Technical Sway bar end link alignment question

I readily admit that I'm not well schooled in front suspension stuff. I have the Jamco (Hellwig) upgraded sway bar for my 1950 Merc. Are the end links supposed to be off center/angled relative to the lower A-arm mounting point? It doesn't seem that at any height the end links are ever centered over the mounting holes. The mounting brackets are fully forward on the frame in this picture.
Is this normal?

 

Can the sway bar be mounted behind the A-arm? If not remove the lower mounting point and weld a tab for the link to the arm. That would put the link vertical.

Nick

 

Alot of factory sway bar links are not straight. Bolt both sides together and see how they look.

Also make sure you don't have the brackets backwards as in the link hole actually goes to the control arm and the control arm bolt hole goes to the link side.

.

 

Make a link with a kink.

 

Flip the bracket? It looks like if you turned it the other way it would work provided you have room for the bushing.

 

I can’t tell from the picture, but if you’re lucky the link is vertical when the weight is on the suspension. They all seem to be crooked when they’re hanging

 

^ Good point, is there any weight on that suspension, i.e. at ride height?

 

Everything is a compromise with end links.
The A-Arms pivot laterally and the Sway Bar pivots longitudinally .

Personally I dislike those angle brackets [they flex and come loose]
On my car I ditched the swaybar end links and swapped them for Nissan [R32, Laurel, Sentra] end links.
These have a lower ball joints that only requires a 3/8" [10mm] hole in the A-Arm. and uses standard bushings in the sway bar.


Everything was measured drilled etc with the car on the ground.

 

Best to have the connector links as straight as possible.
BUT, a small angle is not going to hurt anything.
It's also important that the control arm bracket be, NOT flexible. Welding is preferable to bolting.

The MOST important thing is, that the arms of the bar itself, be PARALLEL to the chassis/ground, at ride height.
From the 90° bend to the connection loop. Humps and bumps in the arm don't count !
Mike

 

Swaybar instructions for aftermarket kits I've used state the arms should be as close to level from the road surface as possible. That's not always possible, but I try to get them close to level whenever possible.

 

no, not at this point. I'm still lining everything out before putting the engine and tranny on.

 

Can you at least jack the arms to the ride height position? It will make a difference.

 

Yea, when I air up the bags to ride height and set it on the ground, it doesn't seem to make any difference to the end link alignment. I'm wondering if redrilling the sway bar mount holes in the frame a little more forward could be an option...? The offset is approx. 1/2" - 3/4".

 

Is the “air up ride height” on the bags anywhere close to stock on the springs? That might be your answer. Then see post 8 and 9 above.

 

On modern stuff I have found that end links are as close to the path-of-force, which often has nothing whatsoever to do with any imaginary, arbitrary line.