Hellwig Sway Bars Installation - 2007 Yukon XL Denali

[Joseph Garcia]

I had the Eibach bars on mine and then changed to the Hellwig and I couldn't believe how big of a difference it was considering I already had bigger bars installed.

I didn't need the spacers on mine. I ordered it not knowing I needed them and found out after it arrived. I tried it anyway and the bar is nowhere near the transmission lines. Mine also came with new bolts for the front straps so I'm surprised you had to reuse the originals.

Where I saw the potential for contact with the transmission cooler lines, was when the truck's tires were lifted off the ground with a jack on the frame, where the suspension hung down to its lowest point, and the center portion of the sway bar was rotated to its highest position. That position was not visible during the installation, as Hellwig insisted that the installation be performed with the tires on the ground (or blocks in my case) in a normal suspension rest position. I did not check the clearance after the installation, by jacking the truck up by the frame with the wheels off the ground. I simply took Hellwig's word that the spacers were needed, rather than finding out after the fact that my transmission cooler lines were crushed.

The new bolts supplied were too short, if you used the spacers. With the U strap and the 2 spacers in place, there was less than 3/16" of bolt thread available to connect to the nut in the frame mount, and I felt that was not enough available thread 'meat' for these large sway bars, and the stress that would be generated in hard cornering.

 

[87carl]

What is the part number for these hellwig sway bars

 

[Joseph Garcia]

What is the part number for these hellwig sway bars

For my 2007 Yukon XL Denali: Front - 7685; Rear - 7707; Spacers (if needed) - 7799

 

[87carl]

For my 2007 Yukon XL Denali: Front - 7685; Rear - 7707; Spacers (if needed) - 7799

That's ones I was looking into lot of people say they have problems with the rear bars bushing bolts not lining up. Did you have any issues with yours?

 

[Joseph Garcia]

That's ones I was looking into lot of people say they have problems with the rear bars bushing bolts not lining up. Did you have any issues with yours?

Zero problems with Hellwig sway bar alignment and fit. Most of my problems were related to getting the old sway bars off.

If possible, re-use your original bolts for the U-brackets, as they have a smaller diameter head. If the bolts are in bad shape, consider purchasing new ones. Since the Hellwig sway bars are a larger diameter than OEM, the Hellwig U-brackets are slightly larger, as well, and there can be a clearance issue with the head of the bolt and contacting the side of the U-bracket, making it tough to get a wrench on the bolt. I did not notice this on the rear Hellwig sway bars, but I did notice on the Hellwig front sway bars.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

Update:

I did get to try the new Hellwig sway bars on my 2-lane exit cloverleaf turn 'test track' today, without any other vehicles being in my way. I was able to complete the turn about 20 mph faster, than with the OEM sway bars, and the truck was almost level with a very comfortable front and rear tracking stance around the turn. I may have been able to squeeze a few more mph out of the turn, but there was no need risking becoming a statistic.

Final Verdict:

The Hellwig sway bars are far superior to OEM sway bars, and worth every dollar I paid for them.

Again, thanks to @PNW VietVet for bringing these Hellwig sway bars to my attention, along with his build thread and personal evaluation of their performance. Shared knowledge MATTERS!