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HellWig anti-sway bar install and review.

13K views 17 replies 9 participants last post by  Pikey 
#1 · (Edited)
First, I would like to thank Glen and Hellwig for this great give-away!

First impression:

I received my bars on Monday, delivered UPS. They arrived in 2 large boxes. One box was heavily damaged on one end. I was concerned that the end of the bar was damaged and possibly hardware fell out of the box. When I opened the box all of my concerns ended immediately! Hellwig packed the bars with a large bag of foam custom fit to the ends for protection. They also glued the hardware box right in the middle. It is not often that products are packed so well. (I am pretty particular about packaging as I worked in shipping for a few years) It shows me that the company cares about the condition of the product when it reaches the consumer.
Upon first glance at the bars I was very impressed with the way they looked. The coating on them looks very nice and durable. These bars are heavy.

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Installation (rear)

Installing the rear anti-sway bar was relatively easy.
The instructions provided by Hellwig were very clear and had some very high quality pictures. The hardware was nicely packed in a bag in a box. The end links are heavy duty and make the OEM end links look like spaghetti noodles.

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I estimate that it would have taken about an hour to install this without the problems that I had. It took me about 4 hours because of the issues while installing the rear anti-sway bar. Not a fault of Hellwig. More because I live in the rust belt with a 8 year old truck. I broke 2 of the bolts that mount the D shaped bushing brackets to the frame. I was able to drill one out. The other one I broke a snap-on screw extractor off in while attempting to remove it. This was after soaking the bolts down with penetrating oil for a week! I drove to my former employer with no rear bar on to borrow his carbide tipped drill bit to help remove the broken extractor. To be honest, I could not tell that the bar was off. The truck felt like it normally does. I was able to get the extractor and broken bolt out and finish the install. The instructions say a few times that you have to reuse the old bolts to mount the new brackets. The hardware supplied by Hellwig included 2 sets of new mounting bolts, one set with nuts. I assume that this is because so many people have issues with damaging the threads when they drill their rusted broken bolts out. Here is a pic of the OEM bar next to the new Hellwig bar. I did not take measurements, but the Hellwig bar seemed to be thicker. It sure was heavier, I would estimate between 5-10 lbs heavier.

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The instructions say to coat the D bushings with the supplied grease. This grease was some of the stickiest grease that I have ever touched. It was thick and coated the inside of the bushing nicely. After coating the bushing with grease I then installed the anti-sway bar on the rear axle. The next step was to assembly the rear end links. Again, I coated the bushings in the grease and installed them. The only question that I had about the install was, "how long do I make the end links" as they are adjustable in length. I ended up making them the same length as the stock links.

I installed the end links to the frame and then to the bar. There are three holes in each end of the bar. Hellwig recommends using the hole farthest out first, until you get used to the way the vehicle handles after install. Finally, I torqued all the bolts to the specs supplied by Hellwig. I like when a company supplies torque specs.

I drove the truck the next morning to take my son to school. I could already tell a major difference in the way the truck handled curves. It was amazing and this was with only the rear done.

Installation (front)


Installing the front bar went easily. Again, I had rust issues and the design of the mount allows water, dirt, and salt to sit in a pocket and marinate the bolts. I did a lot of the half a turn to the left and then a turn to the right dance to avoid breaking the bolts. A broken bolt on the front of the mounts would result in removing the lower control arm to have access to the area with a drill. The front install took me about 1.5 hours. The supplied instructions said to remove the factory installed front skid plate. I left that plate on and took the lower skid plate that covers the front diff off. The procedure for installing the front was basically the same as the rear. The OEM bar slide right out thru the area where the skid plate covered. The new Hellwig bar slid in easily. Comparing the OEM bar and the Hellwig bar were like comparing apples and oranges. The Hellwig bar was thicker and significantly heavier and again the end links are very nice.

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The First Ride

These anti-sway bars completely changed the way my truck rides (for the better). After Glenn announced the winner of the contest I started taking note of how fast I could safely drive around corners that I frequent. Today, I took a corner that I drove 30mph around at 40mph, Comfortably!! There is no body roll at all when I change lanes or corner now. I never imagined that a Yukon XL could handle like this! I had my wife drive my truck and she immediately noticed the difference.
She said that she thinks that the truck response to steering input is much faster. I can not wait to tow a trailer with them.

I would highly recommend Hellwig anti-sway bars for anyone that is looking for an improvement in handling. These make a major difference. Hellwig makes a very high quality product and it is obvious to me that they take pride in what ships out of the door. I have not had the opportunity to tow with them on yet, but I am sure that there will be a major improvement from before.

Again, Thank you Glenn and Hellwig products for the opportunity to install these anti-sway bars on my vehicle and review them.
 

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#2 ·
Thanks for this review [MENTION=51590]Pikey[/MENTION] it has made the decision for me on replacing my factory bars with Hellwig bars. My factory ones just began to have the paint peel and the rubber brushings are rotting out.
[MENTION=51590]Pikey[/MENTION] do the bars come with new bushings and what are they made of also what kind of warranty do they have?
 
#3 ·
Thanks for this review @Pikey it has made the decision for me on replacing my factory bars with Hellwig bars. My factory ones just began to have the paint peel and the rubber brushings are rotting out.
@Pikey do the bars come with new bushings and what are they made of also what kind of warranty do they have?
Yes, they do come with new bushings, The bushings are polyurethane. Hellwig ant-sway bars and their components are warrantied for the normal life of the vehicle.
 
#4 ·
Yes, they do come with new bushings. Hellwig ant-sway bars and their components are warrantied for the normal life of the vehicle.
What would they consider the normal life of the vehicle for a Chevy? Mine already has 203,000+ miles and it has many more to rack up.
 
#7 ·
Mike as mentioned by....Conlan Rose and McClintoc.....Very Nice Write-up and the Review....:great:....as this is one item that I've been looking at buying and installing on my Truck....
Thanks Guys! I am very impressed by the change in handling with my Yukon. Hellwig makes one heck of a quality product. I looked at my front oem bar today and realized that the bar is actually worn thinner in a spot where the d bushings mounted. I guess that 150,000 miles will do that.
 
#9 ·
Found them for my truck for $166.35 for the front and $236.99 for the rear which is over $120 off of each on amazon. Time to start saving up for them. Hope to have them by next year.
 
#10 ·
Great :great: Review Hows the ride? Find someone with a BMW yet and ask him to Play??? :gasp:

Anyway enjoy them and your new Ride...
 
#11 ·
As others have mentioned, definitely a nice write up! Thanks for taking the time to put together w/pics....very helpful!
 
#12 ·
So after a few weeks What do you think?
 
#14 ·
I looked at my front oem bar today and realized that the bar is actually worn thinner in a spot where the d bushings mounted. I guess that 150,000 miles will do that.
Yikes. I guess I'll be adding "install new sway bars" to my truck's to-do list. :)
 
#15 · (Edited)
Yikes. I guess I'll be adding "install new sway bars" to my truck's to-do list. :)
there is a guy at the gym that I always talk truck stuff with. I took him for a ride after installing my Hellwig bars. He plans on ordering a set within the next few weeks. He was completely shocked that my 05 yukon xl with the old factory shocks rode and handled better than his 2009 Quad Cab Silverado.
 
#16 ·
Awesome.even thread...great pics and review....thanks for sharing this....Brian from Canada
 
#17 ·
Should be ordering a set of front and rear anti sway bars in the next day or too. This write up really convinced me to pull the trigger on this purchase.
 
#18 ·
Should be ordering a set of front and rear anti sway bars in the next day or too. This write up really convinced me to pull the trigger on this purchase.
They are well worth the cost. The worst part about the install was that my bolts that mount the rear d bushings broke off while I was taking them out. That was after soaking them down with 3 different penetrating oils for a week. I just cut the old front links off. my truck handles amazing. Any \one that has driven it has been shocked by the steering wheel response and the lack of body roll.
 
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