Rusty's HD Track bar bracket or RE???

XJRob · Mar 31, 2003

I am co^piddrin purcha2hng Rusäp's HD $racj ba mount since I am 7+" and the MOOG TRE replacements are not cutting it any more. I `lre `y have his adj4ptable $wacjbar`nd like thd faBp that this bracket flips the bar the way it should be; I am just a little learh!of havhdg poly bushings at bot ends. %pen tho4`h RE's bracket is about $20 cheaper. I am leaning more toward getting "pstx's "pacjet fdr compatibility re`sonR$ unles I hear`ny ill experiences with it. Anyone had any problems with his design?

Anyon know of a heim that will fht hHr trackbar?
If so I might get the RE bracket!

thanks

hjeepxj · Mar 31, 2003

MO: if/hen youban find a heimdor the RE one, get that one, you will never regret res stuff...

BenXJCA · Mar 31, 2003

I'd go with the poly eye over the heim.

The poly eye with the HD bracket has more travel than a heim joint, therefore it wont limit your articulation.

ChuckD · Mar 31, 2003

Go with the bracket/TB combination, the only thing I have heard about RE's is that the bracket will hit the driver's side UCA mount on the diff, under full flex. I think Rusty's will work but you'lll get more flex out of the RE one.

woodnjeep · Mar 31, 2003

Just joined the forum and couldn't believe someone else is having the same problem that I just ran into.
I installed a Rusty's Adjustable Trac bar about a year ago.
I noticed a popping noise whenever I turned my wheels side to side when sitting still.

Had my daughter turn the wheel while I looked and sure enough the tie rod end is moving. Even though it only moves a little it seems to translate into a lot of movement in the four links at the body mounts. The upper mounts is where the popping was coming from. I checked for cracks and didn't spot any.

I'm going to replace the tie rod end but will eventually upgrade.
Let me know what you pick.

Mines an 86 Wagoneer with a 3 1/2 RE lift.

SyCo · Mar 31, 2003

I have the RE set up with only 3.5" and I really do like it. What I don't like is the popping I had to deal with. It seems the bracket likes to work its way loose so that when the wheel is turned slightly it *pops* in and out of place. Red Locktite and torquing the bracket bolts down solved that problem, but now it's popping from somewhere else (go figure). I know RE had a trackbar brace to reinforce the bracket set up, but it was removed from the market due to fitment issues, I'm not sure if it's been re-released or not. From what I can see RE and Rusty's designs both look near identical, but I've only seen pictures. Some people have had some fitment issues with the RE bracket which were usually solved by boring out the bolt holes (the bracket is made for both XJs and ZJs so....).

Hunter-LynchburgVa · Mar 31, 2003

can anyone with the RE kit shed some light on how much actual drop the bracket gives you compared the stock one you took off?

i have rustys bar with "heavy duty" drop bracket. after doing some reading on here and some more thinking, looking, and pondering im interested in a bracket that doesnt drop down so far. im kinda worried about the extra leverage/stress that his bracket puts on the frame rail right there, not to mention i want something with a little more quailty or quality control depending on how you look at it.

Hunter

woodnjeep · Mar 31, 2003

Hunter-Lynchburg said:
can anyone with the RE kit shed some light on how much actual drop the bracket gives you compared the stock one you took off?

i have rustys bar with "heavy duty" drop bracket. after doing some reading on here and some more thinking, looking, and pondering im interested in a bracket that doesnt drop down so far. im kinda worried about the extra leverage/stress that his bracket puts on the frame rail right there, not to mention i want something with a little more quailty or quality control depending on how you look at it.

Hunter

That's my concern also. Rusty's does sell a support brace that connects the two sides buy I'm uncertain as to where it attaches.
So I don't know if it relieves any of the "stress".

SyCo · Mar 31, 2003

Hunter-Lynchburg said:
can anyone with the RE kit shed some light on how much actual drop the bracket gives you compared the stock one you took off?

i have rustys bar with "heavy duty" drop bracket. after doing some reading on here and some more thinking, looking, and pondering im interested in a bracket that doesnt drop down so far. im kinda worried about the extra leverage/stress that his bracket puts on the frame rail right there, not to mention i want something with a little more quailty or quality control depending on how you look at it.

Hunter

It's been a while since I had the stock and HD bracket next to each other, but I remember it dosen't drop down all that much, I think like 1/2" if that. I'm only running a 3.5" lift (well, it's probably around 3" with the winch) and my geometry is pretty good, no DW of the sort. I think the big deal about the HD bracket is that it accepts a poly bushing which doesnt limit droop like the stock bracket does.

As far as quality, my bracket fit fine, but we all know every XJ is different and I've heard plenty of stories of others having to drill the bracket to accept their rig. No rust, and paint still looks good after over a year.

Jeepin Jason · Mar 31, 2003

FYI: I've run both Rusty's HD bracket and now the RE HD setup, and neither bracket provides ANY DROP at all. They may look like it, but they don't. It's just an illustion because the HD brackets have material that extends down further than the OEM mount, but if you look at the pivot points of the OME mount and the HD brackets, they're in the same place. There's no additional stress on the frame than with the OEM bracket.

I had no clearance issues with either bracket running a D30 front end and 5-6" of lift. No troubles with strength either. However, my RE setup is currently popping and I'm still trying to trackbar down the source. I can't remember if I had popping with Rusty's setup, that was a while back, I'm almost beginning to think the popping is in my steering now, not the trackbar, but we'll see...

Anyway, a heim joint can be made to fit either bracket with the correct spacers/reducer. FWIW, the spacers that SkyJacker uses with the heim in their RockReady trackbar are a perfect fit for Rusty's bracket -- this is the setup I used to run.

XJoachim · Mar 31, 2003

I'm at 10" now and i'm running Rustys HD mount along with his long arm kit and i'm more than satisfied with this type of track bar. It rotates in the direction where it should and doesn't limit any droop. The only limiting factor are the brake lines and the shocks and not the track bar.

I hihghly recommend this setup for anyone who wants to eliminate anything that limits travel.

woodnjeep · Apr 1, 2003

XJoachim said:
I'm at 10" now and i'm running Rustys HD mount along with his long arm kit and i'm more than satisfied with this type of track bar. It rotates in the direction where it should and doesn't limit any droop. The only limiting factor are the brake lines and the shocks and not the track bar.

I hihghly recommend this setup for anyone who wants to eliminate anything that limits travel.

Whoa! you guys are up there on the lifts.
I'm only at 3.5 on mine.
Do you see any problems with using the Rusty's HD on mine?
I went ahead and bought a new tie rod end but my wife suggested that I go ahead and look into getting the HD setup for Rusty's.

Gotta love that woman.

xj4rocks · Apr 1, 2003

I run the WJ tracbar conversion from http://www.kevinsjeepparts.com/tbconversion.html works REAL well. cost is pretty good too (especially when you get it used like I did) I like it much better than the JKS XJ tracbar I had before. at least now the bolt is rotating in the proper direction.

XJoachim · Apr 1, 2003

woodnjeep said:
Whoa! you guys are up there on the lifts.
I'm only at 3.5 on mine.
Do you see any problems with using the Rusty's HD on mine?
I went ahead and bought a new tie rod end but my wife suggested that I go ahead and look into getting the HD setup for Rusty's.

Gotta love that woman.

I can't see any problem with the HD mount for you. Go for it.

XJoachim · Apr 1, 2003

Just to give you an idea about my rig, this is on 38.5x14.5R15 TSL SX on 10x16 wheels.

Jeepin Jason · Apr 1, 2003

XJoachim said:
Just to give you an idea about my rig, this is on 38.5x14.5R15 TSL SX on 10x16 wheels.

HOLY COW!! Your rig sure has changed since the last time i saw it!!

XJJack · Apr 1, 2003

I have the RE, and have no problems with the bracket, but I do have a loud clunk when I hit speed bumps, I think it is the joint in that mount, when I instald, it would not take any grease through the zerk, so I need to disasmble and lube then tighten it.

XJoachim · Apr 1, 2003

Jeepin Jason said:
HOLY COW!! Your rig sure has changed since the last time i saw it!!

Thanks, i'm really proud of it. In the plans are:

Hydroboosted brakes
1 ton axles
ram assist steering

At last there will be a coil over conversion, exo cage and 44 meats

Rusty's HD Track bar bracket or RE???

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