Track bar; need advice

Okay, a preface: I did a "brother" pack junkyard boost on my XJ a while back, using ZJ springs w/ 1" spacer (actually 1.75, but removed stock isolator) and the main and second leafs from an XJ.

~3.5" front, 3" rear.

Now, I say "about" 3.5" because the track bar is pulling the axle off center and making it lean .5" worth to the driver's side.

I'm tired of the ghetto lean and want a solution to it.

Would a Relocation Bracket suffice for now, or should I go the whole shebang and get something like an RE track bar? Are there any OE solutions that may help (ZJ, WJ, TJ, JK)? Regardless, anything done will HAVE to come after I rebuild my donor engine and swap it in...

I try to contribute to others' inquiries, so I'd like for you guys to help me now!

PS: While JK Rubi shocks may seem like a cheap solution to buying aftermarket shocks for >3" of lift, I can personally say it is a PITA to adapt them to fit the XJ... ask me (and my aching body) how I know...

I would(and did) just buy the new adjustable track bar.

as far as relocation brackets, I know that some companies (like rough country) actually quit putting the relocation bracket in their kits and they give directions on how to redrill your factory mount to get the same desired location. In the past I ran a relocation bracket before I went to an adjustable TB. No real compliants for what I was doing at the time, but now that I have gone bigger and more aggressive with my wheelin taste, I would have nothing but a good quality adjustable TB. I just put on the TB kit from TNT and could not be happier with it. It is a quality item and stout as hell. My experience is that with some of the cheaper adjustable TB's is that some of them use a TRE on one end and they seem to wear out fast.

Yeah the TNT trackbar is really nice. I hear bad things about drilling out the stock mount, how the hole can be worn oblong from the trackbar.

Mr_Random said:

PS: While JK Rubi shocks may seem like a cheap solution to buying aftermarket shocks for >3" of lift, I can personally say it is a PITA to adapt them to fit the XJ... ask me (and my aching body) how I know...

Click to expand...

I'm interested now... what did you have to do to get them to fit? Aren't they pretty much just a straight bolt in job like any other shocks?

ert01 said:

I'm interested now... what did you have to do to get them to fit? Aren't they pretty much just a straight bolt in job like any other shocks?

Click to expand...

To the other guys first: I'm on a budget of $0 currently, would I regret redrilling the mount? I will of course upgrade later, I just want to know if this "quick fix" will work for me. I hardly do ANY wheeling, and any wheeling I do do is in sand/creek beds.

AH... I still haven't started on the fronts (had to replace the master cylinder yesterday... yay...), but the rears were total suckage (I expect it to be a bit easier for the front).

JK shocks come with bar pins that WILL bolt right in, but the sleeves on the other bushing end are too small for your (stock) axle bolts. I just pressed the sleeves out and used a huge c-clamp to get the bushings far enough on the axle studs that I could impact gun the nuts on.

The hardest part were the BPE's (home made from rear sway bar) that I decided to use. I cuttoff-wheeled the ends of the Bar Pins (which are wider than the shaft inside the bushing), pressed them out, then pressed in the BPE sleeves... Then I had to cut the bushing down to fit in the frame mount... then actually get it in the frame mount... AH it sucked!

I'm satisfied though, I got to cut metal and rubber and do other cool stuff... woo

okay, I'm bumping from second page, it'll get lost forever if I don't...

please, anyone, advice?

Mr_Random said:

okay, I'm bumping from second page, it'll get lost forever if I don't...

please, anyone, advice?

Click to expand...

You"ve kind of already gotten advice, its just not the advice you want to hear, so, you bump it until someone tells you that its ok to use a relocation bracket or to redrill.
If I had to choose between a bracket or redrill, I would choose redrill. That said, the choice I made when I lifted was an aftermarket trackbar. Not only does the TB center the axle under the vehicle, but, as anyone here who has had death wobble can attest to, a nice tight TB will also contribute greatly to drivability.

Yeah, you definately got me there; but as you can see I'm a long winded person and like long winded answers...

I'm fine with waiting for the real deal if someone can say that redrilling will compromise structural integrity or something, otherwise I'm gonna start researching it myself now.

Cautious and cheap are contradictory in this department, so please someone save me the effort of researching something if it will only turn out bad!

Drill the dammed hole & get it over with.R.E. told me to do it that way & it's worked for six years. If you are worried about strength just do what most people do weld a heavy washer to the front of the bracket. It's a Mickey Mouse way of doing it, but it works and it's free. Or step up & buy an adjustable track bar & do it right.

cherokee chuck said:

Drill the dammed hole & get it over with.R.E. told me to do it that way & it's worked for six years. If you are worried about strength just do what most people do weld a heavy washer to the front of the bracket. It's a Mickey Mouse way of doing it, but it works and it's free. Or step up & buy an adjustable track bar & do it right.

Click to expand...

Geeth, hothtility much?

Okay okay, I'll do some research on relocating it; ie how much should I move it and how I should strengthen it. When funds and necessities permit I will buy an RE trackbar to do it right.

I'll also try to do some kind of writeup when this happens so no one else in my position will have to do more than a quick search for it.

thanks guys,

-random

:cheers:Move it 3/4" toward the drivers side. It's not hostility, it's tough love. You need to fix your lean. Actually it's not a bad mod if you use the washer trick, and your left tire won't rub the lca as much.

I redrilled mine. Works great. But the hole I drilled got wallowed out a bit after a year or so so I had to cut some 1/4" plate to fit and weld it on. That fixed it good. Redrilling is the way to go.