Track bar replacement / steering upgrade

Schwifty Rich

Schwifty Rich

TJ Enthusiast
Original poster
Joined
Apr 21, 2018
Messages
226
Location
St. Louis, MO, USA
Happy holidays all!
While I was headed to my cousins last night I hit a pot hole and experienced my first death wobble... holy crap was that scary!

I pulled off the road to check it all out really quick and that’s when I got my first Christmas surprise lol. The track bar snapped! I have a beefier steering set up than stock but I’m not exactly sure what the previous owner put in there.

Well now that my track bar has snapped I’m looking at my options...

In my mind I’m contemplating an either an entirely new steering set up like the Currie Currectlync.

i was curious if I should jump for the whole new steering or if I simply needed to get a new track bar. It seems the track bar is separate from the steering sets. Any recommendation with regards to just the track bar if that’s the way to go?

On a semi related note, when I tried to fix my alignment I wasn’t able to get the tie rod to budge at all when ineas using a pipe wrench. I was afraid I would break (on the Jeep or even myself) if I just kept trying to force it.

And my steering gearbox seems to be leaking. I’ve started putting Lucas stop leak in there and dread the thought of both modifying the frame for the older models box or having to find/buy one of those Mercedes gear boxes.
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That track bar is too short. You should have a minimum of twice the thread diameter of engagement. It almost looks like a tack weld on the jam nut which I bet was because the previous owner had issues with it coming loose.
 
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Good eye , thank you!

Yea it was intense! I was going about 40 when it happened. On the way back I took a look at the pothole and it was actually a manhole (the cover was on) that was recessed a bit.

I just took a look at Chris’s Dropped Pitman arm post as I wasn’t even aware it was a thing! I will certainly take a closer look at that while im at it.
 
Blackjack said:
That track bar is too short. You should have a minimum of twice the thread diameter of engagement. It almost looks like a tack weld on the jam nut which I bet was because the previous owner had issues with it coming loose.
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That’s exactly it. I didn’t even notice that when I was down there. I just went back and sure enough I can see it’s a clean break all around and that it looks to be a broken weld.

A quick search pulled up this
JKS OGS126 . Would that be more what I’m probably going to need?
 
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Schwifty Rich said:
That’s exactly it. I didn’t even notice that when I was down there. I just went back and sure enough I can see it’s a clean break all around and that it looks to be a broken weld.

A quick search pulled up this
JKS OGS126 . Would that be more what I’m probably going to need?
Click to expand...

JKS or Currie are both good choices. The OGS126 is for up to 3.5 inch lift. OGS125 for 4 inch and above.
 
Yes for sure replace that dropped Pitman arm with the OE factory Pitman arm. It's causing bump steer which is where the steering wheel is bumped left/right when you drive over bumps/dips on the road.

As above, go with a Currie or JKS track bar.

Currie's Currectlync heavy duty steering kit absolutely great but it's really only needed if you're running big tires like 35's or 33's on really tough trail.
 
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Make sure to check for clearance between the trackbar and the diff cover as well. Some aftermarket trackbars are known to contact the stock cover if additional bump stop hasn't been added, and where it appears you have an aftermarket diff cover, you could have even less room. The trackbar making contact with the cover is known to snap the trackbars just like you have pictured also.
 
Jerry Bransford said:
Yes for sure replace that dropped Pitman arm with the OE factory Pitman arm. It's causing bump steer which is where the steering wheel is bumped left/right when you drive over bumps/dips on the road.
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Oh I will, thanks Jerry. I didn’t even realize I had this problem but I have certainly experienced bump steer on the road.

derekmac said:
Some aftermarket trackbars are known to contact the stock cover if additional bump stop hasn't been added, and where it appears you have an aftermarket diff cover, you could have even less room. The trackbar making contact with the cover is known to snap the trackbars just like you have pictured also.
Click to expand...

There was no contact before it broke but I suppose that could have been the cause with all the jostling around. Outside of trial and error with each different track bar set up, is there a good way to figure out if it will be an issue before hand?
 
Boinked said:
It looks like a RE track bar. Did the do the same thing MC did and have you drill the holes larger? Will the Currie or JKS still mount up correctly?
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So I saw that on the JKS OGS128 HD and the Currie johnny joint track bars you would need to do some drilling in order for ten to fit.

Since I’m on a 3.5 RE lift I figured I would probably go with the JKS OGS126 since it doesn’t look like drilling would be necessary and I’m right on the edge of the threshold with my lift.
 
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Schwifty Rich said:
So I saw that on the JKS 128 HD you would need to drill out the taper.

Since I’m on a 3.5 RE lift I figured I would probably go with the JKS OGS126 since it doesn’t look like drilling would be necessary.
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Im thinking you already have the holes enlarged. That is what i was trying to get confirmation on.

I just dont know id RE requires it. If they do. Your driver side would be 5/8" and axle side would be 9/16".

I only asked because i just installed a Metalcloak trackbar that required me to drill my holes out. And have heard that MC and RE are almost identical.
 
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Boinked said:
Im thinking you already have the holes enlarged. That is what i was trying to get confirmation on.

I just dont know id RE requires it. If they do. Your driver side would be 5/8" and axle side would be 9/16".

I only asked because i just installed a Metalcloak trackbar that required me to drill my holes out. And have heard that MC and RE are almost identical.
Click to expand...

Oh I see, well I just went down and checked. The passenger side is just barely too big for a 5/8 but that may be paint.
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The only other bolts on the driver side were much larger that’s for sure. Bigger than 3/4 even if I’m looking at the right bolt.

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I had well have RE Trac bar I had to pay for someone to drill the holes through the frame. If I knew about currie trac bar I would have never drilled holes in my frame. I’m currently installing the currie trac bar. Now I would have 2 nice holes on my frame -.-
 
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Schwifty Rich said:
Oh I see, well I just went down and checked. The passenger side is just barely too big for a 5/8 but that may be paint.

The only other bolts on the driver side were much larger that’s for sure. Bigger than 3/4 even if I’m looking at the right bolt.
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Then im positive that the frame side is drilled out to 5/8". It appears that the axle side is stock.

Just check the installation instructions on the trackbar that should tell you the hardware size.
 
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Schwifty Rich said:
Since I’m on a 3.5 RE lift I figured I would probably go with the JKS OGS126 since it doesn’t look like drilling would be necessary and I’m right on the edge of the threshold with my lift.
Click to expand...

I put a JKS OGS126 on mine and it requires drilling out the frame side mount hole.
 
MountaineerTom said:
I put a JKS OGS126 on mine and it requires drilling out the frame side mount hole.
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Man..... know im second guessing my decision to drill my axle side up. Looks like im pretty much stuck with a MC track bar. I have no issues with it so far. But i do like to change my mind a lot.
 
06TJ35's said:
I had well have RE Trac bar I had to pay for someone to drill the holes through the frame. If I knew about currie trac bar I would have never drilled holes in my frame. I’m currently installing the currie trac bar. Now I would have 2 nice holes on my frame -.-
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I’m not sure if you are saying you had to make new holes after the RE track bar or if you were able to conveniently use the holes you had previously drilled. Lol I read it like 3 times trying to figure it out.

MountaineerTom said:
I put a JKS OGS126 on mine and it requires drilling out the frame side mount hole.
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Hmm, if the JKS OGS126 and the JKS OGS128 both required drilling then I don’t see why I shouldn’t just go for the beefier 128. It looks like there will be more than enough room with the big ole bend in it to accommodate the diff cover. Boinked pointed out it that they seem to have already been enlarged so it should be a bolt in affair.
 
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