Opening a can of worms here but doesn't the rough country bar have a shape very much like the stock bar as it pertains to diff clearance?
Upper Track Bar Hole Too Big
- Thread starter greyghost_lj
- Start date
Yeti08
Member
i returned the OGS126 becuase i was under the impression that the axle side hole had to be drilled to the bolt size, if it was bigger it could cause wobble and wallowing. thanks for the clarification.
the Currie website says they work 0" lift and up.
I wish i just got the currie one from the go. I know I can let the front axle be off center, but my OCD wants it centered. I might add the OME 10mm Spacers up front to make the OGS128 fit better.
ShredAZ
TJ Enthusiast
Sorry for the late reply. I added 2 inches of bump stop on top of the welded Rubicon bump stop pad. I had 1.25" previously. It kept my tires out of the fenders, but the stock diff cover would come in contact with the TB at full stuff.
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In that case, you're not too far off from what may be needed for the Currie Track bar. Not sure which ranchos you're running, but I'm using the 55239 up front which have 9.5 inches of travel. In order to run the Currie Rockjock trackbar I had to have 2.5 inches of bumpstop, which in conjunction with the Rubicon welded bumpstop is a total of 2 and 7/8ths bumpstop. This resulted in me losing the 1.5 inches of travel, and being at the stock 8 inches of travel despite a 3.5 inch lift. It works but it wasn't ideal. I tried bending the track bar to get more clearance, it was a pain since it's chromoly. I also ended up cutting the gusset clean off along the way...
The best solution would have been if I kept the lift at 2 inches and used stock bar, or I went to a 4 inch lift/and or adjustable control arms. The taller lift would require me to run longer shocks which would fully compress before trackbar interference. The control arms would have allowed be to dial things in better and get the axle further back.
Neither the Currie/RockJock track bar and steering require 2" of bump stop extension. Mine never did.
According to my results from cycling before drilling the mounts it seemed I needed a minimum of 2 inches of bumpstop. After bending the bar I was able to get it down to 1.75. Then after drilling the mounts I needed 2.5 (on top of the welded pad). The only thing I can think of is when I bent the bar it somehow made clearance worse. Either that or my front axle wasn't centered properly during cycling, but I tried almost every adjustment point within reason.
Mine has never had more than 1.375" bump stop extension and that has always been from the shocks. That was long before did anything to the front that required reshaping the track bar and steering.
ShredAZ
TJ Enthusiast
There must be some variation in the manufacturing process of our Jeeps. I wonder if the position of the trackbar mount from the factory is slightly off that causes interference with aftermarket bars on some of these rigs. Most people that run the MC TB are not running 2" of bump stop...unless I'm an idiot and somehow did something wrong which isn't totally out of the realm of possibility lol.
The solution would be adjustable CA's. I would just need to move the axle back a hair to get the clearance I need to ditch a puck.
The solution would be adjustable CA's. I would just need to move the axle back a hair to get the clearance I need to ditch a puck.
Yes. This is why, when you get adjustable control arms, we'll tell you not to waste your time setting the arms on both sides to identical lengths. You set one side and adjust the other side to fit. If you measure them after the fact it's not at all uncommon to have them different by 1/4".
Agree.
On the other hand, most of our Jeeps run the first decade or two of their lives with identical length OEM control arms.
Things that make you say "Hmmmmmm?".
All that means is that the factory built to a tolerance where things sufficiently fit and performed within a range of acceptablility.
Then we come along to change things for better and very often worse. And the range of acceptablility grows larger until we get to the justification of bad performance being a Jeep thing that no one understands.
OEM Rubber control arm bushings flex enough to deal with it, but this is exactly why people have to use helpers and ratchet straps to get all their links on. It would be an absolute bastard to do that with polyurethane or JJ on a non-adjustable arm.
They do and all you have to do to verify everything is where it started is pop any of the control arm bolts out and then try to get them back in. You may adjust your observations somewhat after that little experiment.
ShredAZ
TJ Enthusiast
I got back under the jeep and remeasured. I might actually be at optimal bump stop for my setup. I have ~4" of-travel on the RS5000x and 4" of up-travel from the bump-stop to jounce cup.
Knowing that, I won't be able to chase more up-travel unless I run a longer travel shock. In the meantime, I'm planning to run some of the Metalcloak DuroSpring jounces to soften up the heavy hits. I also confirmed with MC they only compress to 3/4" rather than 0" like the factory jounce. Will need to remove some bumpstop to accommodate.
https://metalcloak.com/durospring-replacement-jounce-bumper-jeep-tj-lj.html
Knowing that, I won't be able to chase more up-travel unless I run a longer travel shock. In the meantime, I'm planning to run some of the Metalcloak DuroSpring jounces to soften up the heavy hits. I also confirmed with MC they only compress to 3/4" rather than 0" like the factory jounce. Will need to remove some bumpstop to accommodate.
https://metalcloak.com/durospring-replacement-jounce-bumper-jeep-tj-lj.html
ShredAZ
TJ Enthusiast
I installed the Metalcloak DuroSprings and a .75" leveling spacer today. The DuroSprings only compress to .75", so I decided to use this as an opportunity to reevaluate my bumps stops.
I pulled the coils and cycled the suspension again. I was able to cut another .25" out. The trackbar is still the limiting factor.
With the Nitrochargers, reduced bump stop, and a .75" leveling spacer, I gained another .5" of up travel. And in the occurrence of a bottom out, the DuroSprings will help soften the blow.
All in all, I'm happy now. I'm not gonna chase another .25"-.5" of up travel with a $500 trackbar or $800 control arms. I think I've reached the point of diminishing returns.
I pulled the coils and cycled the suspension again. I was able to cut another .25" out. The trackbar is still the limiting factor.
With the Nitrochargers, reduced bump stop, and a .75" leveling spacer, I gained another .5" of up travel. And in the occurrence of a bottom out, the DuroSprings will help soften the blow.
All in all, I'm happy now. I'm not gonna chase another .25"-.5" of up travel with a $500 trackbar or $800 control arms. I think I've reached the point of diminishing returns.
Hey, when you get $4,000 per inch then it really gets expensive, I have 5.5 up and 6 down with the lj and the rs5000x shocks. Look at new upper mounts for the front and outboard the rears.
Putting the rear bar pins above the mount instead of below was the cheapest inch I've ever gotten.