8.5141 | Front Sway Bar Bushing - 26mm | Toyota 4Runner 96-09

Body Roll and Traction

The front sway bar in your 4Runner basically connects your front wheels so that both tires stay connected to the road during a hard turn by reducing body roll and maintaining tire to road contact. The lever action that accomplishes this depends on the bar being held in place by two bushings attaching it to the frame. The original bushings on your 4Runner are made of rubber which honestly isn't the best material for the job.

Rubber bushings are used in the factory because they are cheap and reduce noise and vibration between the frame and body, but for sway bar bushings this isn't a concern. The bushings do not directly connect the frame and the body so NVH transfer is not something you will feel in the driver's seat.

A Better Option

These 26mm front sway bar bushings from Energy Suspension are made of polyurethane, which is a more durable, long-lasting material than rubber. Here in Stephenville, TX folks love vehicles that can be driven to work during the week and out to the deer lease on the weekend and polyurethane sway bar bushings give you better turning traction and will outlive rubber bushings in a roughly used 4Runner. This kit will also replace the rubber grommets in your 4Runner's endlinks with polyurethane bushings, giving you the same advantages in durability and longevity as the sway bar bushings.

Heat, road grime, and motor oil can degrade rubber bushings until they can't hold that bar securely anymore, which means body roll and traction loss in a hard turn. Without the draw-back of vibration making the ride a little more harsh there isn't really a good reason not to run polyurethane sway bar bushings in your 4Runner.

Bushing Overhaul

If you like to take your 4Runner out and hit the trails every weekend then those original rubber bushings are going to wear out faster than they usually would. With regular maintenance a 4Runner can easily clock a quarter of a million miles and keep going so having suspension bushings that will last is important. Energy Suspension offers the rear sway bar bushings that will give you the body roll reduction and increased rear turning traction that the front bushings give.

If you want increased handling throughout your 4Runner then you might take a look at a Complete Bushing Replacement Kit for...

• 98-99 4WD 4Runners
• 00-02 2/4WD 4Runners

These kits will trade out all of the rubber bushings for polyurethane bushings that should last the life of your 4Runner, and that's backed up by our DST exclusive lifetime warranty.