Heim track bar question

[Justin]

Still banging my head against the best way to set up my track bar. I'd like to keep both ends threaded if possible to facilitate adjustments, but I'd also like to have some rubber at one end. The lower needs to be a heim due to my setup, but how big a deal is it to have heims on both ends? I like the idea of having some cushion, and may use either a receiver to run a TJ upper control arm bushing or a Johhny Joint. Just not sure how much losing the cushion will really matter, and already have everything to do the trac bar with heims. Thoughts?

[sykanr0ng]

Was a recent thread about this over on CB, most said having a bushing on the upper end for some cushion effect was a much better idea.

There were a few with heims on both ends, claimed no trouble.

I would/will have a bushing top end on mine.

[Viperwolf1]

You want some cushion. Otherwise that upper track bar mount gets pounded. A lot of force on that tiny mount every time you turn the wheels. The cushion will take some of the edge off that force.

[Jesus_man]

Agreed. I'd put a bushing on one end as well. There are some with threaded posts out there.

[crawlercreations]

Not surprisingly I've got heims at both ends on mine. No noticeable difference between the heims and bushings for me but I understand the forces at play so I'd run at least one durable bushing on a more street friendly rig.

[Dirtheadz]

Ive got heims on each end as well. I come from the desert racing world in Las Vegas. Most trophy, class 8 and anything that goes fast utilizes bushing on one end and heim/ johnny on the other. Now that being said, those are fast guys. If I was going to redo mine I would do a screw in poly bushing on the frame side and heim on the axle. Just my $.02

[Digger]

I vote for bushing/rod end or bushing/ball joint.

The cushion contributes to better ride quality, but more importantly it can reduce spike loads in the brackets by 50% or more. I did some experimentation at work with the other engineer's Jeep TJ where we replaced his trackbar bushing with a cross-axis ball joint. The stock TJ trackbar has a conventional stud-type ball joint at the frame already. We had to put the bushing back in after a few weeks. With no compliance in the system he said going down a smooth road was okay, but every pothole, bridge seam, speed bump rattled his truck pretty badly compared to the bushing/ball joint setup.

I am a fan of the Clevite bushing used in JK trackbars. IIRC it matches the width and bolt size of the OE Ford bracket. I can double check when I get home.

[Justin]

Thanks guys, my thinking was that it was a really good idea, but that I might be over-thinking it. Appreciate the confirmation. I ordered this today: http://jksmfg.com/i-9052791-fab-bushing ... -wide.html. It'll let me use a TJ upper control arm bushing at the frame end of the track bar. I'm hoping it isn't too much squish, but I figure it can't be much more than having a thinner bushing at both ends and I'm happy about being able to use something I can get at the parts store. Digger, one of the things I'd do differently is I'd use a factory width track bar bushing. It would have made the process a whole bunch easier, but by the time I realized it I'd already cut the bracket off. Might have had to do it anyway since I moved the axle forward.