Before we started working on the truck, we had John Hotchkis give us a tour of how a bar is made. You can see by this batch that the tolerances are very tight, thanks to the CNC bender Hotchkis uses. | 
Before anything is bent, the factory bars are mapped out on this Laser Vector machine that turns all the bends into a complex math problem that we aren't even going to try and explain. This machine is also used during production to make sure all the tolerances are within spec. | 
The company keeps one of just about every bar on hand for reference--this is just a taste of what was stored at the facility. |
The bars start out as straight stock. Depending on the application, a specific outer diameter and wall size is chosen... | 
...and cut to length with a cold chop saw. | 
Then, it is chucked into the bender. |
And it comes out like this. Could you imagine trying to bend this without using a CNC bender? | 
The ends of the bar are heated in a kiln and squashed down to provide the flat area where the endlinks go. Obviously, the bars will get a hole drilled in this area before it is shipped out to be powdercoated black. | 
Here is the kit from Hotchkis, and as you can see, it is totally complete and features a 1-7/16-inch hollow front bar and a 7/8-inch solid rear bar. See the side bar for the explanation of why Hotchkis uses a hollow construction bar. |
The company uses a drive-up lift because all the bars need to be installed with the suspension loaded (wheels on the ground), so they can be set right. If you are doing the job at home, make sure to put he jackstands under the rearend housing and the control arms. | 
Before getting started, inventory all of your parts and give the instructions a quick read to familiarize yourself with what you have to do. | 
To get started on the front, pre-lube the inner area of the frame mount polyurethane bushings with the supplied grease. |
Here is a tech tip: You might find it hard to get the grease off of your hands, but a few squirts of WD-40 will cut it enough for you to wipe it right off. | 
Slip it over the bar, so that the slit will face forward when the bar is installed, then slide on the metal bracket over the bushing. The bushings and brackets are greasable, thanks to the preinstalled zerk fittings, so later on you can lube them up without tearing them apart. | 
With the help of a buddy, lift the bar up, and loosely install the provided bolts on the framerails. |
The endlinks are next, and they should be fed in from the bottom. | 
The order in which it all goes is, from the bottom washer: bushing, control arm, bushing, washer, spacer, washer, bushing, sway bar, bushing, washer, and nut. | 
Once you have it all stacked, tighten it down until the bushings swell up to the size of the washers. |