Is this track bar movement acceptable?

[jazngab]

Just installed a new moog track bar after an episode of DW post 2” spring lift. Upon inspection there is the slightest side to side movement in the axle side track bar. Is this acceptable or can it cause more DW? I decided to go with an OEM replacement instead of an adjustable track bar for direct fit without any drilling or brackets. It fits the 2” lift and I do not notice any obvious axle shift.

 

[Blackjack]

You do not want that bolt to move at all. A miniscule amount of deflection in the bushing is ok.

 

[jazngab]

You do not want that bolt to move at all. A miniscule amount of deflection in the bushing is ok.

Ok thanks. Bolt is torqued down to spec. Frame side on the old track bar had some play so I was concerned any movement was bad. Thanks!

 

[AndyG]

He’s telling you right . Bolt does not need to move , that Jeep is going to be a handful.

 

[jazngab]

So drive the Jeep this am and hit a bump and got a baby death shimmy at 40-45mph. So I guess the moog replacement didn’t really do the job. Should I replace with an adjustable track bar? The whole front end has been replaced in the last 7 months including ball and u joints. Only the drag link is original. Thoughts?

 

[fuse]

I'm trying to remember how that joint fits together. Isn't the bracket actually supposed to clamp the track bar in place? If so, it may be that the bracket is the problem rather than the track bar.

 

[JEEPCJTJ]

I didn't reply to this thread yesterday because I'm not sure what I see in your video. It looks like the bolt isn't moving but the bushing is. If so, I don't see a problem.

When my TJ had DW, my son and I saw that bushing moving and replaced the track bar with a Moog. It might have made the movement less, I'm not sure, but there is similar movement to what you have and it did nothing about the DW. At that time I figured the Moog was doing exactly what it was supposed to do and the original might not have needed changed. I still believe might.

What got me away from DW was getting rid of the 17" aftermarket wheels/tires that stuck out from the fenders and replacing them with the original Moab Wheels. Not saying other wheels/tires wouldn't have worked, but these worked for me.

After all that, does your "baby death shimmy at 40-45mph" go away by speeding up or slowing down a few MPH? If so it's tire balance problems.

If slowing down to almost stopping is required to end any shimmy, it's most likely real DW.

 

[jazngab]

I didn't reply to this thread yesterday because I'm not sure what I see in your video. It looks like the bolt isn't moving but the bushing is. If so, I don't see a problem.

When my TJ had DW, my son and I saw that bushing moving and replaced the track bar with a Moog. It might have made the movement less, I'm not sure, but there is similar movement to what you have and it did nothing about the DW. At that time I figured the Moog was doing exactly what it was supposed to do and the original might not have needed changed. I still believe might.

What got me away from DW was getting rid of the 17" aftermarket wheels/tires that stuck out from the fenders and replacing them with the original Moab Wheels. Not saying other wheels/tires wouldn't have worked, but these worked for me.

After all that, does your "baby death shimmy at 40-45mph" go away by speeding up or slowing down a few MPH? If so it's tire balance problems.

If slowing down to almost stopping is required to end any shimmy, it's most likely real DW.

Yes it’s death wobble. I just didn’t want to exacerbate it fully and damage anything. Doing some research I believe it’s either 1. I need to find a bolt that fits the bushing better (I used a grade 8 Home Depot bolt but still have the original OEM one which I will try) or 2. I rotated my tires when I did the spring lift and I wonder if that’s what’s throwing it all off. My wheels and tires are less than a year old and were balanced when I had them mounted but a reputable tire shop. So I can rotate them back and see what happens there as well.

 

[jjvw]

The bolt clamps the housing to the bolt sleeve on the bushing. If that is happening, a larger bolt won't change anything.

Your wobble is coming from something else.

 

[g.hayduke]

The movement shown in the video is excessive and is almost definitely a factor in your DW.

Can't tell exactly why you have that much movement but it is clearly not normal and unacceptable.

When you tighten the bolt, the mount should clamp the center sleeve in the bushing such that the sleeve cannot move. If the sleeve is moving, either the sleeve is too short or the bolt is not tight or both. If the sleeve is not moving, the bushing is crap. Maybe you can replace the bushing with an OEM bushing?

 

[broken scope]

If the bolt is to small use a bigger bolt so theres hardly any play at all. My bushing had about 1/8 in play and that was enough to make it shimmy when l hit a bump. I pressed out the rather new bushing and used a poly bushing and it fixed it.

 

[jjvw]

If the bolt is to small use a bigger bolt so theres hardly any play at all. My bushing had about 1/8 in play and that was enough to make it shimmy when l hit a bump. I pressed out the rather new bushing and used a poly bushing and it fixed it.

Was the smaller bolt too small to develop the clamping force to hold the bushing sleeve in place?

 

[jazngab]

So here is the bolt play in the bolt hole minus the track bar. The bolt is the correct size as it fits into the bushing well. Is the hole wallowed out too much? If not, I’m thinking it may be my tire rotation.

 

[jjvw]

So here is the bolt play in the bolt hole minus the track bar. The bolt is the correct size as it fits into the bushing well. Is the hole wallowed out too much? If not, I’m thinking it may be my tire rotation.

Irrelevant. Think hard about all this yammering about clamping force.

 

[mrblaine]

If the bolt is to small use a bigger bolt so theres hardly any play at all. My bushing had about 1/8 in play and that was enough to make it shimmy when l hit a bump. I pressed out the rather new bushing and used a poly bushing and it fixed it.

NO.

 

[jazngab]

Any input @mrblaine ? Track bar hole wallowed out too much? Or tire rotation (with the brand new spare) throwing it off?

 

[fuse]

The bolt clamps the housing to the bolt sleeve on the bushing.

That's what I'm wondering about. From the OP's video, it looks like there's not enough clamping force. Could be that the sleeve is too short (possible, but seems unlikely with Moog), or the bracket is too wide (bent?), or the bolt isn't tight enough, or some combination of a little of each.

 

[mrblaine]

So here is the bolt play in the bolt hole minus the track bar. The bolt is the correct size as it fits into the bushing well. Is the hole wallowed out too much? If not, I’m thinking it may be my tire rotation.

Put the bolt sleeve from the old track bar bushing in there, tighten the bolt correctly and then show us how much movement it has. I can save you the trouble because it will have ZERO movement.

 

[jazngab]

Irrelevant. Think hard about all this yammering about clamping force.

That’s what I’m thinking. Because the bolt itself is not moving. It’s the actual track bar bushing and bolt that has some play

 

[mrblaine]

That's what I'm wondering about. From the OP's video, it looks like there's not enough clamping force. Could be that the sleeve is too short (possible, but seems unlikely with Moog), or the bracket is too wide (bent?), or the bolt isn't tight enough, or some combination of a little of each.

It is just moving on the rubber bushing, that is it and anyone with a rubber bushing in that location doing the same test will have very similar movement.