Rubicon Express track bar bushings going bad?

ranger101

ranger101

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I’m currently running a Rubicon Express front track bar with a drilled frame side mount. I’m starting to get a clunk and wandering from the front end and I believe it’s the track bar bushings. All control arms are tight(Currie/Savvy). Should I try to rebuild the RE track bar(they have bushing kits for $10) and try to buy a replacement heim for the frame side? Or buy a matching JKS bar like my rear has? My main concern is what to do with the drilled out frame side mount. Will I still be able to use a regular bolt or should I use a tapered sleeve if I go with a JKS bar.
 
There are a couple options that use the 5/8” drilled hole on the frame side. I switched from the RE to the metal cloak. Can’t go wrong with the Currie either. The RE bar is very thin wall tube. I would move on to a better piece rather than put money into that track bar. Plenty of other good options.
 
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I originally had a JKS trackbar and part of the bushing popped out. I ordered the JKS bushing kit and could not get the new bushing in. I found a used Currie track bar so just bought that and installed. I ended up bringing the JKS to a shop, and for $25 they pressed it in for me, and it now sits on the shelf with other random parts.

If you can press the bushing in place then go for it, if not, look for a new or used Currie, Mealcloak or JKS track bar. Currie and the JKS HD bar both require a 5/8 hole on the frame side mount, and JKS has a non-HD bar that requires a 9/16 hole on the frame side mount. The difference is JKS says the smaller one is for a 1"-3" and the HD version is for a 2.5"+ lift.
 
@tomtaylz and myself both had RE trackbars on our jeeps at some point. I now run a metalcloak and he runs a currie.

Both of them will work fine to replace your current RE. If memory serves me right we had to drill the bottom mount a bit bigger with the currie on Toms jeep.
 
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I'm looking to replace mine very soon. But I dont want to drill out the frame mount. Who has any experience with an upgraded stock style adjustable bar that is affordable, yet still an upgrade. Solid bar preferred.
 
Goatman said:
I'm looking to replace mine very soon. But I dont want to drill out the frame mount. Who has any experience with an upgraded stock style adjustable bar that is affordable, yet still an upgrade. Solid bar preferred.
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I think JKS light duty is the best option here. Not cheap though.
 
Alex01 said:
@tomtaylz and myself both had RE trackbars on our jeeps at some point. I now run a metalcloak and he runs a currie.

Both of them will work fine to replace your current RE. If memory serves me right we had to drill the bottom mount a bit bigger with the currie on Toms jeep.
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I definitely remenber having to drill the frame side mount with the Currie tb going from OEM.
 
I have a rough country, it is way beefier than the OEM, but I am not sure about the axle side bushing, it is a Moog, I may swap it out for a Synergy and see if that stiffens it up in lateral movement.
 
skrelnik said:
I originally had a JKS trackbar and part of the bushing popped out. I ordered the JKS bushing kit and could not get the new bushing in. I found a used Currie track bar so just bought that and installed. I ended up bringing the JKS to a shop, and for $25 they pressed it in for me, and it now sits on the shelf with other random parts.

If you can press the bushing in place then go for it, if not, look for a new or used Currie, Mealcloak or JKS track bar. Currie and the JKS HD bar both require a 5/8 hole on the frame side mount, and JKS has a non-HD bar that requires a 9/16 hole on the frame side mount. The difference is JKS says the smaller one is for a 1"-3" and the HD version is for a 2.5"+ lift.
Click to expand...

I think I’m going to go with the HD JKS. I’m a machinist so the bushing issue isn’t too big of a concern if something were to ever happen to it. The Currie is a bit steep at $370. I’ll spend the extra $100 on an air compressor 😉
 
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I went from RE track bar to Currie track bar.
I to had some clunk going on but changed to currie with the new lift and the clunking went away. Like someone stated above RE track bar has very thin tubing so I would get rid of it. With a currie track bar you do have to drill the frame side mount but this was already done with the RE track bar so you won’t need to drill again. The hole that was drilled in the frame for the RE track bar drop bracket I just left it as is.
 
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ranger101 said:
Curious as to why the thread title was changed?
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So it was more descriptive. "Rubicon Express track bar" isn't a very descriptive title. The title should be descriptive as to what the problem is. Helps people find it better when doing searches.

I do this often on a lot of threads, not to be rude, just to make things more indexable by Google. People search for things like this all the time, they just use more specific search terms :)

I have a big background in SEO (Search Engine Optimization).
 
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ranger101 said:
I think I’m going to go with the HD JKS. I’m a machinist so the bushing issue isn’t too big of a concern if something were to ever happen to it. The Currie is a bit steep at $370. I’ll spend the extra $100 on an air compressor 😉
Click to expand...

Agreed, the JKS is a nice bar and to save a $100 over the Currie bar is, well, the extra loot can go a long way for Jeep spending habits.
 
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I know this is an old thread but the info is relevant and needs to be kept together.

The heim joint on the Rubicon Express track bar is 3/4" X 3/4"-16 LEFT hand threads. I got mine REALLY tight before I got it loose. :rolleyes:

ANTISEIZE THE WORLD!
 
Used my buddy's press to push the new OE style bushings into the Rubicon Express track bar. We had to push both bushing halves into the bar then press the sleeve in. The OE bushing is larger than what the RE bar requires so it's pretty tight in there. There shouldn't be much movement.

I'll use a socket to center the sleeve and sand down the bushings to the width to fit the bracket before I install it. If I had a lathe, I would turn down the shoulder on the bushing halves so they would sit closer inside the tube and be more stable but I don't think it's as much of an issue as some do.

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Here are the bushings I used. Maybe it'll help someone in the future with repairs.

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