Worn out topic yes but I have some bad tire wear and sloppy steering and I can only imagine with 146k of hard use on gravel and bad roads that my track bar is flat shot. So since money is tight I don't have the money for the NAPA bar why could I not use this? if it works it fits my budget to have better steering. Oh ya and my shocks were replaced last winter so its not them causeein the bad tire wear. Tire shops all cant find any thing wrong with my front end only thing I can think of is the bar is shot.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150353143240

I used the moog problem solver. driving on dirt roads would take the stock or napa ones out,so far the moog is still tight and I have zero wander
http://www.dieseltruckresource.com/pics/data/500/moog_track_bar_3.jpg

NAPA on left

Is that the moog track bar? or did you add the ends to the stock bar?

I hate to say it, but this is NOT an area to go cheap! If you end up getting a lower priced or lower quality bar, you will end up replacing it sooner and more often, thus not saving any money at all. The Moog bars look like a quality piece from what I've seen, but I have no personal experience with them. I have a Thuren bar right now and I love it, but the price is definetly higher!

Right I agree dodge but if I get a year to two years out of it I will be in better situation to replace it with something that is better quality just looking too buy me some time.

i went with the thuren TB and the DSS with no problems I've had this set up for 4yrs+ now with no issues just remember to grease up the DSS.

Right I agree dodge but if I get a year to two years out of it I will be in better situation to replace it with something that is better quality just looking too buy me some time.


if you have a stock bar you could instal a lukes link on it, that would out last any stocker, also there is a weld on version of a lukes link, think its called Franks Bar.
there are options, but it all depends on how you use your truck, if your gonna keep it, or how deep your pockets are!
heres a link of Franks bar, at least will give you ideas

http://www.dieseltruckresource.com/dev/yikes-need-track-bar-now-t180870.html?t=180870&highlight=track+bar

Hi DodgeCowboy,

If you had 146k of hard use on gravel and bad roads with your stock bar, you were lucky. I got 65,000 mi out of mine on pavement. I put a Luke's Link on my stock bar and so far, so good and it is adjustable, but you need an angle grinder and a vise for that installation. That aftermarket Asian bar will disappoint you and you will be buying another one soon.

Is that the moog track bar? or did you add the ends to the stock bar?
that's a MOOG trac bar. if that's the wrought you go make sure its MOOG.DS1413 some parts houses use moog like junk

Well my pickup gets the hell beat out of it I am a rancher I haul cattle in some nasty country and I haul saddle horse around ALLOT. I don't think I got 146k out of my stock bar I think its been bad for a long long time its just getting more noticeable. My pockets are not deep but I think the moog is the choice I am going to go with does napa carry it?

no napa carries there own
you will need to find a parts house that sells Moog (MOOG problem solver DS1413)

RockAuto.........DS1423 159.79

ok..

this might be a dumb question..
but is there a way to test the track bar to determine its bad while its on the truck besides just replacing it?

I'm thinking my be bad but I sure would like to be sure before spending the $$$

-dkenny

Yeah, Get a helper, start the truck, take the truck out of gear (duh) get under the truck and have helper slowly turn the steering wheel from stop to stop. If it's bad, you'll see the pivot ball is a bit sloppy. You can also check the tie rod ends and the ball joints the same way. Actually, one problem pivot ball can mask the other problems because sometimes you will only see the movement at the loosest pivot of least resistance and overlook the others. I just replaced my ball joints, tie rod ends and track bar end because they all were visibly loose. With any kind of miles on these trucks, you can just about bet the stock pivot joints are all shot by now.

thanks. i have to check it out..

-dkenny

So long as you DO NOT have a Moog bar JUST GET A LUKES LINK! That is the ONLY way to go. No more replacing that darned thing for well over a hundred dollars a pop everytime. No guessing if the bar is shot at 60K miles. Get a lukes link and be done with it. Its rebuildable, its a heck of a lot cheaper, and if it gets any kind of slop there are spacers to add to it to adjust it.

Get the poly bushing for the axle end of it too. I put one on mine 3 weeks ago, and with shipping from Calli, to New york, the poly bushing, and the link it was 90 bucks! I think it took me 2 hours? All you need are hand tools, a ball joint fork, BFH, and a grinder.
Mine was a lil more of a PITA, cause the thing was so shot that I had to jack the truck around to get it to line up for installation, and the bushing case didnt want to come out.

When you check the track bar you want ZERO play in either end. This goes for tie rods also. 1/8 inch play is TOO much. Either end of track bar can go bad and cause problems but it is usually the ball joint end that connect to the drivers side frame rail that goes bad first. The other end (axle housing bracket) is a bolt thru bushing.

First torgue it down on both ends (maybe they are just loose) and then check for play. The frame end torque is 130 ft-lbs and the ball joint end is 70 ft-lbs (stock bar) and 155 ft-lbs for 2003 track bar upgrade.

I just experienced "death wobble" with my 3rd gen Solid Steel 2003 track bar because the bushings went bad (frame end). I also found and replaced a loose tie rod end on drivers side only because I had to drop the tie rod to replace my leaky front axle seal (thats another story) and noticed the tie rod ball joint was loose when pushing on it when it should have resistance and be hard to move.

After that I found my track bar joint loose by having someone turn wheels while I noticed some play in the frame end of my 2003 track bar. I just replaced those track bar bushings last week and "death wobble" is gone. I'm now considering the 98-99 HD "Inverted Y to T" steering conversion for the tie rods to improve the front end steering.

with 146k of hard use on gravel and bad roads my track bar is flat shot.

I drove for years with a bad track bar, it was not fun when the death wobble hit. I finally replaced the tb last year, yeah way over due at 350k. Go with moog, it's a beast.

I'll second Moog , free replacement , I just replace every couple of years on my trucks. Can do it with my eyes closed now..lol