Hellwig 7254 Rear Sway Bar

[tommyb]

I need to remove the old bar. I don't have a socket that fits. 17mm is too small. Is it an 18mm? Don't want to buy too many unnecessary tools.

TIA

[richhop25]

Need the sway bar for sure. After driving 1500 miles during the past month, wind and trucks sure affect the drive. I'm sold on the Helwig sway bar but don't find that the 7254 that others have used, fits my 2014 FR 24R. Does anyone know if the 7254 does fit or another one? Please advise.

[peterfinurke]

If I remember it's 19mm. The Helwig bar is much larger than the original equipment & made a big difference in my unit. Well worth the $150.
NOTE: Instructions say to re-torque the bolts after driving it awhile, I didn't & it spit out a bolt in Washington State last summer. Had to clean up the threads & spend a day fixing. RE-TORQUE the bolts as instructed, save some blood, sweat & tears.

[richhop25]

Thanks peterfinurke, for your reply. I'll certainly re-torque as you suggest.

Allow me to clarify my question about which sway bar to get. I have a 2014 FR 24R. That is a 2014 MB chassis with the class C home on it. Searching the usual places provided here, I cannot find that any of them provide or mate my chassis to this or any sway bar. Perhaps it is too early for them to have the match in their databases.
Has anyone mated this sway bar to the 2014 chassis??

[JLeising]

I have a 2012 Sprinter so can't answer your question. Suggest you contact Hellwig directly - they were quite responsive when I encountered a bolt issue with my sway bar. Contact Us | Hellwig Products

[tommyb]

I got the sway bar installed. I had to buy a different torque wrench. My old one was a bar with a loooong pointer and no ratcheting action. I couldn't maneuver it in the space required, or even see the scale and pointer. Had to buy one from home depot - only $20, clicks when correct torque reached, and ratcheting action. Made the job much easier.

Two questions remain. The old swaybar is bent so it sits in one plane. The replacement has the center "u" slightly out of plane. Anyone know whether this should go up or down? The photo is terrible, and impossible to tell. I installed it down... don't see how it would make a difference, but still want to know.

Second, the bolt at the aft end of the passenger side looks like it just might just rub a hole in the exhaust pipe. Doesn't touch, but so close I fear that it will rub when on the road. Not enough clearance to insert bolt from the other direction. Those bolts must be hardened. Does anyone know where to get one about 1/2" shorter? Or would it affect the hardening of the steel if I cut 1/2" off?

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Tom

[Ogsarg]

Finally installed the sway bar. I purchased it late August last year and soon after got in a motorcycle wreck with a long rehab. It was still a pretty hard job as my right arm/shoulder are still recovering but it's done and is a big improvement from the little driving I have done so far.

The instructions are decent but did not say where to put the supplied loc-tite. I put mine on the 4 screws that hold the bushing brackets to the axle but now think perhaps it is supposed to be used on the strut bolts.

FWIW, I took out the spare tire first, which provides a little more room to work. I removed the strut bolts first, then removed the bottom 2 screws for bushing brackets. I loosened the top ones as far as possible then removed one and the other with one had while holding the bar with the other.

Putting the new one was a bit harder. After lubricating the bushings I set the bar on top of a little step stool, like kids make in boy scouts. This gets it within about 3 inches of where it needs to be. I then raised one side and got a screw started in the upper bushing bracket on the left side.

Once that was in, I raised the right side and propped a couple of short pieces of 2X4 underneath the bar and got it very close to level. That made it much easier to get the screws started on the right.

After getting all 4 screws in the brackets, I left them loose and installed the strut bolts and torqued them to spec. Lastly I torqued the bracket bolts to spec.

I took it for about a 20 mile loop in a rural area with lots of curves and uneven pavement. I did this for two reasons; one to see how it handled and two, to see if it loosened any of the hardware.

When I got back, I used my torque wrench on everything again, One of the track bolts moved a little but the strut bolts needed about a half turn or more, which was surprising. This is why I'm thinking the thread locker belongs there.

I am taking it out today and will check it again afterwards. If still a lot of movement, I'll either take off the nuts and add thread lock or maybe install a jam nut since there is plenty of bolt left.

[JLeising]

On re-torquing the bolts, see posts ~127 through ~130 in this thread. I think you have to re-do the Loctite if they turn at all. Loctite is readily available at most auto parts stores.
On my 2012 Solera, the shackles were wide relative to the Hellwig bar ends. I put spacers (washers) between the bar and the shackles; alternative was to collapse the shackles down to the width of the bar ends by tightening the bolts. This may be why your shackle bolts seemed to loosen up. As I remember, the shackle nuts are a type that don't loosen. I believe the Loctite is for the bracket bolts.

Sorry to hear of your injury. Take care -

Jim

[pinkstonj]

Well I ordered my Hellwig 7254 Rear Sway bay from Leaf Springs, Helper Springs and Suspension Parts | SD Truck Springs cost $153.95 shipped to the door. That is with a $10 off onsite coupon. Shipping seemed a little slow about getting out the door but did arrive in the free shipping time frame. After I ordered I made a trip to TX with some cross winds, planning a trip later this month to MT. so I should get to see it there is any difference. Hope so!

My install was about the same as others have stated, other than I used two of the OEM bolts (one on each side) in the bottom holes to start with then after getting the top cap bolts in removed the OEM bolts and installed the bottom cap bolts. The long OEM bolts were just easier to start than the short cap bolts.

[richhop25]

I found out from Hellwig that the proper sway bar for the 2014 FR 24R is the 7254. I was glad to hear that and purchased the bar from Amazon for $154 with free shipping. I am pleased with that and hope to get the bar installed in the next week or two with the help of my brother in law. He possesses more skills and tools than I. I appreciate all the tips and accounts of how this trick or that one worked for each of you. It all helps. Many thanks.

[Ogsarg]

Today we drove over to Monterey for a walk along the ocean. About 100 miles RT. Checked all the bolts with the torque wrench again and they were all tight. I'll check them again after a few more uses, but I'm guessing they won't move.

[mphair]

Side by Side photo comparison. The Hellwig is almost twice the thickness.

[Sprintboy]

Just installed my Hellwig sway bar today. I like the ride a lot better. I did notice one thing odd though- the end link brackets seemed too big for the bar. The stock bar measured 4 cm wide while the Hellwig bushings measured 3.5cm leaving a gap in the end links.

I ended up using washers on the sides of the bushings to take up the extra space. Has anyone else had this experience? Anything to be concerned about? Should I take the washers out? I noticed a pop when I pulled in the driveway, but everything looked normal when I looked at it.

[JLeising]

Same experience with wide shackles - also used washers - see my post #168 in this thread. No issues with washers over 5000+ miles.

[Sprintboy]

Good to know - thanks!

[knutter]

Does anyone know if the model number that's been discussed here will work for a 2015 Solera 24R? The Hellwig product site doesn't go that new. Thanks in advance for any info.

[JLeising]

As I replied to an earlier post, I have a 2012 Sprinter so can't answer your question. Suggest you contact Hellwig directly - they were quite responsive when I encountered a bolt issue with my sway bar. Contact Us | Hellwig Products

[bclemens]

Just remember that the year of the coach is not necessarily the year of the chassis. It's the year of the chassis that counts for this application.

[Still Kickin]

If memory serves me, the 10th position in your vin# designates the chassis year. Further I believe that the letter "C" = 2012 model year, So, "D" would be 2013, and so on. Let us know if that makes sense for your chassis mfg. date.

[richhop25]

The Helwig bar is the right one for the 2014-24R MB 3500. Fit just fine. Improved the stability a bundle. Love the improvement.