I’m new to the tj world. I have a1997 4.0 5 speed with a 4 inch lift. I have a wandering issue while driving. I have done new track bar new tie rods new pitman arm (back to factory) they had a drop arm on. While I was doing the track bar I noticed the old owners or someone else welded some plate on the track bar axle mounting location. I’m not sure where the track bar should go. Any advise or help would be wonderful. I will add pictures to try and show what I mean.
Track bar mounting location?
- Thread starter Gregs3187
- Start date
If your track bar and drag link angle are about the same, and the track bar bushings are good, check you toe in . I can’t explain the weld work , but it doesn’t appear far from the stock location.
It looks like the previous owner tried to beef up the axle side trackbar mount. It appears to be in the stock location. The mantra for TJ steering seems to be using a stock pittman arm (no drop arm) and being sure that your drag link and trackbar are parallel. It worked for me.
A new bracket has been welded on. I believe the original hole would have been the left one of the 3 that are above the bracket (red circle). So, I am thinking that the track bar must be running at a steeper angle than it should be. Another thing contributing the wandering may be that that Jeep appears to have no sway bar on it all. The bolt I circled (orange) should have some sort of sway bar link attached to it, even if it is running something from the aftermarket. I'm thinking that the track bar mounting situation isn't optimal, but honestly, I think getting a sway bar back on the Jeep will help even more with its road manners. Good luck.
A previous owner has completely boogered up your track bar mount which has also screwed up the angle of the track bar. Yes your track bar should be mounted in the hole circled in red by -T above. Also yes your antiswaybar looks to be missing, probably the rear antiswaybar too. Some clueless types believe removing them helps when offroading but they don't understand antiswaybars are important to vehicles with coil spring suspensions like our TJs have. It's ok to disconnect the front antiswaybar for offroading (leaving the rear connected) but it shouldn't be driven on the street without both the front & rear connected.
Gregs3187 please post a couple more photos showing how the other end of the track bar is mounted and a sideways shot of your Pitman arm so we can see if it's dropped or if it's still (hopefully) the OE/original factory Pitman arm.
This shows the difference in a dropped vs. non-dropped Pitman arm. Having the wrong combination of Pitman arm and track bar mounts mean the Jeep will have bump steer. Bump steer is when the steering is forced (bumped) left/right as the front suspension moves up/down over bump/dips on the road surface.
Gregs3187 please post a couple more photos showing how the other end of the track bar is mounted and a sideways shot of your Pitman arm so we can see if it's dropped or if it's still (hopefully) the OE/original factory Pitman arm.
This shows the difference in a dropped vs. non-dropped Pitman arm. Having the wrong combination of Pitman arm and track bar mounts mean the Jeep will have bump steer. Bump steer is when the steering is forced (bumped) left/right as the front suspension moves up/down over bump/dips on the road surface.
Actually, as I keep looking, there is the end of what once was a sway bar link still on the bolt. The rod that would have connected that end of the link to sway bar has either been cut off. The broken end has rotated and is pointing down now. And, originally, there would have been a bushing around the bolt, inside of that 'ring.' Try to get your hands on a used sway bar and rebuild everything.
Your efforts are appreciated, but for future reference, the parallelism that is desirable is between the mounting points for the draglink and the trackbar. Where the tie rod attaches is not taken into account. Thusly-
Thanks for all the help will get more pictures later. They did have a dropped arm when I bought it and did some research and ordered oem one and put that on. The sway bar links were also cut by previous owner. I have them ordered also just waiting on them to come in. I never thought to look at the rear and I will do that tonight when I get home. Thank you guys for all the wisdom so far!
thanks for the clarification. I also should have included verify that track bar bushings are good, especially on the axle side.
Just got done moving track bar. I couldn’t get it to the very first hole closest to the wheel. I got it in the next one. The track bar is more aligned with the drag link now. I also got my sway bar links installed. Now to test drive.
Not sure if this ever helps anyone but I have this picture saved for when front geometry topics come up.
I believe the left hole would have been stock. For your 4" lift, you'd want it relocated a bit anyway. Some people do adjustable track bars, others just make a new hole in that bracket. So you may be in just about the right spot anyway. I hope the Jeep feels better. I can almost promise there will be at least some improvement.
I dont expect the OP to answer
, but is the axle centered.You have a multiple choice question it looks like here. Just because it lined up with B doesnt necessarily mean its the correct choice
Similar threads
