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trac bar fab

risius01

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Leon Iowa
i was planning on building my own trac bar. was wondering if anyone has built there own and how you did it? i have some 3/4 heim joints. i been thinkin if i should use the heim at each end or use the OE trac bar end with the rubber at the axle and the heim at the frame, were i was goin to build a new mount. if i use the heim at the axle does anyone know the best way to make a mount for the 3/4 bolt?
 
Have you looked at the design of any of the store bought track bars ? If you have to ask how they are constructed, maybe you should be buying one instead of building one. The trac bar is not something you want to break apart at 70 MPH or, miles and miles from pavement. Good used trac bars come up in the For Sale section of the forum all the time.
 
Have you looked at the design of any of the store bought track bars ? If you have to ask how they are constructed, maybe you should be buying one instead of building one. The trac bar is not something you want to break apart at 70 MPH or, miles and miles from pavement. Good used trac bars come up in the For Sale section of the forum all the time.

X9 million
 
my fab skills are just fine. i built my own long arms and cross member that they bolt to plus holds up tranny and t-case. i was askin to see if any others have made there own and what design they used. plus wanted to see what ppl thought of usin the heim joint seein how i have johnny joints on my long arms with the OE rubber at the axle. lot better ride with no metal on metal
 
my fab skills are just fine. i built my own long arms and cross member that they bolt to plus holds up tranny and t-case. i was askin to see if any others have made there own and what design they used. plus wanted to see what ppl thought of usin the heim joint seein how i have johnny joints on my long arms with the OE rubber at the axle. lot better ride with no metal on metal

i would use rubber end on the axle end and use a johnny joint or RE joint on the frame end. i would also modify the frame end bracket to run the joint in double shear.
 
my fab skills are just fine. i built my own long arms and cross member that they bolt to plus holds up tranny and t-case. i was askin to see if any others have made there own and what design they used. plus wanted to see what ppl thought of usin the heim joint seein how i have johnny joints on my long arms with the OE rubber at the axle. lot better ride with no metal on metal

http://naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=976338


Im going to be using a heim on the axle end, and a JJ at the frame side.
 
I'm building one using 3/4" QA1 Heims on both sides. But, I'm mounting it to my re-drilled RE ExtrDuty track bar bracket (with some spacers to make up the width difference) on the frame side, and the poly performance track bar mount (for high steer) on the axle end. The track bar is going to be 1.5" OD x .25" wall with 7/8" weld in tube inserts.

I don't really know how you would do 3/4" bolts in a stock configuration??? If your fabbing something up, I'm sure you could rebuild the stock mount location stronger and big enough for the bolt. I would definitely make sure it is a double shear mount on the heim.

You could also get a sleeve to bring the bolt size down to something more reasonable for your application.
 
to the original posters about not building a track bar.....its done all the time. especially with people who have custom steering, or who have done axle swaps. i didn't 100% build mine, but with the work that went into modifying a RE one its safe to say its "custom"

get onto ballisticfabrications website and start looking at the DOM tubing options they have along with interts, and rod ends, and go from there.

no offense but i really dont see how youve build long arms and crossmembers but are struggling with a track bar. after all a long arm and a trackbar are pretty much the same thing, just different sizes
 
I used 2.5" Johnny Joints on both ends when I built mine and I wish I would have done heims. It is a pain to fit the JJ down on the axle side.
 
i would use rubber end on the axle end and use a johnny joint or RE joint on the frame end. i would also modify the frame end bracket to run the joint in double shear.

nono.gif
Rubber! Poly maaaybe, but no rubber!

I'm going with 3/4" hiems on both ends unless I have to put a bend in the trackbar. If I have to put a bend in it, then I'll use something like an RE joint to keep it from flopping over.

Billy
 
I built mine, works just fine.
I lowered the frame end mount and turned it so the pivot is horizontal.
The axle end is the an original RE heavy duty end welded on to a 3/4 DOM.
I cut the RE in half and slid it into the 3/4 DOM and plug welded it several places.
You can modify the top end bracket to use a 3/4 hiem joint and an adjustable weld-in insert.
Seems to have worked great for three years.
Also, beef up the bolt hole at the axle end and up grade that bolt.
 
Your original post stunk like another newbie "What the best ........." or "Do I need a ........." (insert your own pet peeve) thread.

I your post began that you are looking for trac bar design ideas, I would have said modify an aftermarket trac bar as your starting point, use poly bushings at both ends because heim joints wear out too fast and to build your own heavy duty upper mount and use a double shear attachment.
 
I have used 3/4 hiems on my TB for 3+ years with no problems and it's a DD, I had the frame mount single shear for about a year with the stock TB mount drilled to 5/8ths. Once the welds busted on the stock mount, I went to RE's mount and double shear on the bolt, even though I never had an issue with the single shear design, I feel better about it now.

BTW I also went overaxle on the axle mount to keep any bends out of the TB and still keep the geometry nice and in line.

If you use high misalignment spacers with the 3/4 hiems it will put you at 2" which is just right for your mounting brackets.
 
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