Was at the dealership today and while walking through the parking lot to the service department saw a young Airman with a 07 JK. So I walked over to shoot the breeeze with him and to see what mods he had made. I am always looking to see what others a doing, what works, and what doesn't. The reason he was at the dealership was for repairs to his rear axle. He had snapped the lower track bar bracket of the axle housing. When I asked him what lift he had and who had done it, he replied that it was just Rough Country Springs and shocks, and that he had done the mod. On further inspection he hadn't lengthed the track bar or installed drop down bracket to compensate for the loss of hortizontal length when you lift a JK or an vehicle for that matter.

Moral of the story INSTALL a complete kit and don't try and cut corners to save a couple of bucks. Oh and remember those geometry class you slept through in high school...LOL..or atleast he did....They would have come in real handy during the install of his lift kit...

I felt bad for the kid, but no one was hurt... Chalk that you to school of hard knocks.

 

Hate to break it to you, but I doubt a lack of adjustable track bar was the reason for his axle break.

The lift is only a 2.5" lift, and most lifts that size lack many elements to correct your geometry. I don't see TeraFlex shipping with control arms, or many other 2.5" lift kits for that matter.

If the moral of your story is that people should only buy long arm kits, then I would be interested in hearing which lift you run.

 

TRACK BAR.

Most companies ship lowering brackets...

Suggestions can be ignored or listened to. Just trying to prevent someone fom get hurt, prevent heartache and save some money.

Now back to the woods. What a good day off it is going to be. I get to drive the Jeep in the woods and get to scout food plots and bedding areas for deer at the same time.

 

Most companies ship lowering brackets for track bars with 2.5" lifts? Holy smokes bat man, they must have redefined the word "most".

Don't get me wrong, I am just trying to save people some headaches and money by avoiding FUD like this.

I ran a TeraFlex 2.5" budget boost for years, and it never had a track bar or relocation bracket as part of the kit and I never (nor have I ever) heard of anyone breaking an axle because they were running this kit. I don't see how the rough country, rubicon express, or any other brand that do not ship a track bar solution could have caused this guys problem.

I certainly think that an adjustable track bar is a worthwhile upgrade to restore the factory handling. And with a large enough lift (I.e., not a 2.5" lift) it is a required element to avoid rubbing your various suspension components against the frame.

 

i think hes referring to the track bar breaking off the mount here.

 

The lower rear trackbar mount is a known weak point. That's why my Skyjacker kit included the rear relocation/gusset bracket that bolts to the stock bracket as well as the pumpkin section to brace the assembly. This part was redesigned and included with their kits soon after release in 2007. Many other manufacturers followed suit, though not necessarily with the 2.5" and other budget kits.

 

even if your running stock you should still up grade the track bars both front and rear and do the steering while your at it as factory just inst stron enough and drop brackets are cool if your cruising the mall but lets get real by installing them your just adding another point of failure. I say if your going to be cheap about doing stuff to a 20k plus machine you should prolly just not do it at all. If your going to do it do it right. Just my thoughts.

 

Honestly I know lots of people who have been running 2" spacer lifts+ springs that add lift wich= 4" or more in lift that haven't had a problem without running new track bars, I asked once if it is needed and the reply I got was no. All it does is make your ride smoother. And as far as an axle breaking, I would think having to buy a proper lift is going to prevent it from snapping! You can have the best lift available and your still capable of breaking you axle!