broken rear sway bar. 91 escort?

Question

i have a 91 escort wagon. i ran over a ditch and the rear sway bar broke. is it ok to not have replaced.

Answer 1

This swaybar is very important for vehicle safety. The actual design is far from optimal for your car.It should be a full 50% thicker with grade 8 attatching hardware and thicker grade bracketry. My recommendations are in responce to a report of a highway crash that killed all the occupants of a '89 escort that was driving 65 mph on a straight and level section of I-44 near Springfield, MO. The car blew-out a right-rear tire and veered so suddenly and sharply that it hit the dirt divider sideways and began to roll with such intensity that it blew completely apart at every seam. Parts and pieces where scattered over an 1/8 th of a mile. It was reported that bad tires in conjuction with a heavy load contributed to the deaths of these individuals. The rear sway-bar is what keeps such events manageable if it is intact and perfectly functioning. A heavily loaded escort needs more than what the factory provided in this scenario.

Answer 2

Oh yeah. Vehicle manufacturers are always putting things on cars you don't actually need, like brakes.

The rear stabilizer bar does exactly that - it promotes vehicle stability in cornering. Without that bar the vehicle will not handle the way it was designed.

Answer 3

It keeps your car from leaning too far durring sharp turns and not rolling over.

It's a good idea to replace it, but not necessary.