Track bars created equal?

[NC Tom]

Folks, my garage tells me my track bar needs a replacement. They tightened it up and recommended I replace soon.

 

Anyway, the price of these things is all over the place. I drive street 95%+. Any suggestions for a quality, cheap option?

[75sv1]

I looked at some a few years back. Since it was something I plan to sell, I pick up one at a swap meet. Yeah, good options are $$. I did have a Rusty's for a few years. OK. I remember looking at Kevin's Offroad. Possibly look at CORE. I do use CORE control arms. Those are good quality and at a good price. 

      On my last two builds,  I went with WJ knuckles with cross over steering. So, I had to do OTK trackbars. I did go with a Rusty's the first time. It was or is OK. No real issues. I did have the axle bracket come off twice. That was due to a cracked frame. I went with Stinky Fab's the next time. Very beefy. I did come across a post saying they used OTK trackbar with the stock steering setup. They seemed to like it. 

[ghetdjc320]

Curious what exactly they “tightened”. There is a nut on the tie rod end side that goes through the frame side bracket and also a bolt and flag nut on the axle side. They don’t normally some loose though. I could see a bad bushing, bad tre or a worked out axle side bolt hole. What track bar you may need depends a lot on lift height and tire size. The whole point of the track bar is to keep your axle centered with your truck and keep the suspension in line. 

[NC Tom]

2 minutes ago, ghetdjc320 said:

Curious what exactly they “tightened”. There is a nut on the tie rod end side that goes through the frame side bracket and also a bolt and flag nut on the axle side. They don’t normally some loose though. I could see a bad bushing, bad tre or a worked out axle side bolt hole. What track bar you may need depends a lot on lift height and tire size. The whole point of the track bar is to keep your axle centered with your truck and keep the suspension in line. 

They said it was loose and was tightened. I do have steering issues at around 55. I'll probably just go with a Dorman. It's a stock 4wd truck. Nothing freaky going on with wheels or tires, etc.

[ratrapp]

the words quality and cheap usually don't go well together.but on the other hand expensive doesnt mean quality anymore.

[Salvagedcircuit]

Wasn't the WJ or V8 ZJ track bar an upgrade over the stock XJ/MJ one?

I vaguely remember reading that somewhere.

[ghetdjc320]

1 hour ago, NC Tom said:

They said it was loose and was tightened. I do have steering issues at around 55. I'll probably just go with a Dorman. It's a stock 4wd truck. Nothing freaky going on with wheels or tires, etc.

Find out what they tightened. The stock bar itself is solid so knowing what they tightened will help you know what needs to be fixed 

[neohic]

Better pull the bottom bolt at the axle side to see if the mounting hole is ovaled out also. No sense in replacing the track bar if it isn’t the actual issue. 

[ghetdjc320]

2 minutes ago, neohic said:

Better pull the bottom bolt at the axle side to see if the mounting hole is ovaled out also. No sense in replacing the track bar if it isn’t the actual issue. 

[75sv1]

12 hours ago, Salvagedcircuit said:

Wasn't the WJ or V8 ZJ track bar an upgrade over the stock XJ/MJ one?

I vaguely remember reading that somewhere.

The WJ uses cross over steering. So, I think OTK trackbar. Its 5 inches wider. Possibly the ZJ. I think the Y steering link is beefier. 

[ghetdjc320]

58 minutes ago, 75sv1 said:

The WJ uses cross over steering. So, I think OTK trackbar. Its 5 inches wider. Possibly the ZJ. I think the Y steering link is beefier. 

The ZJ tie rod is solid bar vs the hollow ones in MJ/XJ/TJ’s 

[NC Tom]

I can do that. This guy builds race trucks, so I feel good about his recommendations.