I'm in high school and on a budget... I have a 1.75" lift in front and 3" leaf packs in the back. I'm going to buy Rustys 3" coils soon and a pair of shocks. I was wondering which of the two I need to buy and why. I don't really do any offroading but it is my daily driver. Will a track bar drop bracket ($35) work for me? Or do I need to get a IRO double sheer track bar? ($200)

 

If you don't plan in adding any more lift in the future, just redrill the stock mount. http://jeep-xj.info/HowtoTrackbar.htm

 

even if you do plan to add more lift it does not matter... it only moves it over around .5"-1"

just fill in the original hole with a welder and grind it smooth, then use a nice thick, broad washer the help spread the load out over a larger area... it will be just as strong as new...maybe even stronger...

the best part is that the trackbar will clear the top of the axle side mount better than it used to...

so why does it matter if you plan to go taller later?

 

Either way i'm looking for a bolt on part. I don't have a welder and drilling a hole right next to an existing hole seems like a really bad idea.. even if it is the popular route.
So track bar drop bracket or track bar?

 

you can probably get away with a drop bracket but that is not going to give you 100% dead on where you want your axle to be. If it is as off as I am thinking it will be it will effect your on-road performance and (speaking from experience) will NOT be drive-able over 20mph. An adjustable track bar can be adjusted dead on but is obviously more expensive. If you can find a drop bracket that is specific to your lift height then that would be perfect.

 

Do what ever your budget would support.

I personally would do the adjustable. But thats my preference. lift kits come with the relocation bracket. So they work but i personally would do the adjustable track bar. Most factory track bars cause death wobble so replace it with a stronger unit with heim or ball joint

 

Trackbar... the JKS is a very good one. Excellent quality.

 

I used a relocation bracket that came with my lift and my axle is noticeably off-center. It hasn't resulted in any serious driving issues yet (it's my DD), but I am going to replace it with an adjustable because I don't trust this setup to last for too much longer.

My .02 - go with adjustable from the start and be done with it.

 

just drill the hole and drive it to an exhaust shop... have them weld the old hole closed...

it should not cost more than $10-$20

remember a good weld is actually MUCH stronger than the base metal... meaning that if you have a shop fill in the original hole and drill a new one that you have actually made the stock bracket a little stronger...

further more adding a broad, thick washer tot he bolt will help to spread the track bar load out over a larger area... meaning that it would almost be like the stock bracket had a smaller load on it...

another advantage to drilling the hole over is that you get more clearance because it take longer for the track bar to contact the top of the axle bracket...

if you go bigger latter, it does not effect anything,,, you still just adjust the track bar the same as you would

the reason not too many people mess with new track bars at 3.5" or less is because there really is no reason to do so...

IF you do get a drop bracket for your trackbar, understand that they like to rip out and that they create lots of strain on the mounting points due to the increased leverage

also you will be changing the track bar angles quite a bit when you do this...

you want the track bar and the steering to have the sa,e angles, otherwise you will get bumpsteer

 

I agree with the first statement, and YES if you can swing it get one with a heim, or better yet a double sheer with a cross braced mounting bracket...

factory trackbars DO not cause death wobble... but a worn out track bar, weather after market or factory can cause death wobble

however... the stock setup uses a ball joint!... if you are going to get an after market setup FORGET about a balljoint... they really limit travel and they do not last long at all

 

Okay I think i'm going to go with IRO double shear track bar then. I'm on a budget but I'd rather save up a little and get the adjustable track bar and not waste $40 on something I'll need to replace or won't fix the problem.

 

You don't need a double shear trackbar setup for your needs. If you're on a budget and your rig doesn't see much offroading as you stated, I would suggest the Rough Country adjustable trackbar. I have installed this in three rigs, one for my sons XJ thats a mall-crawler and they all worked out great. They are good quality and you'll get away for less than a Benjamin.

If you go over to Jeepforum, the user Rough Country (Ryan) will get you a discount as well. Here is his sig...

"ALL JEEP FORUM MEMBERS GET 10% OFF CALL RYAN AT 1-800-222-7023 EXT 123!!"

Give him a buzz...

 

GOOD CALL on the double shear!

as for the cheapo RC track bar... don't waste your money on an adjustable that has a ball joint... they are a waste of money, you might was well run a relocated stock TB

 

x2. Stay away from an adjustable that uses ball-joints. It's not any better than a relocated stock one. IRO's double shear is a really good choice. However if you do end up getting anything from RC, you can go through Grimmus (Jason) on here and get a 10% discount, or Rough Country (Ryan) on JeepForum (as said by jeeepguy)

 

I really just want to avoid death wobble and even a shimmy while driving as much as possible and I hear the double shear will prevent that.