Iron Rock track bar on 2" lift review w/pics

I put a 2" boost on my '99 and had a case of death wobble, and after fixing the alignment it didn't go away. Turns out the track bar was worn, so I looked for an upgrade. I liked the double shear design of Iron Rock's but it's specifies 3" or more, so I sent an email to see if I could trim it down. Josh at Iron Rock was quick to respond and even offered to trim it there for no added cost so I went ahead and ordered it.

Here's what I got:


This thing looks very stout. The powerder coat was flaking in a couple of spots though. This isn't a show queen so I didn't mind too much. I just scuffed it up and sprayed it with the only paint I had around: clear.



I couldn't tell that it had been trimmed. Josh said they'd spray the cut to prevent rust so I figured I'd be able to tell the difference, but I couldn't. I think they forgot to trim it because as best as I can tell my axle is off center 1/4" adjusted all the way in. That's close enough for me right now, if it ends up bothering me I'll trim 3/8's.

I went looking for synthetic grease at the parts store and this is all I could find. It's working good so far.


Getting the stock bracket out was a PITA. My impact wrench was useless, but my 18" breaker bar got it done on 3 of the bolts. The last one started to give but then the "captive" nut started spinning. I thought I broke the weld but it turns out the star just unseated. I had to grind the head off wich took a long time due to poor access.


So I got a replacement bolt and put it together. The bracket went in fine and I figured out the rest. No instructions were included and I think they'd be helpful: the bushing bolts and sleeves are 2 slightly different sizes so you may not notice if you swap them until you try to put it together.

Here's the axle end:


I think this bolt should be a longer and it should include a washer. As it is the end of the bolt just makes it flush with the top of the nut. I used loctite and cranked it down good so it should hold but I'd feel better if it was 1/8 to 1/4" longer. And the stock bolt has a captive washer, there's no reason this one shouldn't.

Here it is installed:



I've driven it for a week now and haven't had any death wobble. But I have heard some clunking from the front and I just found this:



That clean spot is where it contacts the stock cover. This is with the sway bar connected the whole time. I haven't disconnected the sway bar and flexed it to see how bad it is, but I think there's enough bushing give that it slids past, but I don't like it. I plan to upgrade the cover in the future but it'll only stick out more then. Any ideas on fixing this?

I like the basic design and beef of this track bar, but it ain't perfect. Iron Rock should supply a longer axle-side bushing bolt w/ washers with their kit, and I don't know what I'm going to do about the diff cover contact. Maybe most people with more lift bumpstop enough that it doesn't happen, I dunno. Maybe the bushings have enough give that it's OK, or maybe it'll just "self clearance."

id say the lower height is the problem with the front cover, though ive never heard of a track bar hitting on any other setup

ya i think the track bar is too long... it should never hit the diff cover... maybe add a spacer on front? but i think the bar is bent for a higher lift application... the bend at the axle end is way off for 2 inches of lift... time to go higher!

maybe i've smoked too much crack today, but am i the only one who thinks it looks as if it's on backwards? like the adjustable end should be at the axle....
i tried looking at it upside down too.

Hellbent said:

maybe i've smoked too much crack today, but am i the only one who thinks it looks as if it's on backwards? like the adjustable end should be at the axle....
i tried looking at it upside down too.

Click to expand...

I wasn't sure either (another reason to include instructions), but I found this pick on their website under their 5.5" kit and installed it the same way:
http://www.ironrockoffroad.com/Merchant2/100_5670.JPG

Hellbent said:

maybe i've smoked too much crack today, but am i the only one who thinks it looks as if it's on backwards? like the adjustable end should be at the axle....
i tried looking at it upside down too.

Click to expand...

i thought the same, but because of the his lift height, the bend is pointing down, not horizontal.

i honestly wasn't sure. glad it wasn't just me.

Josh at Iron Rock just emailed me back with some suggestions. I sent him an email right after I posted here, I should have told him about the issues before doing the write up so any resolutions would be part of the original posting :doh:.

I'm going out of town tomorrow so I won't be able to look at it more for a few days.

just smack the dif cover with a BFH a few times ( ha ha just a joke)

I have seen the IronRockoffroad TB in person, and It cannot be compared to RE in eny means. The RE is beefier, and by my opinion it fits better

srimes said:

I went looking for synthetic grease at the parts store and this is all I could find. It's working good so far.

Click to expand...

synthetic grease? mobil 1 is synthetic

are you looking for grease for the poly bushing?

daystar makes grease for their bushings

this kit comes with the gun but the grease can be bought seperate.

http://www.4wheelparts.com/Lubrathane.aspx?t_c=71&t_s=317&t_pt=6141&t_pl=8568&t_pn=DAYKU11005

I have a similar probs with a trac bar drop but not in ever day driving. Under extreme flex the stock trac bar on the drop bracket hits the diff cover, its from a tomken kit for a 4" lift, but I agree with what was said that you may not have enough lift for the bar, and I think that is my problem as well.

MrShaft696 said:

I have a similar probs with a trac bar drop but not in ever day driving. Under extreme flex the stock trac bar on the drop bracket hits the diff cover, its from a tomken kit for a 4" lift, but I agree with what was said that you may not have enough lift for the bar, and I think that is my problem as well.

Click to expand...

with all you have done to your xj from looking at your signiture, i would think an adjustable trackbar and bracket would be in your near future.

I have the iron rock trac bar, with the double shear bracket on a 3" lift and do not hit the dif cover. RE makes a nice trac bar, but beef wise doesn't compare to the solid steel IRO trac bar.

89xj said:

with all you have done to your xj from looking at your signiture, i would think an adjustable trackbar and bracket would be in your near future.

Click to expand...

AYE AYE capitan, that is affirmative

I installed the IRO HD track bar on my 2000 with a 3.5 RE lift. Very beefy TB and frame bracket. I installed it the same orientation as the OP, I don't remember why, but it works. No issues with the diff cover. Worked great in Moab.

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I have the iron rock track bar it did hit my diff cover when I had 3inches in the front but now I have 6 inches in the front it doesn't even come close, if you look at a stock track bar it has a bow in it to clear the diff. And yes the track bar is put in the correct way. Here is what mine looks like now with the iron rock steering setup. Most other aftermarket track bars stick out further to compensate for the diff.


and here is the bar when I had the 3 in lift.

What size hardware does the Iron Rock kit use?

I've always had good luck with IRO...

I finally had time to take a look at it. I disconnected the swaybar and jacked up the right rear and left front tires until the TB touched the diff cover. I tried to show how much interference there is in this pic:.



Looks like it's about half the bar--worse than I thought. This pic shows how far the bumpstop is from touching.


I couldn't measure it very well but it looked like about 1.75" to contact. I've heard that those bumpstops (is that correct?) will all but fully compress, so I figure 2" additional travel max, or 3.75" travel total from TB contact until the bumpstop stops flex.
Also, there isn't much clearance between the TB mount and the corner of the coil support bracket, and it does show signs of contact. I measured the distance from TB axle mount to TB frame mount and compared that to the TB axle mount to the bracket corner and it just barely interferes, but with a shorter TB length it'll clear, and if necessary I can grind the bracket corner down.
I took the jeep off the stands for ride-height measurements:


There's about 3.75" to the bumpstop contact, so about 5.75" total uptravel. It looks like about 1 5/8" from the TB to diff cover, but it's hard to measure as they're both curved surfaces.

I sketched it up in autocad and clearance is more of an issued with combined wheel travel than individual (flex). I didn't want to pull the springs to check it so I'm just going off of my autocad sketch.

The TB-Diff contacts at just under 2" of uptravel. This explains why it clunks just driving around town (Oklahoma has crappy roads). At full compression (5.75" uptravel) there's about 2.9" of interference between the TB and diff.

I would prefer to not reduce uptravel. I'm currently only planning on 31" tires and will trim the fenders for clearance before adding bumpstops to reduce travel. But if I have to bumpstop I will.

For the TB to clear over the top of the diff it needs an additional 3". The current TB bend is not where the contact point is so I think it would be better to bend it just above the contact point, which is 3" in from the current bend point. A 30 degree bend would provide the clearance. This would effectively shorten the TB by 1.5".

The TB could clear the diff if it was bent forward 1" (actual extimate of 5/8, but a little extra for insurance). This would take 3 or 4 bends: angle out, level off, angle back, level off. The center 2 bends could be combined if necessary. A spherical rod end could handle 1 of the bends, or the bushing end could be welded at an angle (I don't know if the threads can be safely bent). Adjustable would be slightly reduced as it would be adjusted in full turns instead of half turns, but that should be fine. Otherwise the bend would have to start after the threaded portion.
I'm currently leaning towards bending the TB out instead of up. It just seems like a better option.

What do y'all think? I haven't had a chance to talk with Josh about it, but I sent him this information. He says to increase the current bend spot or start over on a custom bar.