Oops

[4.3LXJ]

Went wheeling in the snow Sunday. It got dark on me so I headed out in kind of a hurry, along with some others. I guess I tweaked my track bar mount a little. The steering wheel was cocked a little to the right, but steered OK. Then Tuesday on the way into town I got a short death wobble with a dive to the left side of the road. Here is what happened.

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/IMG_0861.jpg

Needless to say, I loaded it up on the trailer and hauled it home and put it in the shop. Going to have to make something a little more beefy. It took out part of the original track bar mount and part of the spring bucket. Almost a FIBAR, but not quite. Going to work on it for a couple of days. This will give me an excuse to drive my son's Mighty Mite around :D

[cantab27]

ouch ,,, did ya notice when ya may have done ie log , rock or hit something else ...

[nismo5]

dang that could have been real bad you think that was already starting before sunday ?? or did you always get that wobble u got going down the hill ?the wobble couldnt have helped it it was pretty gnarly the second time we saw it either way glad u didnt get hurt steve let me know if you need a hand around the shop puttin it back together ill be around like always :)

[bluedragon436]

Wow... that stinks... guess you did a bit more than just tweaked that mount... Look forward to seeing the beef you build to replace it..

[finneys98xj]

This will give me an excuse to drive my son's Mighty Mite around :D

Any excuse is better than no excuse. That could have end VERY badly good thing it didn't.

[nismo5]

sorry for the double post above it wont let me edit and erase the second one:stars: ooooops

[4.3LXJ]

dang do you think the nasty wobble you had going down the hill earlier had anything to do with it ?? it looked pretty violent either way glad u got off the road safely and didnt get hurt but let me know if you need a hand puttin it back together i should be around like always :)

I am not sure. I thought I had the wobble cured pretty much. The times you saw it was kind of a surprise for me. But I think it started the second time I went up. That is when the steering wheel was a little off. But I couldn't see anything wrong.

[4.3LXJ]

Wow... that stinks... guess you did a bit more than just tweaked that mount... Look forward to seeing the beef you build to replace it..

Yup, the beef is going on. It won't happen again.

First thing to do was clear away all the old stuff. Hot the hot knife out and started cutting. There was a fair amount of old stuff there to get rid of. Part of the spring bucket is gone too now. Will have to do something about that.

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/IMG_0862.jpg

Next, is to grind the areas somewhat smooth and prepare areas to be welded. The CAD is really in the way here, which is why I did it like I did the first time. But as you can see, I am going to get around it this time. I am pretty sure it is cast steel, not iron. But I am not going to take any chances.

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/IMG_0863.jpg

Next thing is to make a template of what I will need. There is stuff to get around here, so I got out one of my standard shop tools.

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/IMG_0864.jpg

These are Cutco scissors, guaranteed for life and very tough. Handles are supposed to be dishwasher safe, but won't stand up to red hot iron if you look closely. But if I want, they will replace them for me.

Here is my rough template.

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/IMG_0865.jpg

Then I trace it out on the steel using soap stone or preferably a silver pencil, but I seem to be out of them.

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/IMG_0866.jpg

Steel is cut, but no pics yet. More tomorrow.

[cantab27]

nice steve ,,,

[4.3LXJ]

Got some more metal cut today and a bushing made to weld on the end of the track bar inbetween honey doos. If I get a chance, I will start welding tomorrow.

[4.3LXJ]

Got some plate welded on. I had to bridge that CAD because it is cast iron. I welded to it, but that weld is only as good as the ones beside it. I put two pieces in and will fill the edges in later.

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/IMG_0867.jpg

Here is the bushing I am going to use for my track bar bushing. I am tired of wimpy bushings.

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/IMG_0868.jpg

Had to get the adjuster out to fine tune it a little.

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/IMG_0869.jpg

The bushing and track bar are ready to weld up. If I can get to it tomorrow I can drive it around while I finish it.

[4.3LXJ]

Got some plate welded on. I had to bridge that CAD because it is cast iron. I welded to it, but that weld is only as good as the ones beside it. I put two pieces in and will fill the edges in later.

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/IMG_0867.jpg

Here is the bushing I am going to use for my track bar bushing. I am tired of wimpy bushings.

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/IMG_0868.jpg

Had to get the adjuster out to fine tune it a little.

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/IMG_0869.jpg

The bushing and track bar are ready to weld up. If I can get to it tomorrow I can drive it around while I finish it.

[nismo5]

dang thats alot o metal on there now lol hope this one holds up for ya lookin good

[ironmanandy]

Hey man, Let me know how that bushing setup works out. I can get you one that is made of a much firmer polygraphite and a 2"x.250 DOM sleeve that looks much cleaner.

For a track bar application you want as firm of a joint as possible. The width wont really make as much difference as the material. That red poly is below 90D (they don't make anything over 90 in red). anything under 90 tends to be too squishy.

Let me know if I can help Id be willing to donate a better part for you so this will work better in the end. The track bar is by far the most important link and you don't want any discrepancy in its construction.

Here is a pic of how I solved the same problem.
http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr308/ibuildbigtoys/trackbarfix.jpg

Its just solid bar bent on a shop press, welded to the axle tubes and bolted into the factory bracket.

as long as your track bar is parallel with your drag link and your bushings are really firm you will have a great driving setup.

[Mudderoy]

Hey man, Let me know how that bushing setup works out. I can get you one that is made of a much firmer polygraphite and a 2"x.250 DOM sleeve that looks much cleaner.

For a track bar application you want as firm of a joint as possible. The width wont really make as much difference as the material. That red poly is below 90D (they don't make anything over 90 in red). anything under 90 tends to be too squishy.

Let me know if I can help Id be willing to donate a better part for you so this will work better in the end. The track bar is by far the most important link and you don't want any discrepancy in its construction.

Here is a pic of how I solved the same problem.
http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr308/ibuildbigtoys/trackbarfix.jpg

Its just solid bar bent on a shop press, welded to the axle tubes and bolted into the factory bracket.

as long as your track bar is parallel with your drag link and your bushings are really firm you will have a great driving setup.

That's really pretty but more of it needs to be red. I'm just saying...

[4.3LXJ]

Andy, thanks for the offer. I have been driving it and I have to say it is a definite improvement. Much more solid. I didn't realize what was happening to the old one that was all tied into the stock stuff. I have been driving around without a stabilizer and not having trouble with the wobbles. Also got rid of a mysterious popping sound that I could never find too. I was fabbing up brackets for the stabilizer yesterday. Had to quit last night when my #7 cheapie drill bit got to dull to drill. I have been making a clamp for my aluminum tie rods that won't slip. I will post a pic when I have it done and painted.

[ironmanandy]

well let me know if you decide to try it. I had the same thing happen to my old XJ on a trail the entire factory bracket ripped off because of the leverage from my raised track bar. The lesson i learned: never weld to factory bracketery.

A

[4.3LXJ]

well let me know if you decide to try it. I had the same thing happen to my old XJ on a trail the entire factory bracket ripped off because of the leverage from my raised track bar. The lesson i learned: never weld to factory bracketery.

A

I learned this lesson too. It is all 1/4" now

[PolarXJ]

Wow, glad you noticed it soon enough. While in moab, my brothers upper track bar mount started to rip off the frame. Luckily we noticed it before we hit the highway home.

Looks like its coming along nicely. Any plans on getting a front d44?

[4.3LXJ]

I will be upgrading my axles, but not with a D44. However I am at a standstill on that because my budget needs upgrading too:D

[PolarXJ]

Isn't that the case for all of use. :smiley-chores037: So d60 then? :thumbsup:

[Leonmac]

I have a wee story about a broken track bar, Afew years ago while competeing in a NZ winch Challenge I hit a BIG rock at quite high speed, I still don't know how it didn't tear the wheel Clean OFF, at the end of the stage we checked and found the Heay duty track bar was bent, we tried to straighten it but it was too tough so we lived with it for the final stage. It was a 100km highway trip back to the camp, it had a bad wobble but we just put it down to mud in the wheels. At the camp they had a power wash for the trucks and I drove into the paddock washed my truck and driving back to my tent the bar snaped clean off. NO STEERING !!! had it happened on the highway , Doesn't bare thinking about. cheers Leon

[4.3LXJ]

Yeah, shocking isn't it. Wakes you right up.

[bluedragon436]

Upgrades are looking nice, Steve~~ Look forward to seeing the axle upgrade once your budget upgrade is located and complete!! I can't wait for that upgrade myself!!

[4.3LXJ]

Thanks. Fixing my good Griffin radiator now, looks like a few cents worth of JB Weld will do it. Then upgrades will be on hold for awhile until I can turn some more money. The track bar I made for this worked awesome. But I had to ditch the sway bar to do it. But I have a plan that would work for anyone with a set of long arms for a sway bar that needs no disconnects for full articulation and definitely cheaper than the Curie solution for that.