Note: pictures are coming soon. I wanted to get this report us as soon as possible.

Quick disconnect for the swaybar on the YJ are a given. Everyone knows you need them and for little money and work you receive a noticeable difference in articulation with the front end. We've been 4 wheeling with Raptor for a year or so now and know offroad ability has been impeded by still having the sway bar connected. When deciding which disconnects to buy, we were looking for some that were inexpensive, easy to install/use and had some design flexibility so the system would still work with minor modifications when we installed our spring over axle lift. Here's what ended up happening:

1) Idea 1: We first thought of using a homemade design. We've seen how-to guides for how to install your own and were intrigued. So off we went to Lowe's (Home Depot also probably would have been fine) for some clevis pins. Going homemade seemed like a good plan. Heck, for a little bit of work and about $8 in supplies I could eliminate the need to spend $70 or so on a kit. In reality it didn't go so easily. It's possible I was not patient enough, not mechanically enough or missed something in the instructions, but I lost interest in this idea fast. There is some drilling involved and from past bad experiences, I try not to do things like widen existing holes with a hand drill unless I have a vise handy. Some of the install reports suggested the drilling could all be done with a hand drill and good aim. I know my limitations.

2) Idea 2: Next we decided that since we were going to need to purchase a pair of pre-made disconnects, we might as well buy some that are upgradeable Disconnect manufacturers years ago finally got the idea that disconnects ought to be upgradable since we Jeep owners will often change lift height over the course of ownership. So instead of making them with a single pin in the center, they started making them with two pins so the entire center section of each can be removed. Having a removable center section meant that you could buy longer center sections when you lift your Jeep even higher. So we though we'd go with the Rubicon Express version (part number (QDFY-S). Unfortunately, they weren't available locally and R.E. themselves couldn't guarantee when they'd be able to ship them (I was told it might take up to a week to ship). Since the annual Tierra del Sol Desert Safari event was coming up quickly and I wanted to have the disconnects on for that event, we decided to try something else.

3) Idea 3 (the one we finally went for): Needing the disconnects quickly, I called around and found that our new local 4 Wheel Parts store in Riverside had one remaining disconnect in stock. The manufacturer was GSP, Genuine Steel Products, a company I hadn't heard of before. This didn't bother me because the disconnects were good quality and just what I was looking for, except for being the one latch pin design. We purchased the 0" - 2" size since we don't currently have a lift on our Jeep. They cost me $65 plus tax and no shipping since I picked them up at the store. Here is how the install went:

First of all, I know what a lot of readers are thinking right now. Swaybar disconnects don't seem that difficult to install. They aren't. It's one of the simplest things you'll install on your Jeep. But there are some things that I've learned that will save you time and effort and may help avoid damaging anything :-)

Tools needed: hammer, crowbar/pry bar, regular screwdriver, 3/4 inch wrench (ratchet preferred), pliers (regular or needle nose) and Vaseline (yes, Vaseline). A vise would be helpful, but isn't mandatory.

1) The first thing to do was remove the existing connectors. I found it was easiest to do this by turning the wheels completely in the direction of the side I was working on. It's not necessary to remove the tire/wheel. The top nut contains a small pin that prevents it from loosening on its own. Use the regular screwdriver to straighten out the pin and the pliers to pull the pin out so you can remove the nut. Then use the 3/4 inch ratchet to remove the top and bottom nuts.

2) Next, to remove the connector, you need to use a crowbar/pry bar. Although the bottom part comes of fairly easily, the top may be harder. You obviously need to be careful using a pry bar - you don't want to bend anything. See the picture on this one. I only used the end to pry the top away from the swaybar and with a little muscle it came off fine.

3) Remove the pin from the connectors you just took off. For me this involved laying the connectors on the edge of our concrete driveway and using the hammer to force the pin out. Obviously, be careful using a hammer near concrete. This is where a vice or workbench would be handy. Make sure you don't damage the pin because you will be using it again.

4) Remove the latch pin from the disconnects so that each is separated into its two parts. You'll want to attach each separately. For the top, you'll be inserting the pin you just removed from the old connectors into the top half of the new disconnects. You can do it the hard way by trying to wack the pin into place or you can use a little Vaseline to help it in. With Vaseline I found I could coax the pin into place without the hammer. Ditto on attaching the bottom half. Reattach nuts and insert and secure the small pin on the top half.

5) Connect two halves of disconnects. You'll need to line both of them up and if your Jeep is slightly elevated on one side, you made need a pry bar of some kind to hold the halves together snugly so you can insert the lynch pin. Keep in mind that you may also need to do this away from home after a run so you should consider taking a pry bar of some kind with you.

So it was easy really but having the right tools and a little Vaseline made it much easier.

3/5/02 Update: These work great! We went to the huge annual Tierra del Sol Desert Safari this past weekend and I can honestly say these quick disconnects made a noticeable difference. A couple of notes though:

1) I lost the cotter pins for the top nut (the one with all the grooves) and thought I could get away with just checking it occassionally to make sure it's snug. Doh! The nut came off on one side but luckily I didn't lose the top half of the disconnect. So, make sure you don't lose those cotter pins and if you do, Home Depot has a bag of 8 of them for about $.40. I had to order a replacement nut from Jeep which cost $4 through my local dealership.

2) I did a little swearing trying to get the disconnects to reconnect. Keeping the Jeep level seems to help (duh) and I also found it helpful to (gently) use a pry bar to help position the swaybar in a spot where the connector pins would go in. It's a pain and expect to get dirty laying on the ground doing it but I guess it's still a whole bunch better than trying to unbolt the OEM swaybar connector every time. Being able to disconnect the swaybar is truly worth it, even with this inconvenience.

1/11/03 Update: Make sure you also check out our reporting on the JKS Telescoping Trackbar. Both the telescoping trackbar and the disconnected swaybar work together nicely!