Mk4 Sway Bar Installation

[tbl100]

I'm installing the sway bars (front and rear) and the instructions say to cut the male and female rod ends to shorten them to 1/2" of thread remaining and screw them together. Is shortening absolutely necessary? Does this effect the functionality of the sway bars in any way?

Thanks in advance for any replies,
Tim

[stack]

Yes. Swaybar can com in contact with the wheel in turn otherwise

stack

[Tree]

I think you would also have a hard time even getting bolted to the sway bar without cutting those. You need to be a bit careful with the cut so you don't gum up the threads on either end since they will still screw together.

[JRL16]

Easiest way to not mess up the threads I found was to simply run 2 nuts on the male end then cut then turn the nuts off. If the first nut doesn’t clean enough of the thread on removal the second one will. On the female section just install a sacrificial bolt. Using a cut off wheel, cut at the proper place on all sides till the end spins free onto the bolt then remove the bolt. This will keep the threads clean. Good luck.

[tbl100]

Thanks to all. Good info. Looks like I'll go ahead and cut them as recommended. Thanks, -Tim