Honestly never owned a vehicle with a rear sway bar but I've been picking apart a truck at the junkyard and noticed it has a rear sway bar that will fit my truck. They want 25 bucks for the whole assembly which will bolt right on and a new bushing kit will be about another 30. So is 55 bucks worth it to throw a rear sway bar on my 2009 2wd. It's just a daily driver, no off-road, no towing. Just curious if it's just a waste of money? I do notice the rear end a bit squirrelly sometimes.

 

It really only helps with rear cornering. You can get one from a bronco two which is a bit thicker or get one from an explorer but it will bolt on differently. I removed mine on the rear since I did an axle swap. It "helps" on paper. You probably won't notice anything though.

 

my 01 edge has a factory rear sway bar - its squirmy under bumps. With nothing in the bed the sway bar is probably a hinderence as its stiffening up the ride and causing the whole axle to hop sideways. Once you put a couple hundred pounds or more in the bed is where the sway bar becomes benificial as it helps control the load better - helps prevent the force from the load wanting to well sway lol. Hence most SUV's and crew cab trucks having them.

 

I have been an amateur racer with SCCA since 1987. The general racing rule of adding a rear sway bar is to reduce rear grip. This is done essentially to help increase front grip. However that is only one aspect of adding a rear sway bar. If a vehicle is heavy in the rear such as with a camper, a rear sway bar can help reduce roll in corners and make the vehicle more stable.

If your Ranger came from the factory with no rear sway bar and you have not modified it or added weight to the rear, it is most likely that adding a rear sway bar will have negative effects. Ford engineers put a lot of effort into vehicles to provide as optimum handling characteristic as practical. You can change the suspension to obtain improved driving characteristics but you need to know what you are doing and it usually involves more than changing just one thing.

 

I added one to my 04 4x4 Edge and I like the improved cornering and stiffness.