Longarm Track Bar Bracket Placement?

Hey Fellas,

I posted this in the Colorado section, but I figured I could get a quicker response here.

Finally had a chance to mock up my new Hi-Steering/Heim system today. Got the draglink and tie rod on, but when it came to the placement of the track bar bracket, I'm totally stumped.

The control arm bracket that came with the longarm kit is directly in the way of where I need to weld the track bar bracket. The only way that I can maintain the the same length as the draglink (27") is to angle the bracket at 45* forward so the track bar won't interfere with anything.

The misalignment spacers will allow this angle to be possible, but it just looks weird.







Option #2 is to move the bracket to the other side of the control arm (closer to the differential), but that will shorten the track bar by 7", bringing it to 20" overall.

Either way I can maintain proper steering geometry, but I wanted to get you guy's thoughts...

Thanks in advance,
Jim

I can't answer your question about whether or not you can run it at an angle. But if I were you I would buy an offset track bar bracket. I'm not sure if you're going to have enough room to do this but it's just an idea.
http://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com/catalog/PAN-OFF.html

It is an 1" offset bracket

That's about where mine ended up, if that helps any

Devilfrog said:

That's about where mine ended up, if that helps any

Click to expand...

If you've had no issues with yours tilted then I guess I'll just angle it. In the world of chassis building, angling a structural bracket that sees lateral torsion is big no no. But then again, I'm not going 200+ mph in my Jeep. lol

Thanks for sharing.

since that picture the UCA bracket was boxed and the two bracket linked with a plte between them.

SeeingSpots said:

Click to expand...

do this even if it "looks" funny.

tack the bracket on. install your links. cycle the suspension and see if there are any issues. check lock to lock as well. if your good, burn it home. id suspect youd have some serious bump steer with your track bar bracket on the other side of the UCA bracket.

while you got the welder out, box in that UCA bracket and burn in some mini skids:

VAhasnoWAVES said:

do this even if it "looks" funny.

tack the bracket on. install your links. cycle the suspension and see if there are any issues. check lock to lock as well. if your good, burn it home. id suspect youd have some serious bump steer with your track bar bracket on the other side of the UCA bracket.

while you got the welder out, box in that UCA bracket and burn in some mini skids:

Click to expand...

I did this but also went a few steps further, I plated the stock tb mount and added a truss, I also used 3/8 plate on the lca mounts and tied them into the axle tube but left the corners open so the stuff that gets in there could be cleaned out.

So as it turns out, my misalignment spacers didn't have enough angle tilting the OTA bracket and using the stock upper track bar mount.

Sooooooooooooooooooo.....................

I made my own out of some 1/4" flat bar I had laying around. I still have to clean up the edges with my grinder, paint it, and make it professional looking.



I fabbed the upper the bracket with a 6.5" drop and a 2" forward offset, keeping everything nice and parallel and causing no unnecessary strain on the track bar or the heims.




And much to my delight, both the track bar and drag link are 10* on the button!!!! BOOYAAA lol



Thanks to all the provided advice. I can't wait to drive this thing.

Jim

looks like you need some longer swaybar links

Yeah, you are good. The track bar mount does not know it is angled - it should have no effect on strength. I have seen several including my own done that way with no issues so far.

Also, keep it as long as possible. While you could keep the angles parallel, the shorter bar will cause much more bump steer as it will have a sharper arc.

Good luck - I think the way you've done it is as good as it can be :flipoff:

89eliminator said:

looks like you need some longer swaybar links

Click to expand...

Guess you didn't look hard enough to notice he cut the swaybar link mounts off the axle so it's just hanging there in that picture???

Wil Badger said:

Guess you didn't look hard enough to notice he cut the swaybar link mounts off the axle so it's just hanging there in that picture???

Click to expand...

That's correct. They're just hanging there. Next weekend's project will be to fab some new SB brackets.

Oh the joy....lol

I'd suggest welding the frame side track bar mount to the frame, it takes quite a beating and will move on you. Impossible to keep the bolts tight all the time, and your bracket doesn't have the same amount of strength as the factory bracket.

Also, just an FYI, the height of the track bar is what determines the height of the roll center, and in a trail rig or rock crawler there is more stability when the roll center is higher (closer to the center of gravity). So, you can get better trail performance/stability by raising the track bar mount on the axle rather than lowering the mount on the frame.

A bracket like this one is commonly used to raise the track bar mount on the axle. The bracket mounts the track bar high and forward to help clear the spring and steering links.

http://www.polyperformance.com/shop/Synergy-Suspension-Universal-Axle-Mount-Track-Bar-Bracket-p-1701.html




Richard G

Goatman said:

I'd suggest welding the frame side track bar mount to the frame, it takes quite a beating and will move on you. Impossible to keep the bolts tight all the time, and your bracket doesn't have the same amount of strength as the factory bracket.

Also, just an FYI, the height of the track bar is what determines the height of the roll center, and in a trail rig or rock crawler there is more stability when the roll center is higher (closer to the center of gravity). So, you can get better trail performance/stability by raising the track bar mount on the axle rather than lowering the mount on the frame.

A bracket like this one is commonly used to raise the track bar mount on the axle. The bracket mounts the track bar high and forward to help clear the spring and steering links.

http://www.polyperformance.com/shop/Synergy-Suspension-Universal-Axle-Mount-Track-Bar-Bracket-p-1701.html

Richard G

Click to expand...

Goatman - I can't tell you how long I stared at your build thread trying to figure out the steering geometry. My eyes still hurt. Lol. I learned a lot though.

I actually ordered that Synergy bracket and had to return it because it was so far forward that it actually hit the tie rod while using the JB4x4 hi-steer bracket. There was no way to use it without cutting it all up, so i just made my own. Not perfect by any means, but it'll do until I do an axle upgrade.

Definitely going to weld a few more gussets and the bracket to the frame once it's all cleaned up. There's not enough red Loctite on earth to make me trust bolts alone. I have what my Father calls "engineering paranoia." Whereas I over-engineer every component and make more work for myself so that I'm not faced with a mechanical failure.

I think it's a valuable trait....lol