Broken front trackbar mount

[Bulldog]

I was driving home tonight and felt a slight shimmy. Just down the road from my house the Jeep drifted a little in a slight left turn. I pulled in the driveway and found the front trackbar bolt had pulled free of the mount on the axle.



I recently installed a 2" RE Budget Boost and a 1.25" JKS body lift. The 2" lift didn't require any steering correct. Judging by the rust and the booger weld on the mount, it may have been repaired by the previous owner at some point. I'm thinking of repairing it with some 1/8" or 3/16" plate. Any suggestions?

[ChevyKev]

Isn't that basically what broke on Donny's Rubi on Manchu? His was an upgraded one that replaced the stock application, but wasn't propperly welded on.

Thicker is better, in my opinion.

[Fix_It]

boy i remember don's break that was scary i think that was ken's alignment that welded that booger .. but this seems to be a very common break on the rubi's ..

i would go with good solid 3/8 or thicker plate and reenforce the heck out of it .. make sure you get good hot welds not just pretty welds ...

[Ronster]

There isnt anything you can buy when purchasing a lift that replaces that bracket. Even with taller lifts the only thing that you can do is get an adjustable trackbar, either way that shouldnt have happened, and it shouldnt have been caused by the lift. The lift doesnt cause any undue stress on this bracket, the only thing an adjustable trackbar would have done is push your axle back to center.

I agree with Wayne, put some 3/8" on it and call it good.

[naturalbornmudder]

fixing it is the easy part. Diagnosing why it did it in the first place and why it was previously welded would be were the investigation would start for me. Usually when you put a track bar in an uncomfortable situation like lifting the rig, it draws the track bar more to the vertical angle then the horizonal. The more horizonal you have it, usually the better off you are. Lift also draws the axle back from it's stock distance, which often brings about death wobble.

Why. Thats the question I would be trying to answer.

[Ronster]

Why. Thats the question I would be trying to answer.

if you look closely at the break you can see rust inside of the left break area. Its been there for a while from the looks of it. I just looked at the weld on mine and it looks much like what you have going. Are you sure yours isnt a factory weld?

[Zukman]

I think everyone with a tj should check their track bar mounts often, this is a common failure point. It could be the arctic climate that kill the bracket!

[sevenslats]

Plate the front of that bracket with 3/16".
Drill a new hole 3/4" to the right (facing the front of the Jeep) of the stock hole.
Wheel.





Donnie's was a Toys-By-Troy steering upgrade. The NAPA-certified repair shop across from Freeddies North (can't remember the name) installed it for him.

[naturalbornmudder]

is that Kens Fairbanks Alignment?

[sevenslats]

From memory lane, a pic of Donnie's

[naturalbornmudder]

looks like memory lane was a bit rough...

[SHoppe715]

The only "why" I can see is the trackbar hitting the far right edge of the mount and essentially acting like a prybar, tearing the bolt through the mount. I can see how relocating the hole to the right would solve that problem, but you'd need an adjustable track bar to get the axle centered. I need to go look at mine and comment more in a bit.

[sevenslats]

The reason I drilled a new hole (my bracket wasn't even broken) was because I installed a lift and didn't pony up for a new adjustable track bar. Moving the hole over compensated for the lift and centered the axle again.
Plus that added benefit of not acting like a prybar anymore.

[SHoppe715]

...I installed a lift and didn't pony up for a new adjustable track bar. Moving the hole over compensated for the lift and centered the axle again...

That makes sense. That'd be too far for less than 3" lift, though. With the 2" bb he could redrill the same hole and maybe grind some clearance into the bracket. I haven't gone to look at mine yet - it's too cold and dark and I'm a wimp.

[Ronster]

for 3.5" of lift they recommend you drill the hole 3/4" to the left (by RE's standards anyway). I did this to mine and I am back centered. Like Geoff, I didnt shell out the extra $ for a new trackbar.