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Rubicon Express Adjustable Trackbar

by Neil Winnemore ©

Trackbar primer:

What does the Trackbar do? The Trackbars, front and rear, locate your axles in the centerline of the vehicle. One end is attached to the frame and the other to the axle. They pivot at each end allowing the axle to move up and down and stay relatively centered. The primary object is to have the axle centered when the vehicle is at rest. Moving the axle away from the chassis without compensating the Trackbar will move the axle to the left or right of center while at rest.

Why go to the trouble of replacing your Trackbar? If you lift your chassis, in essence stretch the springs, you must stretch the Trackbars as well to keep the suspension geometry balanced. The typical (read inexpensive) way of meeting this need is to relocate the mounting points. In the rear, raise the mounting bracket on the axle which keeps the bar in a position similar to stock. And in the front, reposition the hole on the axle mounting bracket.

Suspension geometry:

While these methods can work to an acceptable degree, there are several shortcomings to this approach. Let's start at the rear. So far, no one makes an adjustable rear Trackbar for the Grand Cherokee, yet there is a telescoping Trackbar for the Wrangler. So the extended bracket concept is the only way to go and it is a MUST for lifts of 3 inches or more. The steering components of the front end complicate this endeavor, meaning extended bracketry is out. One common approach is to drill a new hole in the existing bracket. The problems with this are that: 1) you have to measure exactly, 2) you only have one chance to get it right, and 3) if you change your lift in the future, you're out of options.

Jeep engineers, in an effort to give the front Trackbar as big a radius as possible, made its upper mounting bracket outboard of the frame. This results in much less spring to frame clearance on the left than on the right. With the axle centered, it's enough. Mild lifts (2-2.5 inches) with the stock Trackbar in the stock location tend to pull the axle to the left, hence avoiding the notorious spring clunk that results from this lack of clearance. As long as the steering alignment is compensated, this is acceptable.

The Rubicon Express solution:


RE and Stock Trackbars	Adjustable End

Enter the adjustable front Trackbar from Rubicon Express, part # RE1600. This unit is for lifts of 3.5 inches or more. At its shortest adjustment, it is about a half inch longer than stock. How important is half an inch? What prompted this whole exploit for me was the fact that my front axle was about 3/8ths of an inch to the right of center. The hole drilled by the lift kit installer was a little too far inboard, thus pushing the axle to the right. This condition caused the left spring and anti-sway bar end to contact the frame on mild compression. It was definitely annoying and potentially damaging. Now the stock Trackbar in the stock hole would position the axle too far to the left of center, creating alignment problems. The RE Trackbar, mounted in the stock hole and adjusted to its shortest length, puts the axle barely left of center. This is still within acceptable alignment parameters and gives a little more spring to frame clearance on the left side.

Installation:

As usual, the hardest thing about replacing OEM parts is getting the originals off. The upper mount is pressed into the bracket and topped with a castle nut and cotter pin. It's just tedious to get those parts off because the position is awkward and hard to reach. I resorted to pounding on the bracket (not the trackbar) with a hammer to break the tension on the pressed in stud. The lower mounting bolt has the nut in something like a cage that's all but impossible to reach with standard hand tools.


Cage for Lower mounting nut	Lower Front Mount original holes	Upper Front Mount Nut

Once past the old parts, you have to enlarge the upper mounting hole to 5/8th inch. If you don't already own a 5/8ths-inch drill bit, you should know that bits this size and up require a drill motor with a 1/2-inch chuck. Expect that the mounting distance of the bar will be different than that of the mounting brackets. This means you, or someone you know will have to push on one side of the vehicle while you line up the holes. I accomplished this solo using a come-a-long (hand winch). The supplied instructions recommend mounting the lower end of the bar first, then the upper. I disagree, so I did it the other way around. Worked for me.

AnalysisAfter installing the new Trackbar, thus "re-centering" my axle, my steering wheel was rotated slightly off center. A twist of the drag link adjustment sleeve returned it to center. The only drawback is that the Heim Joint does not dampen minor road jolts like the stock ball joint. For the most part, the annoying spring clunk is gone. Another trail run will tell. Hey - that sounds like a good excuse to go 4-wheeling!

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