I have owned a 1989 Ford E150 for about 12 years. Early on I installed an ADDCO #697 rear sway bar. I paid a shop to install it and I remember hem grumbling about the instructions and having to drill extra holes. But the bar has fit and worked well for about ten years now.
I recently purchased a 1995 E150 high top conversion van and I knew I wanted a rear sway bar on it because of the weight of the high top. I was happy to learn that ADDCO advertises the same #697 rear sway bar as fitting Ford E150s from 1975-2001 without any drilling. Plus it was only about $130 with free shipping.
I spent yesterday trying to install the ADDCO #697 rear bar on my 1995 E150 only to determine that it will not work without drilling a minimum of six holes. The bar mounts to the rear axle using clamps that attach to the lower shock mounts welded to the axle housing. The instructions say to bolt the hardware for the clamps to the shock brackets using the preeisting holes in the shock mounts. Well, there is only one hole in each shock mount and it is centered. The brackets would need two more holes per shock mount drilled. This would significantly weaken the lower shock mount.
But moving past the clamp mounting issue, the instructions then say that the end link upper bracket is supposed to mount using a pre-existing 5/8 hole in the frame of the van roughly 12 inches in front of the rear axle. Well, there is a 5/8 hole in the frame on each side, but it is much farther away from the axle than 12 inches. Using that hole to mount the upper end link bracket results in the end link being canted towards the front of the van by about 30 degrees. This is beyond the point of useability.
So I would have to drill a 5/8 hole per side. That is six holes that the instructions do not mention having to be drilled for a bar that is advertised as requiring no drilling for installation.
I think ADDCO has not properly advertised this bar. It might fit without drilling on the 75-91 E150 series, but ill not work without drilling on the 92-up E150 vans.
I am going to return the ADDCO #697 bar and buy a more expensive Hellwig 7642 bar. It costs almost three times more, but the mounting looks much more secure and better engineered. Plus, I don't have to drill any holes to mount the Hellwig. The ADDCO #697 rear bar has worked fine on my 89, but it will not work on my 95. Ford owners need to be aware of this. The Hellwig 7642 rear bar is the only other sway bar I can find marketed for the 92-up E vans. It is more expensive, but it looks much better engineered.