150 Rear Sway Bar Drop Box

[footoo Member Find all posts View Profile Close footoo]

Having had a look at SMAKB’s swaybar extension rods was very tempted but put off by the price. I then saw an equivalent of a “drop box” from a Nissan info site to lower the existing rods back to normal angles. With this in mind I decided to have a go at making my own. The existing top mount for the rods has two holes which suited my idea perfectly.
I started with a piece of 50mm x 2mm square cut to 95mm.

http://postimage.org/image/5huftvjh3/

Put a 3 sided cut at 45mm then removed 3 sides of the 50mm box remaning, folded the flap over and welded to make the lower mount for the swaybar rod. Using 2mm steel box this left me with a finished length of 47mm. There was a bit of grinding involved, not just to clean up my welding!!

http://postimage.org/image/6mj15yng5/

This is what the original mounts look like with the rods removed.

http://postimage.org/image/cyr8pyh3l/

And now with the “drop boxes” in place. Under my normal (50mm lifted) conditions, the rods are now vertical with no stress on the top mount rubbers. 50mm box fits nicely although you could use a piece of 50mm channel which would save having to remove one side of the box. The advantage of this is that it improves the down (drop) articulation of the rear wheel.

http://postimage.org/image/pwnpdape9/

Best of all, apart from a bit of electricity, a couple of grinding disks and a welding rod: Yes I am an old fashioned stick welder.. It cost nothing as I had the materials
Geoff

[barryswanson Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close barryswanson]

Well done mate looks pro! I have thought of this concept also but slightly different. I was thinking of just putting a couple of nuts on the bottom of the thread and using all that thread sticking out the top if that makes sense.

[footoo Member Find all posts View Profile Close footoo]

Yes, thought of that idea too, would definitely work. You would not get quite as much drop but anything is better than nothing.
The other thing I just thought of is that you might not be able to lock the top nut as it screws down to the bottom of the thread and the top rubber would also be on the threaded part of the rod witch may chew it out over time.

[footoo Member Find all posts View Profile Close footoo]

Whoops.

Which Witch is Which!!

[Guest Close Guest]

Top effort. I was going to do something similar to the rear shocks as I have raised the back but worried about not getting enough droop on the factory shocks on the Grande.

Yes, thought of that idea too, would definitely work. You would not get quite as much drop but anything is better than nothing.
The other thing I just thought of is that you might not be able to lock the top nut as it screws down to the bottom of the thread and the top rubber would also be on the threaded part of the rod witch may chew it out over time.

That's right. The nut needs to screw down to the shoulder of the thread to get the right amount of compression on the rubbers.