I've been under the Jeep alot the last couple days. The more I look at the track bar, the more I wonder what it does and why I need it. What's the deal?

...and you're not aloud to say "It tracks".

 

The track bar centers your axle under the jeep. If both axles are centered then your jeep will track straight.

 

it allow the axles to be centered and keeps them centered

 

Take um off and find out.

 

Track bars (proper name Panhard bars don't keep the axle entirely centered. They cannot, because of their design. They do however, keep the axle from coming off center too much by keeping the axle from moving the wheels out of the wheel wells. Take a look at this:



I was of course kidding when I suggested you remove them to see what would happen.

 

Thanks Red...best explanantion I've seen to date...nothing like a visual to get the big picture....

 

Our Jeeps have a 5 link setup. Meaning the 4 control arms control the axle for up and down. The 4 links in back pull the axle and the 4 links in front push the axle. Those 4 links do not do a good job of keeping the axle from moving L to R because they are long and have rubber bushings. Its the track bar's job to restain the L-R movement of the axle and is why when someone experiences death wobble (axle moving violently from L-R) the first place to check is the track bar tightness.

Another way to visualize this is to lift the body until the front tires are off the ground. Push and pull one tire left to right. It should not give. Now unbolt one of the track bar mounting points and the axle will be allowed to move left to right. If you do this in real life, be very sure to bolt it back up.

 

It seemed like a silly question, but I figured why not. Thanks for the explanations. I'll go put it back on now...just kidding.

 

That it why it is helpful to do your own lifts if you are mechanical in any way. You learn a lot about the components and their purpose once you spend some time under there.

 

Don't ever think a question is silly or stupid. Ask um ALL, cause if you don't, the ones you DON'T ask will be the stupid ones.