Our 2012 Jeep Wrangler Sport did not come equipped with a fancy pants electronic front stabilizer bar disconnect-o-matic system. To get one of those you need to step up to the Rubicon.
A few minutes with a pair of wrenches will take care of that. The main problem with this approach is remembering to reconnect everything before you take it out of low-range and head back onto the pavement. Forgetting to do so could land you in a world of hurt.
As long as one remembers that, the manual stabilizer bar disconnect strategy is a very effective way to increase off-road articulation in rough terrain. But how big is the benefit, exactly?
I grabbed a couple of 18mm wrenches (yes, they're metric) and pointed the Jeep up our RTI ramp to find out.
The easiest bolt to remove is found at the lower end of the stabilizer link, the end that bolts to the bracket on the front axle tube. The bolt is a bit longer than it needs to be, so a standard-length socket wasn't quite going to work. I probably could have made it work, but this gave me a chance to try out one of my newest wrenches.
It's a hollow pass-through socket that's externally driven by a special matching ratchet. Craftsman calls this contraption by the name Max Axxes.
The socket is short but utterly hollow. Any extra bolt length sticks right through so there's no need for a separate set of deep sockets. Also, because the socket is short (shorter than a normal one, in fact) I don't have to steady it with my free hand to counteract the sideways torque that can be generated by the very length of a deep socket. Pretty clever -- and effective.
After the bolt was gone I simply pivoted the link up on its remaining bolt. A tie-wrap is certainly called for, but I didn't bother since I was merely making a quick measurement.
The good news is the disconnected stab bar allows the left front suspension to bury itself (yellow) in the front bump stop. We're getting everything there is this time -- the stab bar is no longer holding us back.
But farther down things are looking sketchy. The floating stabilizer bar end and the stowed link (blue) are banging into the steering arm. It's doing this because I did not disconnect the other link on the other end of the bar. Strictly speaking, one disconnected link is enough to defeat a stabilizer bar. The problem is the free end wants to droop in lock-step with the opposite side.
In the field I'd solve this by removing both links and tying the bar up high out of the way with tie wraps. Two bolts removed instead of one; no big deal if a serious off-road slog is in the cards.
Or I could install some purpose-made links that have a quick disconnect built into them. Yeah, that's already on our to-do list.
The view at the right rear looks about the same as before, with the big 33-inch tire crammed neatly into the wheel well. But that front end is looking a bit more dramatic.
But just how far did our Jeep make it up the ramp? Time to break out the measuring tools.
I measured wheel lift at 26.75 inches, well over SIX INCHES more than RTI measurement #2.
This works out to 78.2 inches up our 20-degree ramp instead of 59.8 inches. Yowsa.
And the RTI? How does 820 grab you? That's almost 200 points better than the 626 it generated last time out with the same big BFG tires and a working front stabilizer bar.
I expected a big improvement -- 100 points, at least -- but I never suspected it would amount to anything approaching 200 points. Clearly, the pent-up flexibility of our Jeep's live axle front suspension has been unleashed.
Dan Edmunds, Director of Vehicle Testing @ 8,065 miles
uncanny_man says:
11:31 PM, 01/24/12
You're making me really miss my first gen grand cherokee :(
lostboyz says:
03:46 AM, 01/25/12
I need to stop reading these and driving my buddy's JK, I'm going to end up buying one on a whim.
kain77 says:
05:07 AM, 01/25/12
I could reduce my tool set in half with those wrenches. Now the question is, does it make sense to do so?
dur4ce says:
06:25 AM, 01/25/12
@kain77
I just got a set of the GearWrench version of those (Vortex is their name for it), and they are AWESOME! Especially in the extra-long, locking flex head version I got. Go for it!
miamifan1 says:
06:33 AM, 01/25/12
"the pent-up flexibility of our Jeep's live axle front suspension has been unleashed". truer words have not been spoken.
my jaw has dropped. and a rubicon comes factory-equipped to do this???
dmos says:
06:54 AM, 01/25/12
@ miamifan1: Yes! Including donuts almost as large (32's, vice 33's). This is why I had no reason to do any suspension mods to my Rubicon (and one of the reasons I bought it in the first place). The electronic disconnect was fairly reliable, just like the electronic diff locks. The only issues I had was in really cold winter weather, when it was so frigid that the various parts sometimes didn't want to move back together properly. I'd still take that over sitting in the snow with a wrench and rubber mallet though.
fordson1 says:
07:24 AM, 01/25/12
"...so there's no need for a separate set of deep sockets."
That's a nice design and handy sometimes, but it doesn't obivate the need for deep-well sockets.
At least half the time I need a deep-well socket, it's not just because of a too-long bolt or stud, it's because of a too-long bolt or stud, AND close to the nut there is no room to swing the ratchet handle or even to get the socket onto the nut. Also sometimes a deep-well socket is just faster and more convenient than a standard socket plus extension.
Sometimes there is a risk of the std. socket getting hooked around something and pulled off the end of the extension and going who-knows-where. You can keep your fingers around the base of a deep-well to make sure it's not coming off the ratchet, plus it's smooth-sided - there is nothing that can get hooked and pulled off.
Deep-well sockets are better at keeping nuts from getting lost, plus you can put a magnetic insert into it and make SURE the nut doesn't get lost.
New toys are always welcome, but I don't find myself wishing I could whittle down my tool assortment - ever.
rioranchonm says:
07:30 AM, 01/25/12
This is the reason I come to this site everyday...I love these articles. Keep it up IL! Looks like I'm going to Sears tonight.
noburgers says:
07:48 AM, 01/25/12
I am learning new stuff all the time, which is why I read these posts--I have no plans for a Jeep but you never know
bankerdanny says:
08:33 AM, 01/25/12
I've had a socket set like that for a couple years now (I forget the brand though), they are fantastically usefull. Sometimes you just don't want to have to carry ragular and deep well sockets with you. In the tool bag I keep in my MG (old car = must have tools on you at all times, doubly so for old British car) I have ratcheting combination wrenches.
bankerdanny says:
08:48 AM, 01/25/12
The downside to this type of socket is that the connection between the socket and handle is not locked the way a regular Craftsman socket would be, so if the nut gets stuck in the socket pulling back just leaves the socket behind.
@Fordson: it comes with a 3" hollow extension, so if the handle needs to be farther back it can be.
grfa says:
09:01 AM, 01/25/12
Anyone else curious what the RTI would be on the stock tiny tires with the sways disconnected? I wonder if it would be close to the big tires with sways number....taking out two bolts is way cheaper than 5 tires.
actualsize says:
09:37 AM, 01/25/12
@grfa: I haven't done that, obviously, but I can say the stock tires are pretty highway and fuel-economy-oriented. I'd want better tread and a wider footprint before I got an unmodified one fully articulated with the stabilizer bar unhinged on a rocky uphill climb. They were really greasy the one time I got them onto light mud. As with any base vehicle, the tires are the number one most important and effective mod you can make.
But to your point, next time I take the tires off I'll try to remember tho put the old ones on for an RTI quickie.
greenpony says:
12:29 PM, 01/25/12
"As with any base vehicle, the tires are the number one most important and effective mod you can make."
Words to live by.
csubowtie says:
12:35 PM, 01/25/12
Swaybar discos, probably the best bang for your buck off-raod goody.
elgac says:
01:43 PM, 01/25/12
Now unhook the sway bars on the Juke and send it back up.
You know you want to.
desmolicious says:
01:47 PM, 01/25/12
And this is why the Rubicon is the best on/off roader there is!
What is interesting is the sway bar can be unlocked in 4WD High, but it has to be in 4WD Low to use the locking differentials.
three40duster says:
02:48 PM, 01/25/12
Pass through sockets are great. I bought a set of Kobalts about 7 years ago on a "oh look at that" moment, and for $40, what a steal. They have paid for themselves many times over.
goaterguy says:
04:57 PM, 01/25/12
"Forgetting to do so could land you in a world of hurt."
I've driven my JK on the road with the front bar disconnected for a short time and as long as you don't do anything stupid, it's not that dangerous.
lvranger says:
05:05 PM, 01/25/12
I wonder if airing down the tires could improve the RTI score.