James

Reviews

James has reviewed 3 Product(s).

Misunderstood Product
MDK210 6 years ago
A lot of people attribute 'death wobble' with a front trackbar but you should really be doing research when it comes to steering components. Having a real world lift, not advertised, of 3in or more will throw off your steering geometry and while the trackbar will recenter the body over the axle it's not a problem solver. Getting your trackbar and draglink as parallel to one another is the key. My 3.5in lift only had my body/axle off by .75in which isn't bad but the angle at which my draglink and trackbar were at made steering less than optimal which resulted in occasional bump steer. In order to get your steering geometry closer to stock after a +3in lift you'll need an adjustable trackbar, draglink flip, and trackbar relocation bracket to raise the trackbar in order to get it parallel with the flipped draglink. You could do a pitman arm drop but a draglink flip is preferred. If your body/axle is off center by a 1/2in or more on one side I would consider an adjustable trackbar simply to reduce the strain on the stock trackbar/brackets from wearing out or breaking but if you are lifting your Jeep to higher levels that you have this problem then you'll want all the stuff I've mentioned regardless and installing one without the other can make your steering worse. There's a big difference between death wobble and bump steer, most people with newer vehicles and low miles have bump steer symptoms since nothing has had time to get worn out. Once a true death wobble is triggered you have to come to a complete stop unlike bump steer where it will typically go away after a few seconds. BTW, make sure you have a torque wrench that goes to 125 ft lbs for trackbar bolts. A lot of times folks just don't have stuff torqued properly.
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Teraflex Forged Adjustable Trackbar - Front

Description Says it All
MDK210 6 years ago
The description for this product is pretty spot on so there's not much to add. Beefy, greaseable, easy to install, and made in the USA. I don't understand why companies still make top mount draglinks you have to drill out the knuckle when the only trick is to have this tapered stud that Steer Smarts provides which costs them a few cents to make I'm sure. They do offer different styles if you've already drilled the knuckle on a previous setup which is nice of them but mine was OE. Do yourself a favor and get a pickle fork for ball joints at your local autoparts store for about $10. My Jeep only had 15K miles and has had an easy life but the ball joint attached to the pitman arm wasn't coming out regardless of how much vibration I tried to create with a small sledge hammer. The ball joint nut on the passenger side knuckle requires a minimum of 105 ft lbs so you'll need a torque wrench capable of that and in order to access both turn the steering wheel all the way to the passenger side. A deep socket 21mm 6-point is necessary for the passenger side ball joint as well. YouTube's TrailRecon has a good video but they don't talk about the deep socket. I believe you torque the pitman arm down to 70 ft lbs and you can manage to do this with a regular 21mm socket but it takes some patience and depending on the head size of your torque wrench maybe a tight fit. I have the Kobalt 1/2" torque wrench and managed it. Everything goes smooth if you have the right tools...
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Steer Smarts Yeti XD Top Mount Draglink

Fitment Issues but Quality
MDK210 6 years ago
I would encourage you to watch the video on their website for installation. The instructions and video mention drilling out the smaller holes next to the main bolt on the bottom part of the bracket but I didn't realize it at first, not a big deal but still. The next issue was the axle u-bolt as the ends were flared a little so getting them to run through the two holes behind the alternate SS moutning point it was almost impossible...did I mention this is one of the last steps after you've bolted everything down ha. I unbolted everything that was attached to the bracket and installed the u-bolt first which made life easier but I still had to bend the u-bolt ends some. Despite those issues the instructional video is 4/5 stars, there's two different mounting mounts for your SS so it doesn't hit the diff cover and I like how there's two different mounting points for your trackbar. I have JKS quicker disconnects for +3" lift and was still able to use them with the additional hardware provided albeit I had to shorten them all the way to get 0 degrees on my swaybar. Remember to completely remove the lower JKS disconnect hardware on the passenger side before the bracket is installed. A bit pricey for a relocation bracket but I'm hoping this is one I'll never have to weld onto the axle.
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Steer Smarts YETI XD Track Bar Relocation Bracket

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