Solidsteel track bar upgrade

[Jeff Knight]

Hey Guys, I'm trying to get the part# for the 03 track bar. Does anyone have it? My bar is shot. I'm going to replace it in the near future. I can't wait on a group purchase. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Jeff

 

[BRobertson]

I ordered the track bar thru Anchorage Dodge in July.

$245 retail

$196 delivered to Anch our cost (TDR)

part# 52106795-AC Bar Front 17029003



Bob

 

[Jeff Knight]

Thanks Bob, The dealer here in PA quoted me $289. 59. I'm going to see what I can get it for talking to them face to face. Dodgepart.com has it for $191. 10 plus shipping. Thanks again Jeff

 

[Turbo Tim 1]

So I just finished my DSS installation that I started back in the end of spring, you see I have a Fisher Minute Mount plow on my truck and when taking the plow mounts off to install the DSS three of the four sway bar bolts snapped and a few of the plow mount bolts had to be torched (darn cob job plow installation). I ended up putting the DSS on and leaving the plow mounts off at the time but two weeks ago decided it was time to put them back on BEFORE the snow starts to fly. Incase anyone is wondering, it does require some modification to put on a DSS with Fisher plow mounts. Thankfully I am a pretty good backyard fabricator and have a welder and all the neccessary tools. Now by looking at the pictures of the 03 track bar upgrade on the Enterprise Engine web site it looks like I would have to modify things to use this setup. Has anyone used the 03 track bar with a Fisher plow mount? I absolutely hate the thought of taking any of those bolts out again, but I want to upgrade my complete front end at the next tire change which is coming up soon.

 

[pwknapp]

Does anybody know if DSS is going to make a setup to address the off center position when installing the D25 front springs?? I sure would like to go with the 03 track bar and bracket and finally be done with it. Can't remember how many I have put in after 400k plus miles.

 

[CORed]

This thread has been dead for a month or so, but I wanted to ask others that have installed the bracket on a stock truck (no D25s) if the steering wheel was off after the install. I just helped my dad install on on his 01. 5 Longbed and after installation, the steering wheel was off about 45*. Additionally, the axle sticks out about 1/2 inch on the passenger side. The truck has about 30,000 miles on it.



So it sounds like there may be two issues here possibly. One, the springs have already sagged (crappy OEM anyway) and Two, the mounting location with the 3rd Gen bar assume the springs are still at original NEW height.



It is easy enough to straighten the steering wheel, but why should I have to? Also, please tell me if your axle is off center.



Steve

 

[SnoKing]

When I installed mine, I did a very short test drive and turned the adjustment on the drag link just under a half turn because I thought the wheel was at about 11:30 instead of 12 straight up. After driving it a few more miles, I had to put the adjustment right back to the starting point. SNOKING

 

[JSellers]

There are a couple reasons (perhaps more?) why you might need to adjust the drag link after installing the track bar bracket. There will be slight length differences in manufacture of the 3rd generation bar. There will be slight differences in how the bracket fits your truck vs. another. (According to what we've heard from Marv and Darrin, there may be more difference in this than any other factor. ) And there could be differences in the existing configuration of your specific front end geometry. Combine all this, and you'll probably need to tweak your drag link to center the steering wheel.



When I installed the track bar bracket, the new bar was about 1/8-3/16 inch short of reaching the pivot bolt on the bracket. I turned the steering wheel enough to move the axle so I could fit the bolt. And, from my test drive after the install, I needed to shorten the drag link - just about a half turn.



As you'll find on other threads, the issue of centering the axle is sort of a moot point. The axle can only be centered for one point in the suspension travel. And ONLY for that one point. The issue just isn't that critical. What is critical is that the bump stops contact the center of the axle pads, and changing the track bar length a lot will prevent that from happening, if you ever bottom the suspension.



Hope this helps,

John

 

[Luciano]

I'm ready to buy new tires and repuild the front end suspension for my 98. 5 4x4 3500. I'm wondering where I can find the best Polyurethane bushing rebuild kit for my truck if there is one that exists. I called performance suspension, and they don't have one for my truck. Sorry about going kind of off the wall from the subject matter. Thanks.

 

[Coyote556]

for those that have installed the 3rd gen track bar kit, do your bump stops line up properly when the suspension is bottomed out?

 

[SnoKing]

I never have been out there looking when a hit a bump hard enough to bottom out. Given that I changed the centering and then put it right back to were it was to start with, I guess I am not to concerned about it. For anyone that does only a minor centering adjustment, I would say it is probably not an issue. If you have to do a large centering adjustment then something else must to going on, and/or should have gotten an adjustable DTprofab track bar. Is that the point you are driving at???



SNOKING

 

[JSellers]

Coyote,



The bump stops will line up unless you change the track bar length. A minor difference in effective track bar length won't be a problem; the axle pads are large enough that slight axle movement will still have them under the bump stops. If you're lifting the truck significantly, and you use an adjustable track bar (like DT), then you may shift the axle enough sideways so the bump stops won't hit the axle pads. A similar misalignment can happen fore-and-aft with control arms which aren't the same length as OEM.



Centering the axle is adjusted with track bar length; centering the steering is adjusted with drag link.



Hope this helps,

John

 

[DBrickel]

Mine took 45 minutes to install including time to get proper wrenchs etc. and work area prepped. Very happy with it

 

[Coyote556]

I got my kit for the 3rd gen trackbar up grade and I was looking it over. I have a question for those of you who have had it on for a while. Has anyone had any trouble with any of the bolts on the 3rd gen retro bracket working loose. I guess that is my only concern with the whole set up. thanks a head of time.

 

[McCRam]

I have only put 12000 on mine since I bought it. I have not had any problems. I checked the bolts at 500 miles and again a few thousand after that. None of them were ever loose. Do check yours as well. It is a good safety practice. , and good piece of mind. I know that I can make mistakes and always double check my work.





My truck handles great with this bar and is my favorite upgrade that I have done to the truck. It tracks straight down the road and has a tight steering feel. I put the Dss on shortly after and that made a big difference to. I am putting the 03 trackbar on my uncles 98. 5 this weekend. His has very sloppy steering.