Dealer Replaced TRD Rear Sway Bar

Took my Tundra into the Toyota dealer for some basic warranty work. I mentioned to the service advisor that my rear TRD sway bar was noisy over bumps (loud rubber on metal squeak and creak). He called me and said the upper links were bad and he was going to keep the truck overnight and order the replacment links kit. Picked the Tundra up today, took a peak under the truck and they had installed an entire new TRD sway bar kit all the way down to the bolts and brackets. I thought cool, then drove off.

What I noticed immediately, the ride was so much improved and responsive it was such a difference from the previous TRD sway bar. My Tundra came with the rear TRD sway bar installed from the Toyota dealer I bought the truck at so its odd. I recall thinking the truck has the TRD sway bar that should be nice when I bought the Tundra new last year. I was never impressed or thought it did much to be honest (my pervious Tundra 2nd Gen) did not have a rear bar so I was used to the Tundras without it.

This leads me to the question was the original bar installed incorrectly, Ive looked it over before, everything was tight and appeared to be correct from all that photos Ive seen of other Tundra owners trucks. It just recently got noisy so that hasn't been an on going thing.

Going back to the new one, I had a 30 min drive home from the Toyota dealer and the truck drives, handles, changes lanes so crisp and responsive its a completely different feel, the only way I can describe it as "that is exactly how the truck should feel with the TRD rear sway bar".

Like other Tundra owners, I added the TRD front sway bar and have enjoyed the "planted feel" and less steering bump that it provides.

With this new development as far as I'm concerned, my Tundra rides really nice for a truck, early xmas gift from Toyota.

Anyone have thoughts or inout on why the original TRD sway bar was almost worthless?

 

Wow! IIRC the links are rigid? Did they snap?

 

Everything was intact and clean ,I had just been under the tuck trying to track down the squeak. All bolts were torqued, everything looked lined up, bushings were not torn or bulging, just noisy. Thats what so odd, the difference is night and day with the new sway bar.

 

Must have been installed wrong, I can't imagine how though.

 

This the only pic I have of the original TRD sway bar that came with the truck

 

Articulation is limited with sway bar; did a wheel drop into a ditch or something? That could break it.

 

On my 2019 sport my bar is lower under the diff. I think that might give it a better ride than your older one. The 2018 Toyota says it redesigned the trd sport anti roll bars and shocks.

 

The TRD RSB I installed 3 weeks ago transformed the handling of my Tundra.

 

I'll take a pic of the new TRD sway bar and compare to the pic I posted earlier. For whatever reason, still unknown to me the new sway bar is night and day difference in all aspects, really enjoying it.

 

I imagine seeing a problem arising more from the U-bolts (plate not true, sheared threads) so that area becomes loose and rigidity is lost. The down links are supposed to swing, no?