my 01' now has almost 130,000 miles on the stock steering components & it's starting to drive a little worse than usual, I saw some track bars on ebay for around $80, but I figure this may be a situation where I'll get what I pay for, I also wanted to see what you guys would suggest replacing along with the track bar, the only thing that's been replaced is the front shocks around 5,000 miles ago & it had ball joints put in sometime back, but they still seem to be tight, so what should I look into along with a track bar & I'll probably replace the steering stabilizer as well, I think I put a new one on it a while back, but it could probably use a new one by now, thanks in advance for any info., Dusty

 

Weather you go with duel stablizers or a stock replacement I'd suggest skyjacker. I have the skyjacker duels but either way the shocks have a lifetime warrinty. So provided they fail from use/time and not from putting a rock through them you can get another one. For the trac bar I can only suggest the 03 conversion from solid steel. www.solidsteel.biz? I think. You get a conversion bracket and then a stock 03 trac bar or the adjustable (if you have a lift) While your at it you should get the DSS. It reinforces the steering shaft out of your steering box. Makes the box, more improtantly the bearing/seal last much longer. We run both of these items on both of our trucks. mine has just under 80k my dads has over 300k. I personally think there great.

 

Forget the ebay trackbar, you can get a lifetime warranted one from Napa for little over $100, plus no expensive ebay shipping.

 

I taking care of the front end in my usual fashion...as much aftermarket as possible.

I've got a trackbar, and corssover steering kit coming from Thuren Fabrication...should have it on next weekend! I like the fact that I can rebuild the whole thing, and it should last a lot longer than factory...or at least as long! Ball joints are good, so were the wheel bearings at 120K...but I went ahead and replaced them over the weekend when I did brakes, rotors, and calipers

Also gonna throw a DSS on it ASAP!!

BTW, I love this Texas truck Everything came apart so easy
Good luck Dusty...do some research on what you thin is the best solution, you'll get lots of options and opinions!!
Chris

 

how much is the cross over steering? the stock stuck looks flimsy and everntually i wanna replace it. i have the thuren track bar and love it.

dusty...i know the thuren track bar is pricey but evry bit worth it since you can use the stock mounting location rather than a braket. its solid as a rock on my truck. i had a bumping issue when i first installed it because i didnt tighten the axle end bolt enough

 

Here!!

Expect a writeup as soon as I get it all installed!
Chris

 

Did you ever do the write-up ?

I still have a lot of trouble finding stuff on this site

 

I think I did...let me look!!!

Chris

 

My 1999 Dodge truck had a trac bar issue. Almost ALL dodge's have or will have this problem. It causes the truck to wander down the road. Dodge does NOT have a fix. The following website does http://www.thurenfabrication.com/. Don is a great guy to work with. Just replaced my trac bar with his fix and it does fix it. If you use Dodge trac bar replacement you will be replacing again.... This fixed my truck and can fix yours. If you need a fix contact him. Good Luck and thank you Don

 

I'll secomd the http://solidsteel.biz/index.htm they make great products. second choice would be thuren, but personally I like the 03 update because it uses rubber bushings and they generally last alot longer than hiem joints.

Laters....josh

 

Just installed my Thuren trackbar today. Against my better judgement, I rushed to do the install because I had little time, this was a mistake.

When I recieved my trackbar from Thuren, there was no instructions in the box , but, it really is kind of a no-brainer part anyway .

I installed it on my stock height truck. Now my steering wheel is wayyy crooked, due to the adjustment of the trackbar being off. Before I installed the Thuren, I layed the old trackbar and the Thuren side by side (actually, on top of each other). I used the old trackbar to set the installed length of the new Thuren, because once the Thuren is installed, you aren't going to be able to adjust it.

Wrong method.

In retrospect, what I SHOULD have done is this.

I sould have gotten a long string, and tied it to a good fixed point on the drivers side frame rail near the steering box. I should have then stretched the string to the center hex of the 18mm bolt head on the passenger side of the front axle, the bolt that holds the passenger side of the trackbar. I should have then marked the string with a black felt marker.

When you "pop" the old trackbar out, the truck shifts. Mine did. I could have used the string to set the previous distance of the trackbar, by having another person lean their weight into the body of the truck while I "Jigged" in the new Thuren, using the string as a reference point on the diff bolt hole.

Now tomorrow, I get to remove the Thuren completely, install the old trackbar, do the string thing, adjust the Thuren, and re-install. Not fun.


Maybe Thuren outlines a better or easier method of installation, but I didn't get any instructions, so, I guess the string thing will work.

Crooked steering wheel aside, the front end of my truck feels great now. That thuren bar is awesome, and if you have never seen on in person, it is built to MASSIVE specifications.

 

Lama, are you jacking the truck up?
Leave the tires on the ground and it won't shift.

 

Truck was flat on the ground.

I even drove the truck into a straight "settled" position before performing the work.

The track bar is always loaded, no matter what, because the truck is basically perched on the coil springs, with the trackbar centering the axle.

When you remove the trackbar, even with the truck stable and on flat ground, the coil springs holding up the 3000lb + body will favor one side or another and will shift the chassis to one side a bit.

Mine shifted enough to place the steering wheel from a perfect 12:00 to now 2:30 when driving straight.

The passenger tire is sticking out of the fender approx 1" more than the drivers side.

I have to pull the axle back to the drivers side.

Using an index system (string) before disassembly would have allowed me to get the truck back to perfect.

Of course, if someone is adding coil spacers or is trying to correct a previously off centered axle, it becomes a trial and error method of adjusting the Thuren.

 

Instructions are on Don's website........

 

Second gen bar doesn't use heims, and rubber has no business in a steering part.

If the rubber bushing in the 3rd gen bar track bar is so great, why are so many 3rd gens experiencing death wobble?