I . had a new track bar installed on my 97 ZJ. When I picked up the unit, the steering wheel was not straight and upon viewing the front of the vehicle, the front axle is noticably pulled over to the passenger side. It is flush on the passenger side and recessed on the driver side, to the point that the drivers side tire rubs when the steering is fully turned to either direction. I questioned this and they told me that it was the correct bar. I had them do a 4 wheel alignment and they corrected the steering wheel, but that did not fix the off centre axle.
I double checked with the distributor and tried a few different bars with the same results. I tried two alternate distributors and the same thing. The track bars all end with "1235" as the last 4 numbers. I would suspect all the track bars are made by the same "jobber" manufacturer. Has anybody else come across this? Am I missing something? The track bar is obviously too long. I am at a loss. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated!
Maybe it's a rhd? Track bars be funky on those things cause they're backwards.
Pictures are the best way for us to help you, we're all pretty good at knowing what our jeeps want by look/sound, but they don't tend to send us text messages.
I'd also be checking the frame side bracket, it could be bent or damaged and the old bar was bent enough to compensate. It's easy enough to unbolt and swap if that's the case.
Hey All,
Thanks for the responses. First of all, it is factory stock 97 ZJ with Up Country package. We need to keep in mind that the axle placement was even in the chassis before the bar was changed and the steering wheel was straight. There is nothing bent anywhere. I am the sole driver and have hit nothing. The shop suggested that too, and I reminded them of that. Pictures won't really help because everything is simple bolt on. These bars are hard to measure because they are all bent up like a dog's hind leg(lol)
Can I possibly (1) Bend this bar in a press to shorten it up? or (2) Heat it up and bend it shorter? I am thinking that is not a good thing but am lost. I really hate when shxxt isn't right. Has nobody else out there had to change a track bar?
I also look at buying an adjustable bar, but those are for units with lift kits.
this^
Yes, likely you were not there watching the shop do the work. The shop returned the ZJ to you in less than optimal condition. What is needed is the old trackbar. Then you can at least make measurements to gather data and try to resolve this anomaly.
Hi again,
Thanks for that measurement. The shop had already thrown out the old track bar so i had nothing to compare to. I am attaching pics, and sorry for not doing that right away. They did replace the "shouldered" bolt on the axle end which i wasn't too happy about and there is a pic of the axle where i think i might be able to drill another hole. Not sure if that would work or not. Once, again I really appreciate your help..Thanks. I hope these pics will work for you.
I've been doing a little reading and it seems some new trackbars are really f'ed up in more ways than one. Aside from being too long, that hole is too small, thus the original metric 10mm won't go through. They probably used SAE 3/8". I wonder if they 'tossed' the original bolt and flagnut...LOL
2 things...(don't drill any holes, it's not as easy as you think)
Measure the trackbar you have now, hole to hole like in my pic. Can be done without removing it. And measure from the center of the front wheel to the bottom of the fender. This will tell you if your springs are sagged badly which could make things look worse.
Thanks all!
To answer all the questions.....i will measure the track bar tomorrow after work when my neighbour is home to hold the "dumb" end. lol
I had no idea that the original bolt was not put back in until i crawled underneath. But you are right. There is something seriously wrong with these "jobber" track bars. I am pretty sure that original bolt is long gone. I don't believe you can get them from Dodge anymore. I do suspect that the 3/8" bolt is a tad loose in the bushing as I get the odd "ping" from the front end when I turn the steering wheel.
If you look at the second pic it does look like the flag nut is still being used.
If I find an old track bar out of a wreck, can I possibly change out the bushing and start from scratch? ........or try and find a new old stock one from Dodge? I know that will be expensive and this Jeep of mine is just kind of a spare vehicle, winter vehicle for the most part. I will get the length dimensions tomorrow. thanks all.
Tony
Monday Night Track Bar Conversation!
Ok, measured the track bar that is on there. It is exactly 31 1/2 inches. Wheel recess on Driver side is 1 1/16" Wheel recess on Passenger side is 1/2". So bar difference is 1/8" which doesn't seem like enough to make a difference? (I am asking questions now) From what I am calculating, I need the bar to be 1/2" shorter and that should even out the diff? Actually I am getting 9/16" but 1/2" would make me happy. I am guessing I am talking to fellow American Jeep guys( i am in Canada) I bought the bar at Napa and not sure if you have Napa there. I am going to go measure an AC Delco bar tomorrow and see what kind of difference in length they are. It just seems crazy that 1/2' can make so much difference in the axle position.
I had my neighbour turn the steering back and forth and the bushing end seems to be pretty solid. It is either a good fit and they tightened up really good.
If the AC Delco bar is the one I need, does anyone know where i can get the replacement metric bolt? I am sure the shop has long thrown it away. Back to you!
Won't matter if your Canadian or American... Track bars will be exactly the same.
I'd say remove the track bar bolt from the axle side and see what they did there first... maybe they re-drilled? Or did something funky. You could find a used frame bracket and see if maybe that is tweaked?
Thanks again all. Yes very confusing. You are right on the 1/4". If I break it into 16ths of an inch it should come to drivers side at 13/16" and passenger side at 12/16". Hard to believe a 1/4" can make that much of a difference. I did get my hands on an AC Delco bar today and measured. 31 1/2". Same as the Napa one, so that is not a consideration.
I appreciate the spring thing and a possibility of something bent but what we have to keep in mind is that all these changes happened just on a track bar change. None of those things would have changed. And for a tech to see more than taking those two bolts out seems pretty far fetched. No one can be that dumb??? I think I am stuck with an offset front diff and will have to live with that. I don't like it when shxxt isn't right, but I finally admit defeat..Thanks again for all your help!
I really really really hope your joking with this post.
Even from some of your pictures I can tell you that driving that thing would not be safe. You need to find a reputable shop who deals with Jeeps or 4wd drive vehicles and properly diagnose.
It doesn't sound like you want to listen to our advice around here os... :|
In one of your pictures the sway bar looks dangerously close to your springs.
As these vehicles are solid axles and have 4 control arms and a track bar to keep things aligned.. if any of them are taken apart it can screw up the entire front end.
The fact that you needed a new track bar suggests why you did not see the offset before; it might have been sloppy / worn enough to mask the effect, which could be because of spring sag, plus old bushings on the control arms after 22 years. So no, the springs did not sag in a day; but the effect of their sagging possibly showed up when a new, tight track bar was installed. Also, the Up Country suspension package was basically a 1 inch lift if I recall correctly, I wonder if it used a different length track bar, or a different frame bracket? (I used to own a 97 Orvis BTW). Rough Country makes an adjustable length track bar with new frame bracket if you can't figure out what is up, but I would suggest you get a complete control arm bushing kit in there first, see what that does.
I looked up the '97 Up Country suspension specs, indeed it is a 1 inch spring lift with taller bump stops, and possibly other tweaks. That would surely shift the axle position when sitting still from the stock suspension if they used the same track bar and bracket. Whether Chrysler addressed that with a different bracket or track bar I cannot find out. And I found one shock absorber that said it was for all ZJs except those with the Up Country suspension, though most did not have that in their description.
Up Country package was springs, Sachs-Boge shocks, extended bump stops, and a sticker for the rear window. It did not include a longer track bar or bracket, nor did they relocate the axle hole. They just accepted that a 1" lift doesn't shift the axle appreciably.
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