tighten the jam nut once you have reached the proper alignment. Hellwig indicates that the sway bar should be parallel to the ground.Hellwig suggests that you first set up the sway bar at the outer mounting hole until you adjust to the new ride characteristics. I am jumping right into a Baja California, Mexico, trip with a loaded bed and trailer. I opted to start out in the middle setting.
The scene outside while I worked in the garage!
Editor’s Note: A version of this article appeared in TREAD Mar/Apr 2024.
Brandon Hoffner
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July 29, 2024
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