I get that this is a rather open question but figured I'd like to hear some options.

This past weekend I bent my passenger side sway bar link. The bend is towards the front of the vehicle. Nothing around it is damaged or bent and unlike the driver side, the passenger side has the tie rod and drag link in front of it so if something was to hit it... you would think it would show some damage else where. The trail itself was nothing serious, more scenic then technical. I don't recall any large impacts or anything that would of made me stop and wonder what the sound was.

I still have the factory e swaybar disco and disconnect just after airing down so I was d/c the entire day.

Any ideas?

 

Do you have a picture of the damage?

 

if you stuff the wheel the link can flip causing it to bend like you are describing

Are you lifted and if so do you have longer links installed?

 

Snapped a picture:


I was a bit incorrect on the bend angle. Its actually bend more towards the side then it is towards the front.

There is a lift and the links are extended as well. On level ground they are parallel with the ground

 

Mine looks the same but I took a pretty good hit on a boulder so I know what caused it.

Are you sure it wasn't bent before your easy wheeling trip and you just never noticed? Does anyone else drive your jeep that might of hit something?

 

Hmm....any new scrape marks on it? Are there old scrape marks on it? Seems like something hit it at some point, especially since you just e-disconnect and don't fully remove your links and it is unilateral.

 

Is that a synergy high steer kit I see? That kit comes with brackets to raise the swaybar mounts about 1.5" at the axle end, which I don't see installed. Maybe it's cause without the brackets the links can bend on the drag link?

 

For all I know it could of, but I went through all of the bolts and nuts on Thursday to make sure everything was tight and did not notice it then. It has quite a bend to it so I would of think I would of noticed but its always a possibility. How did you manage to bend it hitting a boulder though? It would have to be quite the specific shape to get inbetween everything around the passenger side to hit the sway bar link no?

I didn't take the tire off but looking around it and feeling it there was nothing new.

Yep, it has the high steer kit. The swaybar extension is suppose to be used if you are using the synergy sway bar disco kit which I am not. I didn't think about the links against the drag link though... Could they bend back against the drag link?

 

The axle went one way and the jeep went the other way. Sorry, a boulder didn't physically hit the link. My tire hit the boulder.

 

Factory sway bar links are about 5" long. Looks like you have maybe a 4" lift, how long is your swaybar link? How long are your shocks extended? In my experience front links should be like 10" long, maybe 11" if you have 12" travel shocks, with a 4" lift.