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3.5 lift new track bar or no?

alwaysready

alwaysready

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Wilmington, Illinois
im installing a re 3.5 this weekend.
do i need a new trackbar?
how far off will my front axle be from the rear axle? 1/2"?
i assume it will just dogtrack a little cause it will push the axle one way some right?
any other issues?
recommendations?
 
On my 91 with a 3-3.5 inch lift my front axle was off by a noticeable amount, I have corrected with a track bar. If I had to guess,since I didn't measure, I would say about 1-2".
I had uneven tire wear on a brand new set of properly balanced tires without the track bar.
I would get the track bar, although you do not NEED it immediately, you just might as well do it while your there and making a day of a project.
 
when any of you guys with 3.5" lift get time can you give me a distance from center to center of your longer trackbar.
If i cant find one used i might just make one i didnt realize they were pricey little things and right now funds arent there.
When you get time im not asking for you to run out right now and measure it.
Thakns in advance..

Anyone ever cut and extend the stock one?
that would be cake. lathe up a sleeve and weld away..
till i can upgrade to a heavier unit..
 
No new track bar needed. But I would suggest you re-drill the track bar mount on the axle end. It’s a quick fix and should be just fine with only 3.5". I didn’t have any problems on my 01 with a RE 3.5 flex kit by just re-drilling the mount.
 
Definitely I agree with what the last two said, buy an adjustable trackbar if you can afford it.
But for a temporary fix you can drill another hole up to about one inch to the right of your existing lower track bar mount hole.
You need to make sure and this is very important to match the hole with the exact size for you lower mount. If you don't you might get some play and it will only get worse as it will wallow out the hole even further. Also keep the drill as parallel as possible. predrill with a smaller bit for your initial holes.
But this will correct for up to about a three inch lift.
Temporarily.
Coop
 
hmm so drill a hole further to the right to basicall extend the track bar over and put a bolt through there for the new location..
that sounds like a plan easier and quicker than extending and welding the stock bar..
if anyone has that dimension still appreciated.
thakns for the ideas guys.
 
kdailey4315 said:
An adjustable track bar is highly reccomended
Click to expand...

X2:cheers:
 
alwaysready said:
hmm so drill a hole further to the right to basicall extend the track bar over and put a bolt through there for the new location..
that sounds like a plan easier and quicker than extending and welding the stock bar..
if anyone has that dimension still appreciated.
thakns for the ideas guys.
Click to expand...

That’s as easy as it gets. I would also agree with coop94xj, that its a temporary thing. Save up the $.$$ in the meanwhile to replace it all together. My RE instructions had the suggested distance to move it over, maybe you can check with the manufacturer of lift you are going to be using to get their suggestion.
 
hmm its an RE 3.5 that i bought form jeepin so maybe ill look at the instructions tomarrow.
Instructions we dont need no stinking instructions hehehe..
ya i planned on it being temp. till i get a newer unit looks like for 3.5 there basic bar is it. the extreme is for more lift.. so 160.00 or whatever it was. thatll have to wait for a little bit..
 



Sorry about the crappy pics. But you can vaguely see about how far to come over. Look to the right of where my track bar is currently mounted in the original hole. You don't want to go to far since the metal will get to thin on the outside edge of your hole.
You should be able to just click on the thumbnail to see a larger picture.
Coop
 
Also you can trim off the first couple of inches of the top right of the track bar mount with an angle grinder to keep the track bar from hitting the mount and allowing for a little more flex.
I just haven't gotten around to it yet. Must be lazy.
 
alwaysready said:
Anyone ever cut and extend the stock one?
that would be cake. lathe up a sleeve and weld away..
till i can upgrade to a heavier unit..
Click to expand...

I did it for my 92 with a 3" lift. I don't remember how much I had added-1/2 to 3/4". It was cut, new piece welded in, then sleeved. Works just fine. JIM.
 
I had a reloaction bracket and it was terrible. Everytime I turned a corner and straightened back out, it would pop and groan and besides that my stock bar at the chassis mount side was at a pretty nasty angle. Since got a JKS adjustable and it fit perfect, adjusted easily, is WAY beefier and was absolutely worth every penny. I would go for a new trackbar as opposed to trying to make a stock bar stretch. I have a re3.5 superflex kit BTW
 
you can redrill it, but once you redrill it and you still get a little wobble you can't make fine adjustments....... that's what happened to me, i had an offroad place redrill and charged me 200 dollars for that and a stabilizer. Didn't fix the DW completely. Finally decided to buy a slightly used Adjustable one. Spend the money on an adjustable one, because if it's off by the slightest amount you can still unbolt and adjust.
 
The GoJeep article worked great for me. Moved the track bar over a half inch after welding the old holes closed. Took maybe a half hour with a small tig unit and angle grinder. I flattened the end of a 6-8 inch long piece of half inch copper tubing to act as a back plate for welding the holes closed. The weld won't stick to the copper. Was even able to close the hole neared the axle that way too. Redrilled and replaced bolt and was done. Really don't know why I waited so long to do it. Might have been a little antsy about doing damage. Don't sweat it, just weld it. Unless, of course, you plan on liftting your rig higher and you just happen to have a couple of C notes burning a hole in your pockets. In that case, you know what to do, don't you?
 
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