arroyojim

i was just looking at my front end and there is play between the bolt and frame mount on the axle end of my track bar. this happened once before... the bolt had essentially worn the bolt hole such that the hole is too big, so it moves around in there. before i knew it was happening, i was driving and the truck started shaking violently and i almost crashed. the solution we tried was to drill and weld a steel plate over the frame mount, but now the hole in the plate is wearing as well.
anyone have any suggestions? some kind of insert maybe?

Ace

Fix it again, and tighten it REALLY tight with a new bolt this time. I wouldn't trust the old one any more.

It is possible the previous repair inhibited the bolt's ability to clamp down on the center section of the track bar bushing.

arroyojim

well, i gave it a shot. the bolt and nut are frozen stuck. i tried to tighten and loosen it... ended up breaking my 1/2" drive allen wrench. the nut/bolt spins inside the "hub" (ball swivel?), but i don't think tightening the bolt would have helped anyway. the play actually seems to be mostly between the bolt and the inside diameter of the ball swivel, so not sure how to tighten that? any ideas?
seems like maybe i just need a new track bar...

CamperAndy

Use a shouldered bolt to match the hole in the plate.