Tackled the Full Traction econo with M-Shocks today with my 12 yr old boy. What a great project. Had two issues to overcome. 1st, the floor jacks I got were to short to drop the axle enough to fit the springs back in. Had to drop the axle to the floor by removing the floor jack and then figure a way to raise it again once the springs were in and the whole weight of the jeep was on the axle. No neighbors had a good jack so used some 4x4's and did several lifts from different angles to get the jack back under the axle.

The other problem was bigger. The holes on the left side of the traction relocation bracket were not high enough. By boring them out a little larger, I was able to get the 3" bolt through the front side but not the back. Here is where I need some advice.

I can either find someone with a drill press to try and enlarge the holes up some more, but this will be tough. Or, here is what I am thinking. Use a smaller bolt and only attach in the front. The center bolt is large and has the crush proof sleeve. The right side has the small bolt in back like it should. Does this sound adequate enough????

One other question while I am at it. How tight should I compress the top shock nuts? I have it pretty snug but could go some more, Does the top mount bushings provide any shock resistance? Or, should they be as snug as I can get them?

All other bolts/nuts were tightened to torque spec.

I will be offline until later tomorrow and appreciate any help.

 

Actually, if I could, I personally would recommend that you skip the installation of your track bar relocation bracket and hold off until you can afford a new adjustable unit. Yes, your axle will shift over just a bit but you should be just fine without it. In fact, it's been my personal experience that your Jeep will handle better without it.

You should tighten them snug enough so that the bushings bulge just a bit. You do not want to over compress them.

 

I assume you are talking about the front bracket.

My answer to this would be NO! Use a dremel to enlarge the holes to where you need. This is a high stress point and one that controls your handling of the vehicle. One guy on here accidentily only bolted his to one side of the hole and it sheered his bracket off at high speed. He almost had a serious accident.

I elected not to use my front relocation bracket and ran that way for a while ( a couple of months) until I could get the adj track bar. Your axle will not be centered left to right exactly, but it leaves you with a solid set up. A lot of budget lifts don't even provide any type of bracketry to relocate the track bars. This will cause your drivers side front tires to stick out a little more than the other side.

The rear relocation bracket is a rock solid connection (frame side) and is a good set up!

Also I feel the brackets change the angle of the track bar slightly. The track bar should run parallel with your drag link. By adding the bracket, you raise that end of the bar up slighty.

What ever you decide, make sure you use the bolts as intended, and modify the holes in the bracket, not the ones on the Jeep!

 

Thanks WOL.

What was the handling difference? How much /what difference would an adjustable bar make?

 

I guess I'm too slow. In my defense, I typed more stuff!

 

Thanks Rubimon. I am new at this stuff so I can not have too much info.

I will pick up a FT adjustable arm and ditch the bracket. I read the FT Ultimate write-up and am a little confused about how to determine proper length. More help would be great.

Also, I used the FT shock bushings. Should I swap the factory ones back in?

 

IMHO, the ride felt what some people describe as being 'darty' or 'flighty'. An adjustable track bar will allow you to recenter your front axle while keeping it parallel to the drag link as it needs to be.

Here's a link to the track bar write-up that I did.

http://project-jk.com/jeep-jk-write-...ation-write-up

Let me know if you still have questions.

Yes, I would as they are much wider, made out of rubber and specifically made to fit the mount.

 

That is what I love about this site. Before I had a chance to go to bed, problems solved!

Mucho Thanks WOL & Rubimon

 

Just thought of something else.

Rubimon mentioned the rear relocation bracket. The 2" BB does not come with one. I assume this means the rear axle will not be centered. Should I worry about this? Do you recommend an adj rear track bar as well? Another $180 will take away from future mods.

 

Naw, the shift is so little that it won't be a problem to just leave it as it is.