Trac Bar Delete

[KC87Wagoneer]

I have read about a few folks who have stated they deleted the front trac bar. Why would you do this? Mine is currently off and wondering why some removed it and did not put it back on. Did you instal something different? What are the benefits? What are the risks?

Thanks
KC

[Tad]

That showed up in about '85 maybe '84.
Pretty redundant on a leaf spring rig, necessary for coil suspensions.
You can toss it and never notice the difference for the most part.

[csuengr]

I have one on the front of my leaf sprung CJ. No way in heck would I drive down the road without it. It greatly improves steering and handling plus eliminates bump steer. Ford used it on the front of leaf sprung Super Duties. Good enough reason for me.

[nc wagoneer]

I have one on the front of my leaf sprung CJ. No way in heck would I drive down the road without it. It greatly improves steering and handling plus eliminates bump steer. Ford used it on the front of leaf sprung Super Duties. Good enough reason for me.

And without em its really fun, with death wobble kicking in and out anywhere from 35-70mph on a 8500lb truck! My dads 87 f350 has it missing and luckily its mainly a farm truck or it'd be alot worse.

[muddy]

In a nut shell, the track bar (A.K.A. panhard bar) is supposed to keep the axle centered, side to side, under the vehicle.
As mentioned earlier, this is a must with a link and coil type suspension (unless the links are triangulated of course).

Leaf spring suspensions were used for many, many years WITHOUT track bars, and actually do a pretty good job of locating the axle.
And in stock form, or even slightly lifted, they really aren't needed on FSJ's.

Here's the catch though, If your spring and/or shackle bushings are worn or you have really tall lift springs, this can allow the axle to shift side to side(especially when cornering) if you do not have a track bar.

But, on the flip side of that coin, if you want to off road, the track bar actually limits how much your front axle can flex. Because the track bar attaches to the frame on one side, and the axle on the other; as the suspension compresses and extends, the track bar pushes and pulls the axle from side to side, which creates binding in the springs.

I've had several (lifted) leaf spring vehicles without front track bars, and they all drove and handled just fine. However, given that the springs and bushings on my wagoneer are stock, and worn out, I will be leaving the track bar until I go through the suspension and replace all the worn parts.

[fulsizjeep]

After I put 4" lift on, I left them off unless I was making a drive towing a load. Towing was the only place I could tell any difference.

What you do with a Super Duty doesn't apply here.

[csuengr]

I was using Super Duties as an example. S-10 and S-15's with the ZR2 package came with trac bars on the rear. I would love to put one on the rear of my Cherokee, along with a sway bar. I have checked with my CJ, and articulation isn't much different with or without it.

[fulsizjeep]

The track bars on a FSJ do affect articulation and have much better travel without them. S10, CJ and Super Duty do not make much example because they are not FSJ is what I am saying.

[carnuck]

panhard bars with leaf springs are for handling with soft spring bushings. Earlier rigs had solid bushings on the leaf eyes to control sway, but lazy people didn't grease them which caused excessive sway as they wore. Modern vehicles travel faster than older ones so tighter suspension is needed to handle the faster corners. Kids nowadays would freak if they tried to corner in a vehicle with body sway. Us old guys are used to it and know how to use it to our advantage.
it's an FSJ, not a drift car!

[KC87Wagoneer]

So I have replaced my track bar bushings. I drove it around for about a week without the trac bar. No death wobble, just a lot of sway. Rides much better with it on. Hoping the new bushings and bolts hold in place to stop the knock I was having.

On the axle side there is a small bracket between the trac bar and the bracket on the axle. This was not held in place with anything other than the bolt that ran through the bushing. There were two small wholes in it but nothing holding it to the larger bracket. Didn't look like a weld failed. Any direction on the correct mounting method of this smaller inner bracket?

Cliff

[FSJunkie]

Wagoneers got track bars because the soccer moms driving them in the 80's complained about their handling without them.

Before 1974, Wagoneers not only didn't have track bars, they didn't have sway bars, either! The springs were stiffer.

I daily drive one of these suspensions and love it. It rides smoother than the later models and soaks up rough roads like no other. It does tend to wander in crosswinds, quick maneuvers result in lots of wallowing, and freeway clovers are my arch-enemy. She just doesn't like to be thrown around. The spring and shackle bushings are 41 years old and I'm sure that allows things to shift around worse than they used to.

Pretty typical handling for he day. Handles differently, but about as good as my parent's Rambler Wagon and my aunt's Marlin. Those things understeer like heck. At least when you point a Wagoneer in the direction wou want it to go, it'll go there, just with a lot of body sway.