About 2,000 miles ago I rebuilt the entire front end of the truck in my sig. with moog parts (except the sway bar end links which are on the way). The new ball joints are a little tight which I'm told is normal (grease 'em and drive it). I also installed a new moog trac bar. All was good 'till last weekend. Under certain conditions (mainly cornering) I hear/feel a bang or clunk. I've inspected everything and re-greased all the zerks. While I was under the truck (with the truck off) I had my wife saw the wheel. I heard/saw the trac bar moving on the axle end. I've tightened the bolt again which has quieted it down but this just don't seem right.

The bolt should be to capture the trac bar - right?

My guess is the rubber is too soft and thats why the trac bar moves - which is pobably why my truck still doesn't steer correctly - right?

Assuming you'z guyz agree so far - there are a number of fixes (furhter indicating this is a know problem). So, your opinions are greatly appreciated:

SSI(Solid Steel) appears to make a nice conversion to the gen 3 bar with upgraded rubber. The conversion bracket looks beefy and well designed.

Lazer smith has two options - the gen 2 bar upgrade and bracket as well as the gen 3 convesion.

Thuren also has some hice options but I'm a little concerned about the legality/longevity when using heims joints.

Gentleman....your thoughts/opinions please.....

 

Unless the axle end is torqued down like crazy (sorry no number) it comes loose and will enlarge the bolt hole on the frame.
After that there is no amount of torquing that will permanently fix the slop.
What I ended up doing on one is welding a plate over the oblong hole with new hole for the bolt.

 

Infidel's right--torque it down real good. I put the biggest cheater bar I could fit under there on the bolt when I put my Thuren bar on.

And although the axle end should be cranked up real good, there's one other source of front end clunks--the lower front shock bolts. You might want to crank on those a bit, too and see if the sound goes away.

 

Thanks guys...I did read about the shock bolts and plan on checking them tonight. The hole is good and the bolt was tight and is now realy tight. That being said..isn't the bolt just to capture the bar? Seems like torquing it till the plates keep the bar from moving is not correct and wiull just postpone the inevitable.

Any knowledge of the fixes I mentioned?

 

Well, I don't think you can get a big enough cheater bar under there to bend the plates, anyway. I couldn't, at least. Did the bar drop right into the bracket, or did you have to work with it a bit? The bushing on my Thuren bar needed a bit of convincing to go into the bracket.

I don't think Thuren's track bar has a Heim; I think he uses those on his sway bar setup, though. I just went to look, no Heim on his track bar. It does say to grease the bolt threads and torque to 120 ft-lbs on the axle end.

 

I think the object is to bend the mounting plates so the fit is tight against the bushing.
I've always had to pound the new bar in since the previous bending makes for a tight fit.
I've never used a cheater bar, just hammer on it with a 300 ft/lb impact wrench.

 

The bar did anything but slip in - I had to work it. Again, the bar moves laterally under load when with the bolt is tight. Now its **** tight but shouldn't it just pin the bar and shouldn't the rubber bushing flex. Point is, the bolt isn't moving yet the bushing flex's probably 1/4 inch sawing the wheel in the driveway. Can;t imagine how much movement there is when I slam 11,000 pounds into a turn! Do either of the bars I mentioned address this with upgraded rubber, enough to make a noticeable difference? Any preference?

 

DThuren, and be done with it for 200K miles...That's what I did. I went through two NAPA track bars in a year and a half, only about 10K out of either of them. I've had the Thuren track bar for three years now, and I'll never go back.

 

Thanks seahawkdodge. Just gave don a call. I need to be concerned about the diameter of the ball joint so I'ww ork that out with him. Did you notice a big difference in steering feel or have you just got longevity?

jfpointer, your right, my bad. Dons bar does NOT have a heim. How long have you had yours installed. Big difference?

 

Between the worn out Moog/Napa lifetime warrantied track bar and the brand new D Thuren track bar, there was a HUGE difference. I can't compare the new to new, but I don't imagine there is a whole lot of difference.
The Thuren bar is much better engineered, though the adjuster makes it a PITA to install. Besides that, it has been untouched for 3 years now, and there is still no play in it at all.

 

I've had it on there for a while in terms of time, not so much in mileage since I don't drive the truck too much at this point. Maybe 4 years and 40,000?

It's made a huge difference. I replaced a stock bar with a Luke's Link, which actually worked ok but required constant tightening. I was able to get the axle centered, and I haven't had even a hint of death wobble since, even when the alignment wasn't quite right. And alignment is critical on these trucks. They want lots more caster than the spec calls for, especially if they're even mildly lifted or leveled like mine is.

 

3 years, probably 30K on mine, with several towing trips. I've worn out a full set of steering arm and tie rod ends, which I replaced at the same time as the track bar.

 

Tightened the crap out of the bolt on the axle - noise gone. Thurens' bar wont fit my truck. I'm gonna drive 'er and see haw fast the noise comes back before I order the SSI gen 3 conversion.

Thanks for your help guys.

 

I put mine on with my 3/4 air impact. Im not sure what its rated at but it still didnt bend the plates, and it solved the same problem you speak of. I dont think i could get it off by hand!!

 

Failed the "rattle can lid" test,I guess... Mine passed, but that might have been because I have the D25s on it.