Adj rear track-bar install explained
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JK Enthusiast
Joined: Aug 2008
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From: Pullman, WA
Adj rear track-bar install explained
Like the rest of us who have undertaken installing a lift on our JK, even us 2.5"er's I decided to upgrade to an adjustable rear track-bar (I went with JKS). I just didn't like the idea of drilling a 3/8" hole into upper track-bar body mount to install the spacer bracket that came with my TF 2.5" BB.
I searched all over this forum to find out if there were any tips on this install and found a couple, but I have to say, people were making this much harder than it had to be. (I'm referring to the part of wrapping a wratchet strap to the rear suspension to push the body into alignment with the rear axle.) Let me explain:
The wratchet strap worked to squeeze the rear end enough after I installed the lift to relieve the tension to remove the rear track-bar bolts (these bolts are on at 125 ft/lbs from the factory and there is more pressure on them after you've lifted the JK) and they can be a bugger to get off. But once you have the bar off take the darn wratchet strap off and allow your JK to sit on the ground as it normally would, allowing the full weight of the body to rest on the rear suspension. (Don't forget to have tires on first!!) Per the instructions "preferred method", you are supposed to align the rear axle with the wratchet strap to get the track-bar back on, but no one ever mentioned that if one strap is on the axle and the other is on the body, you can wratchet all day and you're only going to move your body one direction...(In this case you're going to pull the body toward the driver's side because that is where the strap connects to the axle.) Hopefully you're still tracking here...
To make it easier, after measuring and setting my track-bar to the propper length to center my axle, I just put the lower bar axle nut (driver's side) in loosly at first allowing my track-bar to hang and then grabbed ahold of my tow hitch and pulled the body of the JK to where it needed to be (body track-bar mounting hole lines up with new track-bar) and put the upper (body) bolt in the bar, which kept the body from shifting back. (I had to use my knee against the hitch to hold the body still for a moment to get the upper track-bar bolt in.) It is really that simple! Once you've tightened the two track-bar bolts to 125 ft/lbs then you tighten the retaining nut on the adjustable track-bar. Voila, you're done.
I'll post some pics if this sounded confusing, but I'm telling you, you don't need the wratchet strap to put the bar on. (It gets in the way and it's just one extra unneccessary step) Besides, the strap will only move you one direction. All you're doing is moving the body of the JK back to center so you don't have to be Hercules in order to do this. (The body moves, but the suspension doesn't...you catch my drift?)
I had a friend tell me..."You should just get an alignment." I had to remind him that centering you're body on your axle has nothing to do with your wheel alignment. Your alignment shouldn't have changed, just your JK's body was facing a different direction than your wheels.
If this helped one person out there that'll be good for me! Let me know if I totally lost you on this.
I searched all over this forum to find out if there were any tips on this install and found a couple, but I have to say, people were making this much harder than it had to be. (I'm referring to the part of wrapping a wratchet strap to the rear suspension to push the body into alignment with the rear axle.) Let me explain:
The wratchet strap worked to squeeze the rear end enough after I installed the lift to relieve the tension to remove the rear track-bar bolts (these bolts are on at 125 ft/lbs from the factory and there is more pressure on them after you've lifted the JK) and they can be a bugger to get off. But once you have the bar off take the darn wratchet strap off and allow your JK to sit on the ground as it normally would, allowing the full weight of the body to rest on the rear suspension. (Don't forget to have tires on first!!) Per the instructions "preferred method", you are supposed to align the rear axle with the wratchet strap to get the track-bar back on, but no one ever mentioned that if one strap is on the axle and the other is on the body, you can wratchet all day and you're only going to move your body one direction...(In this case you're going to pull the body toward the driver's side because that is where the strap connects to the axle.) Hopefully you're still tracking here...
To make it easier, after measuring and setting my track-bar to the propper length to center my axle, I just put the lower bar axle nut (driver's side) in loosly at first allowing my track-bar to hang and then grabbed ahold of my tow hitch and pulled the body of the JK to where it needed to be (body track-bar mounting hole lines up with new track-bar) and put the upper (body) bolt in the bar, which kept the body from shifting back. (I had to use my knee against the hitch to hold the body still for a moment to get the upper track-bar bolt in.) It is really that simple! Once you've tightened the two track-bar bolts to 125 ft/lbs then you tighten the retaining nut on the adjustable track-bar. Voila, you're done.
I'll post some pics if this sounded confusing, but I'm telling you, you don't need the wratchet strap to put the bar on. (It gets in the way and it's just one extra unneccessary step) Besides, the strap will only move you one direction. All you're doing is moving the body of the JK back to center so you don't have to be Hercules in order to do this. (The body moves, but the suspension doesn't...you catch my drift?)
I had a friend tell me..."You should just get an alignment." I had to remind him that centering you're body on your axle has nothing to do with your wheel alignment. Your alignment shouldn't have changed, just your JK's body was facing a different direction than your wheels.
If this helped one person out there that'll be good for me! Let me know if I totally lost you on this.