I had Les Schwab Tires install a leveling kit yesterday evening. After I got home and was checking it all out in the dark, I noticed it looks like they bent the swaybar links. Here's a pic of the driver side...



The passenger side looks similar, but not quite as bad. I just wanted to confirm this was really bent so I can go back and at them. It seems like I can't let anyone touch my truck without some kind of stupid damage happening.

 

Wow! they bent it good!
They must not have disconnected the sway bar for the install
Idiots.......
Take it back and make them buy you new sway bar ends

 

Ya ummm that look no good to me!!

 

Thanks guys, that's what I figured. Just wanted to be sure so I don't make a complete fool out of myself for <complaining like a woman> about it.

I just noticed they also bent a few of the A/C condenser fins. Admittedly, I bent a few of them myself the first time I opened the hood and stood on the bumper, but you would think they know better after having worked on these trucks before. They didn't really trash the condenser too bad, so I'm not sure it's worth complaining about. What's my play here?

 

Those things are definetly bent! Make them replace them because they are not cheap!

 

Not cheap at all! if they did both sides,the parts bill will be over 200 bucks!

 

Looks just like mine when I encountered my only Death Wobble incident. I replaced with new ones at around $95 each. A few months ago I saw a mechanic working on new wheels on a Dodge take a large bar and bend one straight that was bent almost that bad. Seems like that was a much cheaper solution. The real solution is heavy duty stablizer bar link rods.

I think if every one that has a leveling kit will go look at theirs they might find a number of them bent. It is a very weak part in the front end as far as I am concerned.

This is what mine looked like when I took them off, maybe not quite as bad.

 

I think there is suposed to be blocks to lower the sway bar on the frame. From your pics it doesn't look like there is any.

 

Id space those down, or longer endlinks...


Check out Hellwig, the make longer sway bar endlinks for lifted trucks, I think they run around $65 per pair, check out their site for the PN, and they sell them in summit....

 

I didn't realize people still lowered the sway bar when installing a 2" leveling kit. Is that really necessary? None of the spacer-type kits come with longer links or a spacer for the sway bar.

LS says they will have new ones from DC for me tomorrow. They tried to talk me into letting them just bend them back. That would probably work, but I don't want to be 4+hrs from home on a dirt trail with 12k behind me when one breaks.

 

I recommend the stabilizer bar lowering blocks also.

 

You need longer links or those blocks to lower the bar down or it could happen again.

I'd bye longer links from Carli. They're cheaper than a replacement set of stockers and much stronger.

By the way, I have a set of stock links in perfect condition next to my desk if anyone needs them.

 

Having done business with LS, I figured they would do whatever they needed to do to make sure you felt taken care of...

 

Ls???????????

 

Les Schwab is a tire, suspension, brake, alignment outfit all throughout Oregon and other western states known for super-quick service.