track bar replacement

[Red Rocket]

I haven't tackled this one yet, so I thought I would get some input from you guys in hopes of a curseless project. I have the napa part which the guy in the store had never heard of. I'll be doing it in a couple days, so take your time with this. No reason to rush into this. THANKS



nick

 

[Dieselnerd]

I had no big problems with mine. Hardest part was getting the tapered end loose. Used a hammer and pickle to get it out. When you go to put it back together you will probably find that with the end mounted on the passenger side, the tapered bolt on the drivers side doesn't line up. Jacking up the frame on the drivers side and a little pushing and pulling will line it up OK. If you have the service manual it has a pretty good description of how to do it.

 

[illflem]

Save yourself a lot of hassle and buy a pitman arm puller from NAPA when you pick up your bar, it works excellent on the tapered end of the track bar. After replacing the bar contrary to what you might think (and me too) you won't need an alignment.

 

[Red Rocket]

I thought there was another tool needed for this. ILL pick one of those up tomorrow.

 

[fest3er]

Originally posted by Dieselnerd

I had no big problems with mine. Hardest part was getting the tapered end loose. Used a hammer and pickle to get it out. When you go to put it back together you will probably find that with the end mounted on the passenger side, the tapered bolt on the drivers side doesn't line up. Jacking up the frame on the drivers side and a little pushing and pulling will line it up OK. If you have the service manual it has a pretty good description of how to do it.

If you have an extra pair of hands, have someone turn the steering wheel to line up the bolt with the frame. That's how I did mine and it was real easy. To get the bolt out, I used a tie-rod pickle and a 4-lb. mallet. Just rapped it solidly and it came right out. Or course, mine was only in for 45K miles.



Fest3er

 

[MuddFlapp]

Track Bar

This isn't a hard job. I put my frame on stands & knocked the tapered end loose w/ a ball joint pickle fork. about three good wacks w/ a 5 lb. hammer & it popped right out. Then when the new one wouldn't line up I put a jack under one side of the axle until it did. EZ Breezzy!!!



Gene Earl.

 

[MidwestMotorman]

Another good tool to have is an air hammer with a pickle fork attachment or a blunt end attachment to remove the ends. My favorite is the blunt end tool in the air hammer as you can hammer on the bottom end, and will not damage any threads in case you need to reinstall something again.

 

[Josparkz]

I just put the fourth (including the original) track bar into my truck, at something like 104K miles. This time though I took an old one and rebuilt it with a Lindstad kit. I believe this one will last.

Pickle fork and a hammer took the old one out. I just tapped the moveable end on the new one to point in the right direction, and got it in o. k. I did have to look around to find the 18 mm socket to use with the breaker bar on the lower end. I just turned the wheels to the right to get a little more room to get in there, turned them straight when I was done.

 

[Max340]

Originally posted by illflem

Save yourself a lot of hassle and buy a pitman arm puller from NAPA when you pick up your bar, it works excellent on the tapered end of the track bar. After replacing the bar contrary to what you might think (and me too) you won't need an alignment.

Well..... maybe and maybe not. Logic I follow on this is, the drag link from the steer box to the steering knuckles on the axle has an adjustment for length, and this length is affected by the ability of the track bar to keep the axle centered under the truck.



Simple rule of thumb, if it feels good before and after, great. if it feels weird before and not quite right after, align it.



Maybe I am too picky, but I prefer to have all things "known" under there, rather than assume the problem is gone wioth a simple part replacement.

 

[WLM_RAMMAN]

part#

Hey guys, whats the Napa part number of the bar you are using?

 

[Dieselnerd]

MAX340, you are right about the drag link adjustment changing. If you look carefully at that adjustment you will see that it adjusts the steering wheel centering, it does not change wheel alignment. In fact I had to turn the drag link adjustment slightly after my new track bar to re-center the steering wheel. Toe in is a separate adjustment and not changed by the track bar. If the track bar were too short or long it would keep the axle from being centered under the truck which could have some alignment consequences. This could be a problem with an adjustable track bar if you were to get it adjusted wrong.

 

[Max340]

Dieselnerd, I agree with all you said. But one important thing ya left out. Most steering boxes have a "centering valve". Let go of the wheel, and the hydraulics try to center the box (within reason). If the drag link is not adjusted correctly, and the box centers, you now have a pull to one side or the other.

 

[Josparkz]

Originally posted by Dieselnerd

This could be a problem with an adjustable track bar if you were to get it adjusted wrong. [/B]

It is the ball joint end that is adjustable. When it wears loose, tighten it up, right in place, instead of replacing it.

I do have a friend with an adjustable length (custom built) track bar. He put some kind of 2" spacers in and his front end shifted. He took his track bar to a machine shop and had it cut and threaded. Then he had a coupler built for it, so he could make it longer and push his front end back over to where it belonged.

 

[Dieselnerd]

MAX340, I've been thinking about what you said. Assume the steering wheel is correctly aligned so that when it is centered, the pitman arm is in the center of it's travel from side to side. Then you put on a new track bar and the axle is not exactly in the same spot because you took out the wear. Now your steering wheel is off center a few degrees while you are going straight down the road. Your pitman arm is then off center because you are correcting for the different position of the axle. When you adjust the drag link it turns the wheels slightly so that once again the centered steering wheel puts the pitman back in the center. Agree?

 

[Max340]

No problem agreeing. I just don't like the driveway alignment technique, even though I am fairly good at it. I always have my alignment work checked.

 

[ROADWARRIOR]

What are the symptoms of a failing track bar?

For the last thousand miles or so, I have been feeling something loose on my front end. It is most noticeable while cornering at highway speeds over little bumps. I feel this through the steering wheel. My truck has 27,000 miles on it.



Thanks, Dan

 

[Dieselnerd]

ROADWARRIOR:

The test per my service manual is with engine running, in park, brake on and someone inside also standing on the brake for safety. Observe the ball joint end while the person inside turns the steering wheel back and forth. There should be no movement of the end on the ball. Mine was pretty sloppy. Easy to watch as it slowly gets worse if you only have slight play. Mine made no noise but did result in sloppy steering which seemed like excess play in the steering wheel.