sway bar quick disconnect

Do I need to buy the whole kit to be able to disconnect the sway bar or can I just purchase a pin to function the same way with out using zipties

What is it that you are trying to accomplish ?
Are you going to disconnect the factory sway bar links and then hang sway bar so it stays in place ?
That can be a real time consuming pain in the ass to unbolt the factory links trail side, but you could do it.

Better to save up and do it right once. After have sway bar disconnects, I'm saving for an AntiRock.

You could just unbolt your end links and zip tie the assembly up out of the way.

Or you could piece together your own kit from a hardware store, and still likely have to zip tie up out of the way.

Or you could buy a proper kit.

A proper kit withe everything you need is not very expensive. It's been a while, but somewhere around 75 bucks? To me, it's worth it to have everything I need in one spot. But each to his own. Those are your options.

Thanks guys

I installed JKS quick disconnects and I totally remove them and throw them inside on the floor. Can't lose anything that way. I was amazed at the difference the first time I wheeled with the sway bar free and I would highly recommend them to anyone looking to add some flex on a budget. Installation was easy and removing and replacing trailside takes about 5 minutes.

This may be a silly question, but does anyone disconnect the rear sway bar and if so to what benefit?

Not a silly question. There's a lot of debate on whether it's advantageous to disconnect the rear or not. The general consensus from what I gather; it depends. Isn't that always the answer?

I disconnected mine when I lifted my rig because I was lazy and didn't feel like installing the extended end links. So I disconnected it from the axle also and threw it out. In the TJs, it's really small diameter (further reduced by rust) and I don't believe it is capable of doing much. Some would argue it does juuuust enough to be worth keeping it connected. That a little is all you want. Full disclosure: I've done no with/without testing without changing a whole bunch of other variables simultaneously, so I really can't give a concrete answer either. But since I've been driving with it completely removed, I've noted no serious ill effects.

That said, I have no idea if any of it applies to JKs. So take it with a grain of salt.

I would assume it still applies to the JKs because they are the same 5 link suspension and body on frame.

Basically you don't want unlimited flex because there is a point where the wheel will have no weight pushing down on it.  No weight = no traction.  This is the concept the antirock uses that shaun mentioned earlier.  It is never fully disconnected, instead it relies on different user settings to allow for the most useable flex

This is a very good post that discusses the difference between guys that can droop their axle 5' (but with no weight on tire) and guys with controlled droop that will outwheel them all day

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f27/max-flex-vs-useful-flex-anti-rock-132003/

The OEM rear sway bar on TJ's doesn't actually limit articulation provided you get longer links sized to your amount of lift. With the rear connected you can still stuff the tires, so any articulation gained would be minimal. Most will say they don't like the way the rear acts disconnected as it's not as stable or predictable especially off camber

Tonellin wrote:Basically you don't want unlimited flex...

The OEM rear sway bar on TJ's doesn't actually limit articulation.

Are flex and articulation two different things?

Rob Cote wrote:

Tonellin wrote:Basically you don't want unlimited flex...

The OEM rear sway bar on TJ's doesn't actually limit articulation.

Are flex and articulation two different things?

Nope sorry I probably should have used the same term for consistency

Then I don't follow what point you were trying to make. It sounds like what you're saying is that you don't want unlimited flex (which I can see, because a tire with no weight on it, although it's touching the ground, is not going to have much traction, thus be of little use in crawling) but that the sway bar doesn't limit flex.

Are you trying to say that it doesn't matter if you're connected or not? That something else must be implemented in order to limit flex because stock form is not sufficient?

Not trying to be a dink I'm just....confused.

Rob Cote wrote:Then I don't follow what point you were trying to make. It sounds like what you're saying is that you don't want unlimited flex (which I can see, because a tire with no weight on it, although it's touching the ground, is not going to have much traction, thus be of little use in crawling) but that the sway bar doesn't limit flex.

Are you trying to say that it doesn't matter if you're connected or not? That something else must be implemented in order to limit flex because stock form is not sufficient?

Not trying to be a dink I'm just....confused.

I think it's important to clarify if we're talking about the front or the rear. For both axles you don't want unlimited flex like you mentioned. However, when connected only the front axle is limited by the sway bar in stock form which is why we have to disconnect or preferably run the antirock. The rear with slightly longer links won't limit flex to any noticeable amount which is why there are no companies (reputable companies) that make a rear disconnect

I wouldn't run without a rear sway bar on a coil spring jeep nor would i disconnect it, you don't need to.
I run an Anti rock up front and stock sway bar in rear, it works better than being disconnected up front.
More predictable handling on the trail and no messing with disconnecting the sway bar.