Hi all,
I have a '99 5.9l 4wd half ton. I installed a new track bar from Advanced Auto when I installed 2.5" coil spacers. The replacment track bar only lasted me about 10xxx miles before the axle end bushing was completely shot (I had over 4" of play in the steering wheel, and the truck wondered dangerously)



So I went and bought a set of Moog track bar bushings. The problem was solved for about 2xxx miles, now the new bushings are toast and I have even more play in the wheel. It is very difficult to keep my truck on the road, especially if the wind is blowing.

My first question is, why are these parts crapping out so fast? I think I should be able to get a lot more miles on the bushings before they go bad.

Second question is, can somebody point me to a good aftermarket track bar that won't emty my savings?

Third question, is there a track bar drop bracket available for 2nd gen half tons? I would like my axle to be centered under the truck even though I have 2.5" spacers.

Thanks in advance.

 

did you tighten that track bar bolt down really tight? like breaker bar tight? 2000k is not a lot to get out of any bushing. will Moog at least replace it for free?

 

I hear Autozone sells a lifetime warranty one. Check their website

 

I wouldn't trust Autozone any farther than I can throw their track bars. Advance Auto and O'Reillys are much better.

Regardless, both have the Moog bushings and track bars with lifetime warranties. I'd take the bushings back to Advance with your receipt and ask for replacement.

 

HMM having the same driving symptoms ( heavy crosswind freeway driving) with a $400 dollar Don thuren bar installed, ...i didnt have this bad of drivabilty prob before the change, so is it something else??????????

 

I'm not a subject matter expert by any means, nor have I shot and track bar bushings yet, I think.... But is there any chance you guys are running stock or relatively old steering stabilizers? I'm not sure if it could be part of the cause of the problem but I think maybe replacing it could help solve it? I know for a fact that it'll help with the crosswinds on freeways. I just upgraded to a dual setup and it picked up a little bit of the slack on my steering plus crosswinds have almost no effect on me unless they're really f-ing strong. Like I said, I'm not sure but it could be something to look into?

 

JohnnyZJ, yes the bolt was tightened down as far as it would go. A 3/4" breaker bar with a 6ft pipe on the end was used to tighten it.

Maybe I just got a bad bushing or maybe I installed it wrong? (not sure how I would install a bushing wrong, but I amaze myself sometimes) Can't get a free replacement from Adv Auto because it was an in store credit/IOU because I caught them trying to screw me (long story). I didn't get a reciept.

I'm thinking about lifting the truck another 2" sometime in the future, so I'd like to get a track bar that can handle the extra lift. Any suggestions? Is there a drop bracket available? I can't find anything for a half ton on the web.

I actually sideswiped a traffic cone last week because when I turned the wheel the truck kept going straight. This needs to be fixed SOON so I don't end up hitting something worse.

 

I to want to get the dual steering stabilizer bar setup, but waitng on funds, running single skyjacker stabilizer right now and gone thru a couple , been replacing em out with lifetime warranty??

 

Your trac bar may be getting worn out prematurely due to the 2.5" coil spacers you installed on your truck, differing the front geometry of how the trac bar sits. An adjustable trac bar (Thuren I think is the brand) or a trac bar relocation bracket may be the solution to your problem.

This of course is only my opinion. Hopefully others will feed off of this and say if I'm on the money or not.

Link to the relocation bracket:
http://www.suspensionconnection.com/...con/30902.html

Link to the adjustable bar:
http://www.thurenfabrication.com/stocktb.html

 

Its kinda hard ( for me anyway) to tell what went wrong based on your pictures.
First, if the track bar is loose, is the bushing disintegrated or is the bolt moving? Is the metal inner sleeve in the bushing intact or gone?
When you take the track bar out, lets see some pics of the bushing assembly and the bar end itself. I'd also like to see a picture of the mounting hole. If it's the least bit out of round or the bolt has erroded...
The relocation bracket for the 3 inch lift moves the axle towards the passenger side to help recenter it. It doesn't change the bar geometry itself, and doesn't work with a lift over 3 inches. While it's possible the bar is stressed from the lift, I ran a stock bar for almost two years with 2.5 spacers and had no issues.
Recent research informs me that urethane bushings don't work well in the application. Are the moog replacements rubber? Did you have to press them in, or did they pop right in? The stock bushing has an outer metal sleeve, the bushing, and a thick metal inner sleeve. It has to be pressed into place.