Ford F150 Sway Bars and Sway Bar Links: Overview Guide

A sway bar—also known as an anti-sway bar, roll bar, anti-roll bar, or stabilizer bar—is a key component used on your pickup. The sway bar connects the opposite wheels together in order to reduce body roll and improve ride quality. A sway bar is comprised of a large torsion spring joined by two small lever arms called sway bar links, which connect the entire unit to your F150’s lower control arms.

Hard cornering will apply a lot of force to the outside wheels, making the inside wheels want to lift off of the ground and roll your F150 over. This is where a roll bar comes in handy. As those forces act on the outside wheels, the stiff torsional spring connecting the two wheels twists and helps bring the inside wheels to a similar level. It’s this action that offsets the body roll, or “sway”, and improves the handling of your truck.

Less body roll: Reducing body roll is what sway bars are designed for, period. By connecting the left and right wheels through a stiff sway bar, you can counteract the harsh centrifugal forces created by hammering through the corners. This will assist in keeping the body of your F150 more level, which increases safety and improves handling.

Add Adjustability to Your Truck’s Handling: By swapping out the stock sway bars on your F150 for aftermarket bits, you’ll be able to fine-tune your truck’s handling to your liking. By choosing sway bars with more flexible or stiffer torsional springs, your truck will handle differently by affecting how much it understeers or oversteers.

The sway bar link is the structural component that connects the end of the torsion spring to the lower control arms on your F150, allowing the entire sway bar to function properly. Like any part on your truck, sway bar links wear out with time. Thankfully they’re easy to replace, and usually only cost between $25 and $75 for a pair.

Take a deep breath—it’s normal for sway bar links to wear out. Here are a few common signs that tell you it’s time to replace:

Unusual noises from your steering, like clunking or rattling: Finding a mechanical malfunction on your pickup can’t be any easier than pinpointing a strange sound, which in the case of a worn-out sway bar link, would come from the steering components. Hear a clunk, rattle, or metal-on-metal noise as you hit rough roads or roll over speed bumps? There’s a good chance the sway bar links have worn out, creating play and sharp noises. Before you let it go too long, jack up your F150 and check out the underside.

A “loose” steering wheel and poor handling: When sway bar links begin to wear out, the steering and handling of a vehicle will decline as well, resulting in more body roll and a “loose” steering wheel.

Excessive play or deterioration: Either because of normal maintenance or loud noises and loose steering wheels have driven you crazy, you’ve put your F150 on the jack stands and are searching for the issue. Check the amount of play the sway bar links have—it should be very minimal, especially in the inward and outward directions. While you have your workhorse on jacks, check the condition of the rubber boots on the end links. If they are torn, cracked, or are deteriorating, it’s time to replace the entire end links.

With several offerings on the market, adding a rear sway bar to your F150 is a painless task and can result in big improvements in ride quality. According to independent tests and forum users, adding a rear sway bar to your pick up will make towing a breeze. With the heavy load in the bed or of a trailer on the rear axle, your F150 will squat and point its headlights skyward. By adding a stiff torsion spring to the rear, you will eliminate much of the rear-end squish and improve safety by reducing sway that could lead to your trailer fishtailing. 

If you’re a towing fanatic, also adding on an air ride suspension kit would be highly beneficial to your towing experience. Air ride kits offer the ultimate solution in terms of leveling your F150 properly, and also improve the ride quality of your truck and trailer.