B190 Enthusiasts

Gary;
Thanks for that bit of advice. That may be where I went wrong, thinking it needed to have some preloading at rest. I will readjust accordingly.
Happy Trails, Howard

I live in Atlanta, GA area and purchased my 1999 B-190 last year in MO. I traveled to Canada and upper WI last summer and TX this winter. I am planning to go to WY this summer for the Rally. I would like to have stabilizer/anti-sway bars installed. I am not a mechanic and need someone to do this for me. Where do you suggest I take it, should I go to a mechanic or dealer and what do you think the cost for the installation would be? Any other suggestions would be good. I have gotten used to the drive, but my son in TX felt I should do this.

eldsys wrote:I live in Atlanta, GA area and purchased my 1999 B-190 last year in MO. I traveled to Canada and upper WI last summer and TX this winter. I am planning to go to WY this summer for the Rally. I would like to have stabilizer/anti-sway bars installed. I am not a mechanic and need someone to do this for me. Where do you suggest I take it, should I go to a mechanic or dealer and what do you think the cost for the installation would be? Any other suggestions would be good. I have gotten used to the drive, but my son in TX felt I should do this.

Do you have a shop you can take it to that you trust (and has a door tall enough)? Any shop should be able to do it. Personally I'd be tempted to order the part myself then just pay them to install it.

Without having driven my B190 more than 15 miles, given all the accolades of the sway bar here, I might just order one and install it. Am I getting ahead of myself? I have a 1500 mile trip planned for May/June and then a 3000 mile trip planned for Sept/Oct.

Mark,
Get the sway bar. It will not only help on winding roads, but when those 18 wheelers go by you'll feel a lot more comfortable. Also, make sure your shocks are in good shape. I found that new Bilstein shocks and the Helwig sway bar gives me a lot more time to enjoy the views when driving.


Cliff

Mark,
If your present shocks are at least o.k., and in order of feeling the most difference, I would start with adding the rear antisway bar. Next add the front bar. Next update your shocks.

If your shocks are shot... I'd start Shocks then rear bar then front bar. My '93 was uncomfortable to drive requiring constant attention for a smooth straight ride. After shocks and bars it is now pleasant and predictable to drive. Your mileage may vary...

Thanks. My rig has only 48K miles on it so I suspect the shocks are fine.

I need to look underneath the rig to make sure the water tank won't be in the way. I would guess that the other B190s have the tank in the same place though, no one else has mentioned it being a problem. Still though, better safe than sorry.

hmmm... My fresh water tank is only about 3 inches behind the axle (the big bump in the middle, I don't know what that is called). I don't know if I'll have enough clearance between them for the sway bar.

Mark,
Here is a link to my thread on installing my anti sway bars. I'm not sure if you saw my thread already? However, it has some additional photos from a different angle than what are posted in this thread. Those photos may or may not be helpful.

http://b190.com/viewtopic.php?t=1326

Kentuckian,

Thanks, yes, I saw that thread. It looks like it's going to be real close. I need to get under there and get an accurate measurement and then call Hellwig and talk it over with them.

Right now though, my biggest concern is the leak in the air conditioner gasket.

thanks again.

This thread has lots of good information. Thanks for posting all the details. I've ordered a rear sway bar from Hellwig and it should arrive this week. I'm hoping it will fit since the 1998 has a fresh water tank very close to the rear differential. I'll keep you posted.

Lucius

I picked up the sway bar today. I had to delay delivery for a few days since I was out of town. I looked through the box, read the instructions and will tackle the job tomorrow morning when it's cooler outside.

The Hellwig shipping package was lower quality than I expected. The end of the bar had broken through the box and there was evidence that somebody along the shipping route added tape to seal the package.

The sway bar is installed and I test drove the van. I noticed some improvement (reduction) in body roll on left and right turns from a stoplight. I also notice an improvement when traveling over relatively small bumps in the road like manhole covers, temporary plates covering utility work and other small irregularities. However, when going over bigger bumps there is still quite a bit of body roll. So... yes, I notice some improvement but I don't think this was the dramatic improvement I was hoping for.

The install went relatively well on the 1998 van. The clearance behind the differential is almost exactly the same dimension as the Hellwig sway bar so I made sure to put the sway bar brackets forward slightly to allow for movement. As others found, I had to increase the size of the hole in the frame to accommodate the 1/2" bolts for the sway bar attaching rods. On the driver side that meant pushing the lines and hoses away from the frame temporarily so I could drill the hole and attach the screw.

If you're mechanically inclined and have a few basic tools the installation is straightforward. I needed a jack to lift the vehicle and jack-stands to support the vehicle - fortunately I have both of those in my collection of tools. In addition, open/box 3/4" and 7/8" wrenches are needed to install the nuts and bolts. I did not have a torque wrench so I simply tightened the brackets to an appropriate "feel" and left it at that.

I'm surprised!??

Make sure you check the your torque after a few days of driving. If that doesn't help, ...heavy duty shocks. My '94 is extremely top heavy, I needed the shocks and the Hellwig. It is very stable now.

Good luck! Rick

I agree about adding new shocks. The combination will help. Also the combo seems to stop a lot of the drift when driving. You're right about the big bumps. Not much you can do about that. New shocks will help with that a bit. I invested in a torque wrench (Pittsburg?) for about $20 on eBay though if you have a Harbor Freight store you can get one for about $15.


Cliff