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Track Bar moving

BigRed86

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Greenville, RI
The bolt hole for my track bar is starting to widen out. Just wondering what some solutions are to fixing it. Will I have to fab up a bracket or do they make replacement ones? The extra hole was when I did my first lift and ended up drilling the bracket to relocate the stock track bar.

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I just replaced my track bar and noticed the bolt is much smaller then bushing sleeve. Thought it was odd but my friends XJ is the same way. I started thinking. Isn't the load supped to transfer from the bushing sleeve to the mount and the bolt is just there to keep it tight? I'm just asking because if the bolt is supposed to keep it from moving I may have an issue soon. (it is the stock bolt with the tabbed nut)
 
the bolt helps locate the trac bar in the mount. the trac bar prevents side to side movement and thats why the bolt is there. try looking into replacement bushings with smaller id sleeves, or switching to a larger bolt and use a nut and hold back up on it
 
the bolt is supposed to be tight enough that the friction between the sleeve and the mount transfers the load. the bolt is not supposed to be bearing. If its an issue its real easy to make the holes a bit larger and get a new bolt.
 
the bolt helps locate the trac bar in the mount. the trac bar prevents side to side movement and thats why the bolt is there. try looking into replacement bushings with smaller id sleeves, or switching to a larger bolt and use a nut and hold back up on it

Are you sure I need a bigger bolt? The bar that came off and the one I bought and the one on my friends XJ are all the same. That's why I'm thinking the sleeve must be taking all the load?
 
the bolt is supposed to be tight enough that the friction between the sleeve and the mount transfers the load. the bolt is not supposed to be bearing. If its an issue its real easy to make the holes a bit larger and get a new bolt.

Must have been typing when you posted. This is what I thought. I was just bringing it up because It seems like he needs to tighten the bolt up some more to get it to stop moving. Unless he's not using rubber bushings
 
When I installed it I made sure that I torqued it down tight. I'll check it when I get home tonight. Do you think that the hole is compromised now though because of it being loose and moving around or will just torquing it down harder will solve all the problems? Thanks for all the input so far.
 
the metal sleeve in the bushing may have dimples inside. if it has the dimples, the bolt rides on those dimples so the trackbar can rotate. IIRC, control arm bushings also have the dimples inside the sleeves. only problem with using this type of sleeve is that dirt/rust/mud can build up inside the sleeve.

you can drill the dimples out, along with the axle bracket holes, and use a larger bolt. if you have a welder, you can make your own flag nut.

if the bushing sleeves dont have the dimples, you want to use a bolt that fits the ID of the sleeve while still allowing the bushing to rotate in the mount, there should not be any slop. if the bolt is too small and the bushing is loose in the mount, you dont want to have to tighten the bolt so much that the bushing binds in the mount.
 
I just replaced my track bar and noticed the bolt is much smaller then bushing sleeve. Thought it was odd but my friends XJ is the same way. I started thinking. Isn't the load supped to transfer from the bushing sleeve to the mount and the bolt is just there to keep it tight? I'm just asking because if the bolt is supposed to keep it from moving I may have an issue soon. (it is the stock bolt with the tabbed nut)
really?

my stock trac bar bolt was 3/8" the hole had wollowed out, and the sleeve in the bushing of my RE trac bar was noticably bigger as well. M10 hardware was still too small. so i drilled everything out to 7/16, the next biggest size, and insalled new hardware. my bit simply slipped right THROUGH the trac bar mount. scarry... needless to say it produced undesired effects.

but the fix worked like a CHAMP.
When I installed it I made sure that I torqued it down tight. I'll check it when I get home tonight. Do you think that the hole is compromised now though because of it being loose and moving around or will just torquing it down harder will solve all the problems? Thanks for all the input so far.
tourquing it down will not solve the problem... i tried.

drill everything out and install new hardware. the stock nut has that odd flange on it to hold itself when you are tightening/loosening it. to install a regular nut, i just jammed a bigg flat head between the flat side of the nut and the mount. tightened right up.
 
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