DT Trackbar install???
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I'm sorry, I don't have any tips on installing a trackbar but I am curious as to what exactly that bar is/does. I am guessing that it corrects the problem of the factory trackbar pulling the axle to the driver's side when the truck is lifted. If that is the case, where did you get it, how much, and how hard was it to install? How much lift does it need to keep the axle aligned properly. It would be nice if it was adjustable. If that is not what it is, please correct me, and forgive me for making a fool of myself in front of the whole world.
No need to feel foolish this is how we learn!
Yes this is an adjustable bar that corrects the front end from a lift you can get it for stock to 3" of lift or 3" to 6" of lift and the price on this is 330.00 shipped
I have not yet installed it so I dont know how hard it is but I will keep you all posted if I do the install today and i will do step by step with pics!
Ray
Yes this is an adjustable bar that corrects the front end from a lift you can get it for stock to 3" of lift or 3" to 6" of lift and the price on this is 330.00 shipped
I have not yet installed it so I dont know how hard it is but I will keep you all posted if I do the install today and i will do step by step with pics!
Ray
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1,835 Posts
the install is fairly easy. the hardest part was lying on my back trying to drill through the crossmember. once you get everything mounted there is an easy way to get the track bar in place. have someone start the truck and turn the steering wheel. the frame will move side to side. The bar was the fix to my death wobble. Make sure you measure from side to side on the axles. good luck
Can anyone describe this "death wobble"? The alignment shop told me that my track bar is on its way out, and if i have any shimmy, thats whats doing it. I havent felt anything really, but then im used to an old beater truck that shook rattle and rolled on anything bigger than a pebel. Thanks
What is the magic number of inches of lift that REQUIRES modification of the factory track bar. Do 5 inch skyjacker lifts come with an extended tb? What aftermarket lifts outthere do come with redesigned track bars? Either way I guess I don't really see the harm in having the axle a little to the left. I don't really see how having the axle moved over would make it handle funny. I'm pretty sure all of my ill-handling woes stem from my tires. Please correct me and set me straight on why the trackbar needs to be fixed. Also, Dubge, how did installing your trackbar improve your truck's handling, ride, flex etc.
ok the wobble I had in my front end was so bad that my cup holder would jump up and down and spill whatever was in it it was like the steering was out of controll and the wheel moved back and forth like 1-1.5 inches or more!!!! After installing the track bar the wobble is almost gone.....ya I have a little but I do need an alignment and still need to get my tires balanced!!!
I only get a little vibration and have gotten a small wobble 1x when before it was almost all the time wobble and masive vibrations!!!
Ray
I only get a little vibration and have gotten a small wobble 1x when before it was almost all the time wobble and masive vibrations!!!
Ray
Ok Finally..after 4 or 5 weeks of my DT TRACKBAR sitting in the garage collecting dust, its finally on the truck, the only difficult part of the install is the drilling of the crossmember holes. Other than that it would be about a 1 hour install if it were not for the drilling. To take the factory track bar off your gonna need a 1-1/8 open ended wrench(2500's are anyway). And a 1-1/8" socket, also eat some Wheaties if you think your gonna break that puppy loose, it took a 4 foot breaker bar for me. I have some pics of the bar, ill talk to Hawiiluver and see if he can post a couple.
"Death Wobble" Picture a cobble stone road. Now picture the same cobble stone road with the stones being basketball sized in shape and size.
Have a picture yet? Now, imaging yourself on a smooth stretch of pavement traveling at, oh say 40MPH and someone sneaks a 100yd patch of the cobble stone road with basketball sized round stones into your path. WHAM you hit that patch of cobble stones!
"Death Wobble"
Does this paint a close picture dgeram4x?
Have a picture yet? Now, imaging yourself on a smooth stretch of pavement traveling at, oh say 40MPH and someone sneaks a 100yd patch of the cobble stone road with basketball sized round stones into your path. WHAM you hit that patch of cobble stones!
"Death Wobble"
Does this paint a close picture dgeram4x?
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3,036 Posts
it was like night and day after i installed mine. it didnt dawn on me the first time i put the bar in that turning the steering wheel helps(i had to adjusted the heims end afterward). i was putting a come-a-long on the upper spring perch to get the body over to the side for the upper hole to line up!
Hey BIGINUF did you have any problems with the DT trackbar b/c the bracket is only good for a 6" lift? I am afraid if I put spacers on top of my coils the trackbar will smack itself against the spring perch on the passenger side (I have already trimmed mine about 1/2")
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1,835 Posts
Troy thats pretty accurate. Whew its gone and I hope for good. Tired of throwing parts at it
Lifted Rams can have the death wobble even if there trackbar is still good, ive only had the death wobble once, it was on my way to the store without the steering stabilizer attached, its the only time I ever drove the truck without one, and ill never do it again. I thought I was gonna die, but afterwards it was pretty funny.
I bent my stab in a rut, then hit a pothole on 880 at 75mph, the stab tried to deal with the bent rod, and snapped in two... Truck started shaking so bad I thought I'd blown out a tire. Death wobble from the track-bar is about as bad. When my (first) track-bar was dying, the truck would try to change lanes when hitting expansion joints on the freeway.
The track-bar is required in a 4 or 5-link suspension. It's all called a pan-hard bar, although technically, I think that's a different geometry, but same idea.
The control-arms can't keep the axle centered under the truck. The track-bar (or pan-hard bar) does this.
When you lift the truck, the drooping of the axle causes it to swing to the driver's side with the track-bar. Draw an arc with a compass, and you'll see what I mean.
Big lifts (over 3") come with a relocation bracket that will lower the frame-end of the track-bar a few inches, to compensate for this. However, the DT uses both a replacement bracket, and a bar that's adjustable length (like a tie-rod is).
With the heim-joints, it doesn't need to be rebuilt (they don't know of a unit that HAS been rebuilt, no-one has ever bought a rebuilt kit after-the-fact, just as insurance when buying the bar).
They're friendly people, it's a really good price, and it's a HELL of a lot stronger than stock.
My first stock unit died at 19K miles, the second at 45K miles. I'm not using a Linstead unit, because it was $100 cheaper, and I needed the money.
The track-bar is required in a 4 or 5-link suspension. It's all called a pan-hard bar, although technically, I think that's a different geometry, but same idea.
The control-arms can't keep the axle centered under the truck. The track-bar (or pan-hard bar) does this.
When you lift the truck, the drooping of the axle causes it to swing to the driver's side with the track-bar. Draw an arc with a compass, and you'll see what I mean.
Big lifts (over 3") come with a relocation bracket that will lower the frame-end of the track-bar a few inches, to compensate for this. However, the DT uses both a replacement bracket, and a bar that's adjustable length (like a tie-rod is).
With the heim-joints, it doesn't need to be rebuilt (they don't know of a unit that HAS been rebuilt, no-one has ever bought a rebuilt kit after-the-fact, just as insurance when buying the bar).
They're friendly people, it's a really good price, and it's a HELL of a lot stronger than stock.
My first stock unit died at 19K miles, the second at 45K miles. I'm not using a Linstead unit, because it was $100 cheaper, and I needed the money.
jprtroy, good explanation of DW. I got it alot when I was at 4.5" with my Jeep with stock arms, and it is SCARY. That's why I'm back to 2".
Another way to expalin it is to imagine driving on tires that are flat on the bottom.
To everyone wondering what DW is and if they've had it: If you have to ask, you haven't experienced it.
Another way to expalin it is to imagine driving on tires that are flat on the bottom.
To everyone wondering what DW is and if they've had it: If you have to ask, you haven't experienced it.
does dt have a web site availible to get this bar from? if so send me a message please. i have a 1500 with the skyjacker 5 inch coils and a 2 inch spacer on. i've got a dual stabilizer now to prevent the DW as much as possible. btw i also have a 3 inch body
DT was in the process of getting their new site up and going about a month ago when I was purchasing my bar, it may be up by now, not sure. Ill check and get back with you guys on it. I went through the first track bar about 18 months after the truck was new, 1 year of that time had 35's on it. The second one only lasted another year on 39's. Like woody was saying the rebuild kit is cheap, but it would be awile before this thing could go bad, and if you compare this DT bar to a stock bar its like comparing a Nissan P/U truck to a 1 ton RAM, that bar is tough.
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