What did Newell charge to install new sway bar?
As previously stated, new to these coaches but that’s a huge piece of steel!
I’d think that’s got to be a metallurgic failure.
So there was a overweight situation that was corrected by a 365 tire upgrade.
Could the failure of the sway bar be a result of excessive weight causing stress and fatigue?
It’s just now starting to show up in this sway bar failure.
What about the rest of the front suspension components?
Guru engineers please tell me I’m wrong!
Jeff,
Its not clear why the sway bar failed. My coach had 160,000 miles on it when I got it (already with 365 tire upgrade). Since it was a "race coach", it was treated as a tool and not with a lot of TLC by PO. I have driven another 100,000 miles and although I try to avoid them, we have ended up hitting more than a few pot holes.
I am pretty sure the sway bar was not broken when I bought the coach, but have no clue as to when the break happened.
The rest of the front components are fine with the exception of normal rubber degrading on the tie rod ends (soon to be fixed).
I asked Newell when I was there if this was common, and they said they had seen a few.
Also about the overweight condition....It is my understanding that the coach was fine on the original 315 tires, but the required tire pressure caused the coach to ride rough. Also, the speed was limited to 65 mph. With the 365 upgrade, you can run lower pressures for smoother ride, and can go faster with the additional margin.
It is my belief that this is a one-off situation and that things breaking is part of the RV game.
Hope this helps!
bill
Thanks for the info. It certainly caught my eye. Be safe!
Mine broke a year or so ago. When it broke, part of it dragged on the highway. I was able to strap the dragging piece and drive approximately 100 miles to home. The main concern to me was the air ride control rod being affected.
After a quick call to Newell the technician assured me it was ok to drive. I had the front replaced and added a rear sway bar.
The only thing I can attribute the breakage to is an extremely rough intersection I crossed at 30mph.
It was tooth jarring. That was a couple of hundred miles before it broke
Well, this is certainly interesting. One is a fluke, two or more in such a low volume situation, tells me I better take a hard look at mine.
Who you callin a fluke?!!! Seriously, though....this particular issue is really hard to detect. Since the break was buried within a rubber grommet it would be hard to visualize.
If I were to look at for this issue, I would:
1). Listen for weird noises while moving at slow speed over bumps. When I pull out of my normal parking spot, I have to travel at an angle over a gutter. I would hear strange noises so I always crept over that gutters on way out. (I assumed it was normal coach noises until I found broken bar). It doesnt make the creaking noise now (with new sway bar).
2). Look at rubber grommets x 4. If they are degraded or deformed, it might be a sign. The grommet on the driver’s side was fairly degraded and that is what I was looking to replace when the guys at Newell found the broken bar (on other side).
3). If you imagine the coach rocking from side to side....you would think that the sway bar would resist the movement. Same is true of the air springs and the shocks. Maybe worn shocks put more pressure on the sway bars. In my case, the shocks got replaced about three years ago. (Maybe the bar was broken by then?)
Finally, as much as I wanted to feel a real difference with the new bar. I did not. Adding the rear sway bar a few years ago made a huge difference, but not so much on the front one.
Bill
Hey, NOT COOL !
I'm next on the "Fluke list"?
Saturday morning while going thru a freeway cloverleaf, I heard a loud pop and thunk. Very disconcerting. I pulled over and looked over the coach and in the compartments. I found a container tipped over on a compartment, straighten it up and drove on carefully. I kept hearing a clanking noise every light bump I went over, then I changed lanes and about 3 hard thumps and debris scattering on the freeway. I thought a tire had a bubble that I couldn't see and I was loosing a front tire, so I pulled over again. The 3 hard bumps was freeway porcelain dots being picked off by the broken swaybar hanging low.
My coach 784 is configured a bit differently than Bills. My Swaybar is connected thru a ball joint adjustable yokes or Tie rods to the A arms. Mine broke inside the rubber grommet. I wired it up to the lower control arm and will continue on my drive, minimizing the forces that the swaybar would normally absorb. I have about a 1,200 miles before I get back to my shop, I'll change it there.
Now, I have the same question as was raised earlier, not sure what torsion it takes, but we are finding a way to do it. I'm going to talk to Newell tomorrow and find out if they have created an upgrade. For my model coach, It would only take larger brackets and the Bar to upgrade.
BTW, I used about 5 ea. zip ties and used 10 g wire to hold the broken piece. After 300 miles of desert heat, 1 zip tie and 1 loop of 10g wire still holds. I need to air up and redo this better for the balance of the trip.
You might try holding it up by wrapping a bungee around it several wraps.
Maybe stop at a truck or farm shop that has a cutting torch.......
My coach has something like 16,000 pounds on the front axle. The anti roll bar is resisting a huge force in these coaches.
Bend any steel enough times and it will fatigue fracture.
I view all springs as a wear item that will need to be replaced from time to time.
If the size of the anti roll bar is increased too much then it will compromise other aspect of the suspension. Too much resistance and the other pivot points take on too much load or the system just binds up, becoming non compliant. Too stiff and you basically have no suspension and the tires leave the road.