Thread: Track bar / over the axle bracket

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  1. #1 Track bar / over the axle bracket 
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    My question is concerning track bar length with an over the axle bracket. I have Kevin's conversion which uses a WJ track bar. I also have an adjustable JKS bar. Will this adjust short enough to work? Kind of want to make sure before I have everything apart doing the swap.

    Thanks,
    Scott
    98 ZJ 5.2, 4.5" RE LA, HP30 w/tru-trac, U-Turn steering, ARB Front, Kevin's rear bumper, 35" KM2's
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  2. #2 Re: Track bar / over the axle bracket 
    Senior Member Jim311's Avatar
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    I don't think it will work. I'm getting ready to find out on my rig today whether I can adjust my JKS bar all the way in and get away with this setup so I'll let you know. I'm seriously doubting that I can get away with it though.
    Quote Originally Posted by ATL ZJ
    it's a hobby that rarely makes good financial sense.
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    I can proudly say that I am one of the "OG's" of mutilating a perfectly good luxury SUV.
    1996 V8, Claytons, HP30/D44a locked, ARB, winch, WJ brakes and high steer, 33s, some body damage.
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  3. #3 Re: Track bar / over the axle bracket 
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    The over axle bracket is pretty big, so we should be able to drill another hole in it also to allow for a bit longer bar if needed I think.
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  4. #4 Re: Track bar / over the axle bracket 
    Senior Member DJJordache's Avatar
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    I dunno how much more the KOR conversion needs to be shortened to work with the OTA bracket. But I remember back in the day when I got my setup I'm pretty sure Kevin talked about cutting the axle end to shorten it a bit for those wanting the TB conversion but had no lift... I dunnno if this helps or not b/c I dunno how much it needs to be shortened
    93' ZJ 4.7L STROKER, Clayton LONGARMS, 4wd conversion, 231 SYE, HPD30, 8.8, BFG 35's, 2000 manifold & injectors, Hesco fpr, Port & polish, LS1 valves, WJ Steering/brakes, KOR SliderZ & steering box brace, Clayton TB bracket and my custom trackbar, Crane ignition, B&M cooler, Tom Woods, etc....
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  5. #5 Re: Track bar / over the axle bracket 
    Senior Member Jim311's Avatar
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    I looked today and it appears that the over axle bracket is 2.5 or 3 inches closer to the frame side trackbar mount. You'll have to cut it down or buy a shorter one.
    Quote Originally Posted by ATL ZJ
    it's a hobby that rarely makes good financial sense.
    Quote Originally Posted by Alaska ZJ
    I can proudly say that I am one of the "OG's" of mutilating a perfectly good luxury SUV.
    1996 V8, Claytons, HP30/D44a locked, ARB, winch, WJ brakes and high steer, 33s, some body damage.
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  6. #6 Re: Track bar / over the axle bracket 
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    Thats kind of what I was thinking. Thanks for the responses everyone.
    98 ZJ 5.2, 4.5" RE LA, HP30 w/tru-trac, U-Turn steering, ARB Front, Kevin's rear bumper, 35" KM2's
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  7. #7 Re: Track bar / over the axle bracket 
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    Wost case I bet we can get ahold of Kevin and ask him about it, I mean I did bu it from him.

    If you guys have not guessed yet napajeep is getting my HP30.
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  8. #8 Re: Track bar / over the axle bracket 
    Senior Member nate's Avatar
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    I know the RE trackbar I had was too long. I just cut it and shortened it.
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  9. #9 Re: Track bar / over the axle bracket 
    Senior Member Jim311's Avatar
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    I've gotta shorten my JKS bar too. I'm just hoping that the bends in it and whatnot will work okay with my WJ knuckle swap and big ass steering. I think it will.
    Quote Originally Posted by ATL ZJ
    it's a hobby that rarely makes good financial sense.
    Quote Originally Posted by Alaska ZJ
    I can proudly say that I am one of the "OG's" of mutilating a perfectly good luxury SUV.
    1996 V8, Claytons, HP30/D44a locked, ARB, winch, WJ brakes and high steer, 33s, some body damage.
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  10. #10 Re: Track bar / over the axle bracket 
    Senior Member nate's Avatar
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    What I did with mine is cut in the middle and I rotated the bends so they lined up better. Well I fawked up and made it too long still, so I ended up taking material out of the straight parts after the bends as well. So my track bar is actually 4 pieces.
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  11. #11 Re: Track bar / over the axle bracket 
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    I'm about to shorten mine. I'm just going to cut off some of the straight part and rethread it.
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  12. #12 Re: Track bar / over the axle bracket 
    Senior Member Jim311's Avatar
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    I'm not going to rethread it. One end is adjustable and the other is just a solid mount. I'm going to cut off the solid end and notch the tube and weld it all back on.
    Quote Originally Posted by ATL ZJ
    it's a hobby that rarely makes good financial sense.
    Quote Originally Posted by Alaska ZJ
    I can proudly say that I am one of the "OG's" of mutilating a perfectly good luxury SUV.
    1996 V8, Claytons, HP30/D44a locked, ARB, winch, WJ brakes and high steer, 33s, some body damage.
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  13. #13 Re: Track bar / over the axle bracket 
    Senior Member nate's Avatar
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    What trackbar is that? On the RE one I modified there is a "bung" welded to the end that has the threads on it. The tube is much larger then the threads on the heim joint.

    My trackbar is 28". Not sure how long it was with the stock mounts though.
    Last edited by nate; 08-07-2006 at 10:13 PM.
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  14. #14 Re: Track bar / over the axle bracket 
    Senior Member Jim311's Avatar
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    My JKS one doesn't have a bung hole. It's just threaded tube. I think when I measured my trackbar now it's something like 32 inches or so.
    Quote Originally Posted by ATL ZJ
    it's a hobby that rarely makes good financial sense.
    Quote Originally Posted by Alaska ZJ
    I can proudly say that I am one of the "OG's" of mutilating a perfectly good luxury SUV.
    1996 V8, Claytons, HP30/D44a locked, ARB, winch, WJ brakes and high steer, 33s, some body damage.
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  15. #15 Re: Track bar / over the axle bracket 
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim311
    I'm not going to rethread it. One end is adjustable and the other is just a solid mount. I'm going to cut off the solid end and notch the tube and weld it all back on.
    won't that mess up the bend?


    I have kevins tb conversion. the threads in the adjustable side are 1" 14 so i'm just going to cut off an inch then thread it further and see if i have to go more. This is my DD and its on road about 99% of the time so i want it to be as strong as possible, i don't want it failing at 60+ mph
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  16. #16 Re: Track bar / over the axle bracket 
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    I have teraflex high steer setup.
    I'm also using a rubicon pitman arm so that the angle is already closer to the tb angle so the bracket i have to make can be as small as possible so i only have to shorten the tb a little bit. and beside the tap is only like 50 bucks so when i make my LA's i won't have to buy it then.
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  17. #17 Re: Track bar / over the axle bracket 
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    Quote Originally Posted by BLK97ZJ
    i don't want it failing at 60+ mph
    Trust me I have had that happen at about 75mph. You do not want that to happen.

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  18. #18 Re: Track bar / over the axle bracket 
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    my jeep doesn't like going really fast. i'd to go fast but with the price of gas and the fact that it scares teh crap out of me. I've been fighting with some death wobble too.
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  19. #19 Re: Track bar / over the axle bracket 
    Senior Member Jim311's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BLK97ZJ
    won't that mess up the bend?


    I have kevins tb conversion. the threads in the adjustable side are 1" 14 so i'm just going to cut off an inch then thread it further and see if i have to go more. This is my DD and its on road about 99% of the time so i want it to be as strong as possible, i don't want it failing at 60+ mph

    How's so? The end that mounts to the axle has a straight section I'm just going to pull a small section out of. That will pull the whole axle over but shouldn't change the bend.
    Quote Originally Posted by ATL ZJ
    it's a hobby that rarely makes good financial sense.
    Quote Originally Posted by Alaska ZJ
    I can proudly say that I am one of the "OG's" of mutilating a perfectly good luxury SUV.
    1996 V8, Claytons, HP30/D44a locked, ARB, winch, WJ brakes and high steer, 33s, some body damage.
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  20. #20 Re: Track bar / over the axle bracket 
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    it sounded like u were going to cut off the bushing side and shorten it and re weld it back on. the bushing is on the upper mount side right at teh bend.
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  21. #21 Re: Track bar / over the axle bracket 
    Senior Member nate's Avatar
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    I wouldn't have had enough space to chop off the end at the bushing and it be short enough.

    It was just easy for me to cut in half, but a piece of pipe inside it and weld back together. I V'ed the ends and did a butt weld and also did a few rosettes joining the trackbar to the pipe.
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  22. #22 Re: Track bar / over the axle bracket 
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim311
    My JKS one doesn't have a bung hole.
    Heh, heh, heh...you said "bung-hole"! That was cool.

    If memory serves, the TBC bar we use (which is shorter than the WJ bar, but has a similar bend to it) has female threads about 4" deep. One could cut the tip off (2" or more) and tap it deeper, and just retain the same male threaded insert. Or, if you were sure you weren't going to need to adjust it more than a half-inch in the future, you could cut 2" off the male portion also, giving you about 1" of adjustment and 1" of engagement at it's longest.

    JKS al;so manufactures a "cut to fit" track bar to go along with that TB OAB. It comes unwelded to the Johnny Joint so that you can center the joint, and weld the bar to it at whatever angle you prefer, rather than using the JKS 125 or 126 bar angles that are built for much less lift, typically (only good to 3.5" on the 126). I can get those for you too. If you have the TBC, then you don't need to worry about the angle, as the bar rotates around the forward/rearward bolt.

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  23. #23 Re: Track bar / over the axle bracket 
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    Yeah, I have the TBC, that's why I was wondering if the JKS bar for use with the conversion will adjust short enough with 5" of lift. If that bar is threaded 4" in, then I can cut and tap to make it shorter. Was just wandering if I needed to purchase the tap before I have everything apart. Thanks for the reply Kevin, I figure you know best, it was all bought from you.

    Thanks,
    Scott
    98 ZJ 5.2, 4.5" RE LA, HP30 w/tru-trac, U-Turn steering, ARB Front, Kevin's rear bumper, 35" KM2's
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