Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) trackbar pros-cons??? which one?

[Christen]

been reading about diff. trackbars out on the market and cant decide which one to go with. i only want to do this once. price is another factor. the 03 bar seems to be a popular item. give me ur pros n cons on the bars. tnx denny!

 

[wcjp]

Buy the Napa tracbar with the lifetime warranty. Mine has lasted 50k. Selling the truck tonite. I won't know how long it'll last.

 

[biggy238]

UUUHHHH no... .



Toasted my "new" factory trac bar in less than 30k miles.



For the money, and my application. . I'm very pleased with the DT Profab Piece I have. I jump railroad crossing with my truck and the bar is still tight with 25K on it.

Only trouble I had with the DT was the bracket installation, which requires drilling the crossmember. It's a tight fit with a large drill, drill bit and my non-petite self under the truck.



If you do a leveling kit and unload the front suspension, it will kill the ball joint end of the factory piece just that quick. The DT has a heim joint at the frame and a poly bushing in the other end. I've beaten the bushings in it and my DT control arms and they all appear to be just fine.



I've seen the 3rd gen bar but i'm curious about how long the stock rubber bushing hold up on those.

 

[xpetecx]

you dont still have the number for that do you? Cause napa told me they couldnt get one.

 

[Turbo Tim 1]

I have the Thuren trac bar, it's only been on about 6 months maybe but it's great. According to the web site it is $270 now and from what I've seen on here it doesn't come painted now. I don't know how long it'll last but it can be rebuilt. Here is the website Thuren bar

 

[biggy238]

Sorry, I don't have a number on the napa piece. It was the first thing I put on my truck. Napa has changed suppliers on some other parts and may have dropped the line that supplied them with their trac bar.

 

[RAndrae]

link

If your going to stay with the stock junk just rebuilt yours with a LUKES link. cheaper and will last longer than any napa stock one.

 

[wcjp]

I'll try to look this weekend. Don't expect a quick response. A friend bought the same style tracbar from Napa 2 months ago with the lifetime warranty. Try a different Napa.

 

[RT66DOC]

Anybody have the adjustable trackbar from Solid Steel?

 

[Dick R]

Just a recommendation , had to repair mine also , that was after the dealer installed a new track bar and that one didn't last many miles at all , I did go with ( Lukes Link ) and that was about 40,000 miles ago , it was not hard to install , just follow the instructions , it is still tight & I saved a lot of money , I would do it again if the need ever came , good luck

 

[jgillott]

From what I have seen, the Thuren trac bar is a very quality piece. I spoke with Don on the phone a couple of weeks ago with the intention of ordering. I'll tell you what, he really impressed me. Apparently there is a clearance issue on some of the '01-'02 trucks that will not allow his bar to work on a stock height truck without the bar hitting the differential cover under compression. He had me go out and measure, and sure enough it wouldn't have worked on mine. Well, to make a long story short, I have a lot of respect for a guy that is strait up enough to tell you not to buy his product. So, in return, I'll highly recommend him here.



I have an '03 bar and bracket on order currently. It's not the way that I wanted to go originally, but it looks to be a good choice.

 

[DBraunig]

If you want a stock replacement, check out Stempf. Page 4 of the summer catalog has lifetime warranty for $60. thats not a bad price. we use their bar a lot at the shop and it is nice quality, never a problem with the warranty either. it still wears out like the stocker, but you won't have buy it again. i think i am going to switch up to the 3rd gen set up next time mine goes loose. here is a link if you want to check it out http://www.stempf.com/catalogs.htm



Dave

 

[BPonci]

Install the dss trac bar upgrade(03)style and be done with it. The install is simple and the results are well worth it.

 

[Bob4x4]

Install the dss trac bar upgrade(03)style and be done with it. The install is simple and the results are well worth it.

I have to agree,I have installed many of these guys. You will not have to spend any money after the first time. I run 35's on my truck and abuse the h____ out of itStill tight as the day it went in.



Bob

 

[Texas Diesel]

Get the Lindstadt kit. Problem solved, use it on 3 trucks and never a problem.



I tried a LukesLink first but the Lindtsadt is way better.

 

[Turbo Tim 1]

Snowplow Owners take NOTE:



For anyone with a snowplow there are some issues to work though with the different trac bar mods. The only one that I know will mount with zero issues is the Thuren. I had modified my plow mounts when I did the DSS stabilizer and didn't want to do it again so I went with the Thuren which uses the stock mounting locations. With the D25 coils I have never had a clearance issue on my 2001 truck with the Thuren.

 

[Regcabguy]

I have to agree,I have installed many of these guys. You will not have to spend any money after the first time. I run 35's on my truck and abuse the h____ out of itStill tight as the day it went in.



Bob

Ditto!! Mine's worked out real well. It's a straight forward one-time solution to a common problem. Still doesn't steer like a 3rd gen. Do the late 2002's w/3rd gen. axles track nicely like the 3rd gen. stock trucks? Anybody had experience with these for comparison purposes?

 

[Bob4x4]

another issue is that you will have interferance using the lukes link type repairs if you are running a Mag hytec diff cover.



I love my old 94... but even with all the upgrades I have done to the steering it still does'nt drive like the 05



The 3rd gen front diff covers have been cast just waiting on the machine work Oo.



Bob

 

[HFreeman]

Tracbar

I live in tinytown USA. Got one at Napa, lifetime warranty, 89 bucks.

 

[Bob4x4]

I live in tinytown USA. Got one at Napa, lifetime warranty, 89 bucks.

That is not the 3rd gen



Bob