is there supposed to be any play from the track bar bracket itself??

i think that is contributing to the death wobble

---in a detailed explanation...

i got a friend to turn the steering wheel side to side and i could see the track bar bracket move just a bit when it reached fully to the right/left

if thats the case, any suggestions on what type of track bar bracket i should get??

my jeep has stock lift and I was looking for something inexpensive, but is able to get the job done right

91 XJ

 

As long as your bushings are tight, it is OK. They can move a little and sometimes they can have a little up and down play, but this will not contribute to your death wobble. That is caused by the front axle moving back and forth while the steering drag link does not, causing the front wheels to change direction while this happens. Check your tie rod ends, adjust hour steering box, check your track bar bushings and ball joints.

 

Is it slop between the bracket and frame (like the bolts are loose) or is the whole bracket bending?
Mike

 

you want ZERO movement on the frame side bracket.

 

there should be no play, that's exactly your problem. i cracked my trac bar drop bracket and had crazy death wobbles. welds arent permanent. better off ordering trac bar drop bracket from skyjacker

 

bad jew jew... just order a adjustable and get rid of the bracket...

 

i know this is an old thread(might as well save bandwidth)

my track bar bracket is extremly loose. i do have an adj tracbar. i was told if i weld the bracket on it would do the trick. now if i weld it on, will it just complicate things when i go to lift it a bit more? or are those TB brackets kind of universal with adjustable TB's? or should i just take it of like poster above mentioned?

at present. my steering wheel is VERY sloppy left to right. if i weld that bracket tight will it fix my prob

 

loctite the bolts. my frame bracket would loosen up every once in a while. i put some red loctite on the bolts and they have yet to loosen. i wouldnt weld it unless you have frame stiffeners on already. the frame isnt very thick.

 

but after all this time i think the hole on the bracket is good and rounded out, leaving major play that tightening might not fix. or naw?

 

Put some lock washers under the bolts that look like this:

 

go buy a RE drop down trackbar and just tack weld it and the bolt, just enough to keep it from loosening up. That will do the trick! AND you will be able to install a lift a little later with no issues!!!!......And NO, the trac bar bracket should NOT be loose, and YES it can cause Death Wobble...Good Luck!

 

Why would you tell someone that its ok to have movement in a trac bar bracket? Your gonna get someone killed. There should not be ANY play what-so-ever, in the bracket, the tracbar itself or the draglink....And another thing, the axle moving back and forth is a direct result of a loose bracket or bad bushings, NOT a drag link!

 

safish, 4.3xj was referring to the ball joint up and down play that is normal.

 

i welded my RE heavy duty drop bracket to my frame.
my bolts were always loosening up, even with red locktite, so i broke out the welder. now not even a creak.
i'm already lifted as high as i want to go, and can't upgrade the track bar any more anyways, so....

 

thanks for all the replys guys
it really helped me out