Track bar installation

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Sep 1, 2019 | 07:05 AM

steelandspeed

Thread Starter

Mountain Pass

Joined: Feb 2019

Posts: 167

Likes: 5

Track bar installation

Guys,
So I've got my track bar out to replace the bushing on both ends... it's a stock one, got the old bushings out, fitted new Energy ones, went back into both brackets snuggly by hand... bolt hole was off by 1/4", got it centred and job's done-ish...
All torqued up and my steering wheel is off by a fair bit now...
I have not touched any of drag link adjustments, only disconnected the drag link ball joint at the passenger side and moved out of the way to access the bottom track bar bolt, and moved it back in place afterwards.
So was wondering if the the track bar has a left/right or back/front position? Have I fitted it back to front or something that resulted in the steering wheel being miss-aligned?
Many thanks

Sep 1, 2019 | 09:28 AM

pirate4x4_camo

Lead Driver

Joined: Apr 2011

Posts: 8,259

Likes: 346

From: Northern California

likely your steering wheel was centered with worn out trsck bar bushings, your new bushings changed the effective center to center length. simply recenter the wheel

Sep 1, 2019 | 09:35 AM

steelandspeed

Thread Starter

Mountain Pass

Joined: Feb 2019

Posts: 167

Likes: 5

Hey @pirate4x4_camo, tks a lot!
That explains it!

Sep 1, 2019 | 10:28 AM

Sous

FTE Leadership Emeritus

Joined: May 2014

Posts: 27,352

Likes: 5,946

From: Lake Hartwell, GA

@steelandspeed The pictures are gone from this post in the 7.3L PSD Tech Folder, but the words may still be of some use to you. Maybe not... Either way, I wanted to give you advice from others many years ago.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/7...ml#post6587322

Sep 1, 2019 | 10:38 AM

steelandspeed

Thread Starter

Mountain Pass

Joined: Feb 2019

Posts: 167

Likes: 5

Hi @Sous
Many thanks!
I'm familiar with this, it's exactly how I did. I also have a Jeep XJ which I learned it from few years ago.
And even without pics, it's very well written and simple to follow post.
Tks for taking the time to share it

Sep 1, 2019 | 12:32 PM

truckeemtnfords

Logistics Pro

Joined: Nov 2006

Posts: 3,674

Likes: 367

From: Fallon,NV & Bainbridge OH

I can tell you unless you have the drop mounts for your track bar, it is to short for a 6" lift with 37's. The stock bar with stock mounts will pull the diff over and your truck will be crabbing. Hopefully you have the drop mounts for it.

Sep 1, 2019 | 01:30 PM

steelandspeed

Thread Starter

Mountain Pass

Joined: Feb 2019

Posts: 167

Likes: 5

Hi @truckeemtnfords, tks for the input.
And yes, I do have the drop mount already installed, it was part of the lift kit.

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Sep 1, 2019 | 07:48 PM

DieselDenny

Cargo Master

Joined: Nov 2005

Posts: 2,766

Likes: 56

From: East Tawas, MI

I did the same thing you did. Had it aligned and the shaft centered and the world was good. I've got noticeably good tire wear out of my exact same 2nd set of Firestone after the procedure. Can't imagine how long we both suffered. Being my first super, thought it was just personality. (I've had it since it was a baby E99). Tells me that everytime I had it aligned many times in my years, they were dynamically changing everything to wear points that were just worn to a point that they felt didn't necessarily need replacement at the moment, More or less, just did an alignment tune-up.

That explains the new bushings, the centering and the bolt offset.

Denny