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03-30-2012, 08:50 PM
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#1
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Las Vegas
Posts: 704
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More sway bar install problems
I had a thread a couple of weeks back on installing Source Engineering (Roadmaster) sway bars. Long story short, I received the wrong sway bars. Unfortunately I found out the hard way after I got the rear bar up and almost placed together. I got the new ones on Monday, and finally got some time to install this afternoon. Front ones went on slick, and the new correct bars in the back went in relatively quick. When I got to connecting everything, I realized the shackle assembly (gold piece) would not seat in the shackle bracket (black piece). It looks like the weld inside the bracket is causing it to be way too tight. I tried pounding it in with a block and not even close. What have others done or was this even an issue. My normal position would be to send them back and get new ones from Source which I know they wouldn't have a problem sending a new one. But I'm really sick of keep working on this and want to get it done. I'm thinking about getting a smalll grinder to get in there and grind the obstruction flat. Any thoughts from others that went through this? Some pictures below for you to follow. I pounded pretty hard, but it's not even close.
[/IMG] [/IMG] [/IMG]
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Craig
2020 Winnebago View 24D
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03-30-2012, 11:11 PM
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#2
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"Formerly Diplomat Don"
Newmar Owners Club
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Moorpark, Ca.
Posts: 23,914
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crah.....If it's just a credit card or less to tight, I think I would file it. Another thought.....do you have any kind of a wedge you can drive into the opening to force it open slightly. Even if its tight, the shackle will work-in okay without doing any damage.
Silly question....did you send the other set back yet....are the brackets the same?
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Don & Mary
2019 Newmar Dutch Star 4018 (Freightliner)
2019 Ford Raptor
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03-30-2012, 11:55 PM
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#3
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Las Vegas
Posts: 704
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Diplomat Don
crah.....If it's just a credit card or less to tight, I think I would file it. Another thought.....do you have any kind of a wedge you can drive into the opening to force it open slightly. Even if its tight, the shackle will work-in okay without doing any damage.
Silly question....did you send the other set back yet....are the brackets the same?
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Don the shackle itself is wide enough. It is just that weld portion you see and it's probably a little more than a cc. I do have the old bars but they only sent the new bar for the rears and a complete kit for the front. Only way it would fit is if I grind it. The picture is hard to see but the whole thickness of the weld spot is what's stopping it. I'm just going to grind it down and if it doesn't work source can send me a new one. Im sick of working under there.
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Craig
2020 Winnebago View 24D
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03-31-2012, 08:37 AM
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#4
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Phx, Arid~zona
Posts: 11,106
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How about grinding down the gold part? That wouldn't weaken the welded part.
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03-31-2012, 09:04 AM
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#5
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Senior Member
Monaco Owners Club
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Washington State
Posts: 229
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dunner
How about grinding down the gold part? That wouldn't weaken the welded part.
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Or a little of both. There is a "glob" of weld that looks like it could disappear real easy. Like Don said, maybe file it down flat. That with a little off the gold and it might fit like it was intended.
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Corkey & Dana
2008 HR Endeavor (DIP) PDQ
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03-31-2012, 10:40 AM
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#6
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Las Vegas
Posts: 704
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Thanks all for the suggestions. Just finished grinding both and painting. Hopefully I can test them out this afternoon.
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Craig
2020 Winnebago View 24D
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03-31-2012, 10:52 AM
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#7
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: FL
Posts: 11,386
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My bars should arrive this week. Your pictures have helped me prepare mentally. More pictures would be great when done. I have an 08 Endeavor.
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Certified Senior Electronic Technician, Telecommunications Engineer, Telecommunications repair Service Center Owner, Original owner HR 2008
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03-31-2012, 05:18 PM
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#8
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Las Vegas
Posts: 704
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Quote:
Originally Posted by YC1
My bars should arrive this week. Your pictures have helped me prepare mentally. More pictures would be great when done. I have an 08 Endeavor.
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YC1 I'll load more pics tomorrow. It's a really windy day today in Vegas and I took it for a test drive. It's a little better but not as good as I expected. My coach is the short wheel base and users with the longer wheel base seemed to get better results.
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Craig
2020 Winnebago View 24D
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03-31-2012, 07:08 PM
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#9
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"Formerly Diplomat Don"
Newmar Owners Club
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Moorpark, Ca.
Posts: 23,914
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crah......I didn't get a magical feel when I first drove mine as compared to what others expressed. I think the bars are a little too heavy duty for the shorter coaches like ours.
I did notice improvemnet as we drove on different trips. The improvements were:
On our first trip up the windy Hwy 41 into Yosemite at about 35-40 mph, the coach handled superbly. It felt like driving an SUV.
We still feel passing trucks on occasion, but not like before. (Others said they don't feel them at all).
The cornering at low and high speeds is great, but in reality, you can only crank these things so fast through a corner before stuff flies out of the cupboards.
Finally, the most surprising improvement was the softening of the front suspension. Now when one front wheel hits a rough patch, it transfers some of it across the axle so the whole front end picks up the shock.
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Don & Mary
2019 Newmar Dutch Star 4018 (Freightliner)
2019 Ford Raptor
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03-31-2012, 08:36 PM
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#10
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Las Vegas
Posts: 704
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Don thanks for your review and I saw your updates on previous posts. I was afraid my review would mimic yours. I wasn't looking for the better cornering feature but more the improvement with the wind. There is improvement but not as much as I expected, especially with the price tag. I'll have to log more miles to see how passing trucks do as I haven't encountered one during today's trip. The short wheel base sounds like the culprit. I'm thinking perhaps some wider steer tires will help as well. I have the 275's and may upsize to the 295's on the steer. Maybe I'll do the steer safe first. I have the safe t plus but heard they naturally have a little play or dead zone. Not positive on that though as I've read other reviews where the safe t plus has helped substantially in the wind. My pockets are burning lol.
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Craig
2020 Winnebago View 24D
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03-31-2012, 09:24 PM
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#11
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Senior Member
Newmar Owners Club
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Chico, CA
Posts: 530
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Hello Crah:
I’ve been following the trials and tribulations of your sway bar install. Glad you were finally able to get them installed. There is nothing more frustrating than to have to keep crawling in and out from under the coach. I am interested and appreciate your experiences with the improvement on your coach. I too am only 36’ and am looking for improvement on my ride. I am seriously considering the complete enhancement kit from Source, but am starting to wonder if it is a good value for the possible small improvement in handling.
I look forward to following your posts.
Cheers,
Mike
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Mike G
2019 Newmar Dutch Star 4018 - Freighliner
2022 F150 Platinum or 1973 Toyota FJ40
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03-31-2012, 09:52 PM
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#12
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Phx, Arid~zona
Posts: 11,106
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I went for a 130 mile drive today. No sway when a truck passed me going the same direction, but I did feel the air he was pushing as he went by. Hit the drunk bumps a couple times while looking at my scan gauge and the recovery was uneventful. You guys have, what, 36' DPs. Mine's a little bitty 32'er. You make me feel like I should be blown around like a ping-pong ball.
BTW, I did the "Cheap Handling Fix" on mine.
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03-31-2012, 10:42 PM
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#13
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Las Vegas
Posts: 704
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeyG
Hello Crah:
I’ve been following the trials and tribulations of your sway bar install. Glad you were finally able to get them installed. There is nothing more frustrating than to have to keep crawling in and out from under the coach. I am interested and appreciate your experiences with the improvement on your coach. I too am only 36’ and am looking for improvement on my ride. I am seriously considering the complete enhancement kit from Source, but am starting to wonder if it is a good value for the possible small improvement in handling.
I look forward to following your posts.
Cheers,
Mike
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Mike, if you were following my previous thread, you already know I have an extra set of away bars that were wrong. The extra set I believe fits your chassis as your later year model has the wider rails. Today was pretty windy with gusts up to 40 mph. I did feel a better handling in the wind but just not as much as I expected. I don't believe the full source kit changes your airbags. I think it's just the tuned bilsteins and sway bars. I thought it was just the rr4r and rr8r and not the rr8s that changed the bags as well. Not positive on that. I like the mod but it was way too expensive for the return. I will post more update at the end of April. That will be my next big trip.
__________________
Craig
2020 Winnebago View 24D
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04-01-2012, 05:21 AM
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#14
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: FL
Posts: 11,386
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Have you had the front end aligned and have you checked your ride height? My ride height was about an inch low on the front and back. After the adjustment it was day and night but still not as good as I would like. I have added the Safe-T-Plus and built a trim kit for it myself. It has a solid center hold. You cannot compress that shock absorber by pressing down on it before the install. The hardest part of the install was getting one large axel bolt loose. The other hard part was getting it to center perfectly. You can't be 1/8 inch off or it will pull. With the trim kit I can adjust for strong crosswinds or sloped roads. The darn thins are not cheap. There are lots of articles on the various steering stabilizers on this forum.
Most of my poor handling and wandering was solved with a front end alignment.
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Certified Senior Electronic Technician, Telecommunications Engineer, Telecommunications repair Service Center Owner, Original owner HR 2008
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