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RE XD trackbar positioning?

G

Gaius

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Beaverton, OR
I installed an RE XD trackbar on my 98. I built my own mount for it. I know the mount is in the right position, beacuse the the track bar only goes one way, and really has no slop. Problem is it's positioned too far to the rear, and if I didn't have bumpstops in the diff would hit the trackbar/mount. It's like an inch or two back from the stock mount. I don't know why the track bar bends backwards at the top bend.

Can you post a pic of your mount from the side? Does enyone else have this problem?

98 XJ 4, inch lift.
 
re1660.jpg

Best so far from the side (from http://yuccaman.com/jeep/45lift.html).

There isn't much clearance between the front end components including the trackbar, but one common problem is something you didn't touch on. What amount of lift do you have, and how? It's not uncommon for the coils to rotate forward if the lower control arms are set too short, and the trackbar will appear to bind up.

Jim www.yuccaman.com
 
Thanks.

I have 4 inches of lift on my homemade shortarms. My caster is at 7 degrees (lower arms are 16.25 inches). The coils seem fine. The bend in the trackbar just seems too exaggerated.

Does it look too far back to you?

xjtrackbar001kx3.jpg


xjtrackbar003km1.jpg


xjtrackbar004aj6.jpg


xjtrackbar005pg5.jpg
 
Yeah,your at least a 1-1/2 to 2" to far to the rear of where the RE bracket sits.
 
Yeah...looks like you're back a wee bit too far. Eyeball guesstimate is that the upper joint should be about 1/4 of the way back along the coil spring; yours looks like it's about 1/2 way back.

Jim www.yuccaman.com
 
Huh. I can rework the mount, or even buy the RE one, but that'll put some pressure on the axle-side bushing. I guess an inch ot two won't be too bad. I can always install the upper arms I have laying around and push the front out a hair, too.

Thanks for the verification.
 
The RE mount points forward just a hair too, which is why the trackbar has that bend back you are complaining about. Both pieces used together fit really well, but if you make your own trackbar or mount things always seem a little skewed. I used their mount with my own trackbar, and just had the top flexjoint welded at a tiny bit of an angle to compensate.
 
Gaius said:
Huh. I can rework the mount, or even buy the RE one, but that'll put some pressure on the axle-side bushing. I guess an inch ot two won't be too bad. I can always install the upper arms I have laying around and push the front out a hair, too.

Thanks for the verification.
Click to expand...
The reason your bushing is in a bind is because your CA length and castor are off!
 
RCP Phx said:
The reason your bushing is in a bind is because your CA length and castor are off!
Click to expand...

i agree. It looks like your pinion is parallel to the ground. It shouldn't be. Shorten those lowers. Once you do that, it will push the trackbar mounting location forward about an inch or two, where your new mount should be.
 
The current caster is perfect. It's at 7.17 degrees at the left wheel, 7 degrees at the right wheel.

I'm actually dealing with a litle bit of wobble, too, that I can't track down, even with new LCAs, trackbar, wheels and tires, alignment dead on, and steering is in good shape. At this caster it's at it's minimum with no front driveshaft vibes.

My TJ has never had this problem. F-ing Cherokees... :D
 
Gaius said:
The current caster is perfect. It's at 7.17 degrees at the left wheel, 7 degrees at the right wheel.

I'm actually dealing with a litle bit of wobble, too, that I can't track down, even with new LCAs, trackbar, wheels and tires, alignment dead on, and steering is in good shape. At this caster it's at it's minimum with no front driveshaft vibes.

My TJ has never had this problem. F-ing Cherokees... :D
Click to expand...

Since it's a 4wd vehicle and the front driveshaft has a cv joint on it, and the pinion angle has to be parallel with the driveshaft. You have to dial caster and pinion angle in to whatever works best. If you leave it as it is now and bolt in your driveshaft, you will have vibes and destroy joints quickly.

Focus on that pinion angle. Get it within reasonable specs and then worry about mounting the trackbar.

Take a look at your lower control arms. They are very close to your shock mount and if you have any downtravel, they will hit and limit your droop. Another reason to rotate that axle forward more.
 
muddeprived said:
Since it's a 4wd vehicle and the front driveshaft has a cv joint on it, and the pinion angle has to be parallel with the driveshaft. You have to dial caster and pinion angle in to whatever works best. If you leave it as it is now and bolt in your driveshaft, you will have vibes and destroy joints quickly.

Focus on that pinion angle. Get it within reasonable specs and then worry about mounting the trackbar.

Take a look at your lower control arms. They are very close to your shock mount and if you have any downtravel, they will hit and limit your droop. Another reason to rotate that axle forward more.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the input, but the caster and driveshaft are fine. The caster has been set like that since I lifted it (a year ago) and the driveshaft has been in the whole time. I just took it out to rebuild it. I can't go any less caster or else the wobble can get real bad when I hit bumps at speed.

And technically, on a double cardan driveshaft, the pinion is supposed to point AT the front t-case output. On a stock rig it does. but when you lift the rig, and have to keep the caster the same (or maxed out in the spec like mine) that point drops below the output.

On the front CAs, I defintely know. I wish I could have used a smaller stock, but didn't feel comfortable doing so. I built the CAs with as much offset as I could, but this is my DD. I wheel a TJ. When I start wheeling the family in this I'll just cut the shock mounts back.

large.jpg
 
Does the round tubing at the end go all the way through the square tubing? Those look beefy. I don't see how you can break em. One less thing to worry about :)
 
No, those are round tubing adapters. They fit quite well into the square tubing.

I fabbed my midarms on my TJ and I've beat crap out of them. Much stronger than welding a nut to them.
 
You should try to find out the cause of your wobble,Ive been running about 3* of castor for 6 years with no issues!
 
Belive me, I'm trying. I've had no issues with my TJ, any caster, bent wheels, no wheights, worn Currie Steering. Unless it's hubs, not sure what else I can replace.
 
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