So, I've been having some issues with my Rubicon Express Disconnects for a while now. Rubicon Express disconnects are known to be a little noisy but recently, I've noticed a lot more noise and thunking felt though the body. It's that same thunk you get when the track bar extension bracket is loose but 1000x worse since the suspension cycles a lot even when on a relatively smooth road. I ended up getting these disconnects because they're cheap. They still are actually. I got hung up once on the trail for what was really minor many years ago. It happened because I was wheeling with the swaybars and trackbars still attached that the suspension wasn't able to drop and so the Jeep ended up teetering with no traction. The Rubicon Express disconnects were cheap enough that I could 'experiment' and not feel too bad if they didn't work out. Back then (this was in 1998-99), even JKS's disconnects used pins and sleeves to hold them together. Now a days, they've both changed the designs to be completely removable and so the link itself has no play built into it. This is a better design but they cost a lot more.
I used to run the 10" disconnects with my old suspension and switched to the 4" (they're actually more like 6-7" with the ends on them) when I went SOA. The new disconnects use a threaded rod on one side so they're completely adjustable now. The only problem for me is to find some that are short enough so they keep the swaybar at the correct angle.
I've been loooking at the new disconnects and JKS as well as Rubicon Express have them in the size I think I need. For JKS, they have smaller sizes for the WJ and JK but I'm not sure if the hardware is interchangeable. The only problem with JKS is that they want you to weld a new mount to the housing. At least for the YJ and CJ application. For the TJ and others, there seems to be enough movement in the link to pull once side out while the other side remains connected. This is what I'd like to do since the leaf spring plate has a mount for the sway bar already. RE says their link is 6.75" when it's collapsed down. That sounds about right compared to my current links. Though since the warranty is free, I'm probably going to hold off on spending money there.
So, why am I even running a swaybar at all some of you might ask. With the SOA up front and SUA in the rear, the swaybar really help match the front suspension with the rear onroad. There's a significant amount of body roll with the swaybar disconnected. I can and have been driving it without the sway bar but I don't care for that floaty feeling the front-end has when trucking down the road at 70 mph. Oh and here in California people like to do stupid things like cut you off and stop for no reason so emergency swerving is important.
Oh, and kudo's to Rubicon Express for honoring the warranty even after they were bought out by Transamerican Auto Parts. I linked to my pictures and they just asked for my address so they could ship them.
