Hellwig AntiSway Bar

[pomfret]

You can confirm this by calling JCW and asking if their part number references the Hellwig 7641 swaybar. That's the actual Hellwig part # for the Tundra swaybar.

Brian

[tremo]

C2,

You can find additional info. for the Hellwig under My Photos, specifically:

http://www.tundrasolutions.com/photo...cat=500&page=2

I provide a link to the Hellwig @ Summit Racing as well as another thread where this same subject was discussed. Also, see my sig for a link to the Hellwig How-To Guide.

Seee-ya!

Jim.

[derone]

If you purchase the Helwig, be prepared when it gets there with some gloss black paint, semigloss black, clear(perfectionists only), 150grit sandpaper, and small bubble level. The paint on the bar and hardware has runs, chips, etc. I used the gloss for the bar and axle brackets prior to intalling, and then the semigloss for the frame/endlink brackets after those were installed. I used the foot long level to ensure the endlink brackets were level and well as the axle brackets.
Doug

[tremo]

Originally posted by derone
If you purchase the Helwig, be prepared when it gets there with some gloss black paint, semigloss black, clear(perfectionists only), 150grit sandpaper, and small bubble level. The paint on the bar and hardware has runs, chips, etc. I used the gloss for the bar and axle brackets prior to intalling, and then the semigloss for the frame/endlink brackets after those were installed. I used the foot long level to ensure the endlink brackets were level and well as the axle brackets.
Doug

Huh, I did none of that and it looks and works great! Granted, the paint did come a tad scuffed, but I figured since it's under the truck and it's a suspension component that's gonna get dirty in a week anyway, why bother? That's not to say I can't see the value in sprucing it up. (To each his own...)

Q: Where did you purchase your Hellwig from and for how much?

Thanks!

Jim.

[pomfret]

Originally posted by tremo
Huh, I did none of that and it looks and works great! Granted, the paint did come a tad scuffed, but I figured since it's under the truck and it's a suspension component that's gonna get dirty in a week anyway, why bother? That's not to say I can't see the value in sprucing it up. (To each his own...)

Jim.

Heh... Mine is being powder coated right now (including all painted parts). For a $50 bill, the guy is going to sandblast the existing finish (if you can call it that) off too.

I do have to say, the finish that was on mine was terrible. Paint bubbles / craters everywhere, massive drips on everything... even the two "L" brackets were stuck together because they packaged everything before the paint even dried. It looked like string cheese when I pulled them apart, and the paint was still wet.

It almost looks like they dipped the parts into a vat of paint instead of sparying it on.

Brian

[dudebert_2001]

I agree that the paint finish on everything is pretty bad. When I first opened the box and pulled out the swaybar, I came away with a handfull of uncured black paint!

Since I'm not too concerned about a nice smooth finish, but I am concerned about preventing rust, I ended up scraping/sanding off the bad spots and painted the bar and all of the hardware with Por-15 undercoat and Por-15 chassis coat black. If you've never used Por-15 before, this stuff is great.

I painted everything about 90% before assembly and then finished up after I installed the bar (and test drove, checked for tightness, etc).

Now it looks 100% better and I don't need to worry about anything rusting years from now.

[tremo]

All, same question:

Q: Where did you purchase your Hellwig from and for how much?

(I have a reason for asking this and will share it once answered...)

Thanks!

Jim.

[dudebert_2001]

I got mine from Summit Racing for $135

[pomfret]

$143 shipped to my door from Summit Racing.

Brian

[tremo]

Originally posted by pomfret
$143 shipped to my door from Summit Racing.

Brian

Originally posted by dudebert_2001
I got mine from Summit Racing for $135

OK, there goes my theory! Since I also got mine from Summit and didn't have wet paint to contend with (still can't figure out how the paint didn't dry after 3-4+ days in the box) nor was my sway bar in that bad of shape, I was wondering if perhaps JC Whitney received Hellwig's less-than-perfect stock to sell at a discount? This is obviously not the case since we all got ours at Summit...

Seee-ya,

Jim.

[derone]

I got umm, mine from JC Whitless...
Doug

[fteter]

Based on all the positive feedback on TS, I ordered a Hellwig Anti Sway Bar from Summit Racing last week. After my hardware showed up, I made the attempt to install the bar (with two helpers who are definitely not rookies in the area of truck mods). After two hours of fussing, we gave up and put the thing back in the box.

Issue #1: The instructions that showed up with the package are woefully inadequate. However, this issue was easily resolved by downloading the instructions with pictures from TS.

Issue #2: The appearance of the bar leaves more than a bit to be desired. Frankly, the thing looks like junk out of the box. I can see why so many people are investing extra money and time in putting a decent finish on the bar before they install the thing. I decided to put the thing on now, just to immediately feel the benefit of a tighter ride. This decision immediately led to issue #3...

Issue #3: The nut sizes in my package are mostly the wrong thread sizes. Only three of the nuts will fit the U-bolts, and none of the nuts will fit the J-hooks. Seems I've run into a pretty significant quality control failure.

Now the question I'm asking myself is: "If these yahoos can't even get the nut sizes right before they ship the order out, do I really want to rely on their hardware as part of my suspension?" The more I think about that question, the stronger my answer of "Nope".

I'm shipping the Hellwig Bar back to Summit Racing this afternoon. Don't want it anymore. I'll take my chances with the Toyota standard rig and the dealer installation instead. It's more money out of my wallet, but I'll bet Toyota makes sure that the nuts fit the threads....

Shame on Hellwig for shipping out a product in this condition.

--FMT--

[openspaces]

The finish and shipping aspects of the ***'y are a joke.
The design is not.

I sanded down and re-finished hte bar and all the brackets before the install. Also checked all hte bolts as I'd rather know before rather than getting this, or any project 3/4 done only to find out I'm missing something.

The toyota sway bar should perform similar, but as you said is more expensive. ALso depending on your dealership the install may not be as bulletproof as you yourself would have done hte job.

I was pretty upset when mine showed up too, but in hte end it was worth the price.

[DevinSixtySeven]

bleah...sorry to hear about the problems.

if youve completely given up on the hellwig, you might want to consider the roadmaster active suspension, as it provides some of the same benefits and it's undoubtedly less expensive than the tundra swaybar and a dealer install. m1a scout has them on his truck (he's got pics somewhere).

-sean

[fteter]

Originally posted by openspaces
The finish and shipping aspects of the ***'y are a joke.
The design is not.

I agree that the design is solid.

My complaint is strictly with Hellwig. If their QC is so bad that they can't insure that the nuts fit the threads on a customer order, how bad is their QC in their manufacturing processes.

I'll install a sway bar...it just won't be Hellwig's.

--FMT--