i should clarify that the part i am bending is an aluminum arm, not the sway
bar itself (which is steel).
aluminum and steel have very different properties.
-james
----- Original Message -----
From: Randy Noll <rnoll98@yahoo.com>
> After heating, you might want to have the whole thing
> > heat
> > treated to restore strength.
>
>
> Definitely. My friend is a soon-to-be PhD in Mech. Engineering and when
> I asked him about heating my sway bar he said it was probably a bad
> idea. Apparently metals get their qualities from how they are heated
> and, more importantly i believe, how they are cooled. Depending on how
> it was initially treated, heating a bar can make it weaker, stronger,
> more brittle, springier, softer, etc. Might not be a bad idea to call
> the manufacturer and ask how to heat/cool it to return it to it's
> original state.
>
> Randy
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