A lot of lifts and aftermarket companies are re using the factory fully threaded bolts instead of changing them to a same size bolt with a shoulder and it’s a big mistake !! Great video 👍👍👍👍
Nice install, I put the same ones on my 2018 JLU. I liked the way you measured the centering of the axle better than my way. I wish I had seen your video first
That MC duratrak bar CAUSED me massive death wobble and I'd always had a steering nibble since installing it. Another manufacturers track bar resolved the issue. Not sure if it was a manufacturer defect or what the cause. I plan to rebuild the joints on it...
I'm happy to hear you got some useful information out of that. Thanks for the subscription and don't forget to like too!😆 I'm 5'11 and 260 and I prefer to call the Gladiator interior intimate rather than crowded. But I'm perfectly comfortable most of the time. Feel free to check out some of the other things we're doing with it, my wife loves ours too and it's never in the driveway 😏 Cheers!
Are you sure that is a factory track bar? It looks like the Rough Country one. Not to say you are wrong, it very well could be, but my 2021 has a non adjustable hollow tube, and that thing looks solid. I have not seen anything different than mine on any JL or JT. Very nice if it is factory.
Now you've got me wondering 🤔😆. All I can say is I did not purchase or install any adjustable track bar until I decided on the metal cloak. There is an outside chance, a very slight possibility, that the dealership installed it when I had the TSB executed for the steering gear box change. It was intended to stop the wandering nature and it replaced the aluminum gearbox with a steel one. But I cannot imagine the dealership would go to that expense. It was my alignment guy that pointed out that it even had an adjustable track bar and it appears he may have actually made an adjustment as it seems to have teeth marks from some kind of tool. Thanks for watching, cheers!
Yeah, that's a tough one sometimes. I have a local Napa automotive parts store that's been well established and happen to have some of the hardware that I need. 9:16 seems to be only used in automotive because you cannot find it at Lowe's or Home Depot or even Ace hardware. The other alternative is to buy it on Amazon but it's sometimes tough to find in the size you need and you have to buy a whole box of them for big money rather than just spending a few bucks per bolt. So two choices I guess, find a well-established Napa auto parts store or maybe a tractor supply store if they don't have it they may be able to get it for you alternatively you can order it from Amazon. Good luck thanks for watching 🤙🏼
Sir... This a great video tyvm... My question is... Exactly what size is the jam nut... The three jam nut wrenches available at Metal Cloak are not the correct size i believe... Thank You in advance
I'm not sure myself. All I know is that I didn't have the correct size wrench either! I didn't bother to measure it, it's in the 30mm range I think, so I just grabbed my biggest crescent wrench and reefed on it while tapping on it with a dead blow hammer. It's plenty tight! I check it whenever I do a torque check. Even if it loosens up the setting won't change. Get it tight as you can and put a paint line across it and just keep an eye on it 👍🏼
@@JMSynthetics your choice really. I think I went with 18 threads per inch but I'm sure you can go with 12 threads per inch and be just fine just use good nylock nuts. And make sure they're grade eight bolts. Hope this helps.
No not at all. I'm am familiar with the steer smarts yeti setup and I was going to upgrade my JK with that steering system. The nice thing about the new Gladiator is that it already has a very Stout steering system. I just needed a better track bar. I'm absolutely certain that you will like the yeti system. Cheers!
Nice Job, and thanks for the info, I was going to order a YETI Adjustable Track Bar but it's a adjustable in the center, now I'm thinking twice made sense what you said, how long are the new bolt you needed
3 inch will be about right, if you can find them. Any longer and you won't be able to get a wrench on the axle side. YETI makes a good product but I'll bet it's more expensive. Good Luck!
No, loctite is not really necessary just put a good cinch on that jam nut. It's not going to come out of there or move. It can't back out if you think about it because it's bolted to the mount on the axle end. I suppose it couldn't hurt to put some blue loctite on that jam nut though...after thinking about it for a minute 😆
For this particular application I used 3 inch bolts. And yes they are a little difficult to find. Most home supply stores don't carry them even in their vast hardware stocks. I finally had to scrounge some up at a local auto parts store like Napa or have them order them for you. For some reason. 9\16 grade 8 bolts are tough to find. You might try Amazon but you may have to buy them in bulk rather than a few at a time. Don't forget the washers on each end of the bolt. Other suspension components can be upgraded too but they may need to be a little longer or shorter depending on the application. I change them out as I do upgrades. For instance, I recently got some metal cloak upper control arms and when I change those I will upgrade the bolts then. Good luck on your build and happy holidays!
110 foot pounds is about right for lug nuts but not the suspension parts. 52 ft lb sounds more like shock mount bolts. Both ends of the track bar should be 125 ft lb. Same goes for the upper and lower control arm bolts. Thanks for watching, Cheers!
Yes that formula works out perfectly for the track bar on your Jeep. You should be able to buy 9/16 inch washers to match the bolt size. No issues whatsoever. Make sure you mark the heads of the bolts with a paint pen and just keep an eye on them. I have had no movement or loosening at all since I installed them. Good luck!
@@blackpearlvoyager4174 did it today and it went perfect!! Thank you for the video, the new bolts are way better than the stock ones, and the coarse partial threads make me feel better than the stock full threads
Not a factory track bar. I have a 2021 JT and lifted it and swapped the track bar. Stock bars are not adjustable. Only the drag link is adjustable. Was your Jeep used I assume?
Nope brand new off the showroom floor. As a matter of fact they tried to sell me a different one but I caught him on it 😆. You got me wondering now I've had it in for repairs twice now and someone must have replaced it without letting me know. Either the dealership when they did the steering box upgrade or the repair shop. I'm going to go back a few videos and have a look. Thanks for your input. 🤙🏻
I just checked and in September of last year I had it in for repairs and the adjustable track bar is on there 🤷♂️. It had to be the dealership, probably had one laying around, and they put it on there as part of the steering box upgrade I guess?🤷♂️
@@blackpearlvoyager4174 Very interesting. Wonder why they would use a not OEM track bar. Looked like your steering damper wasn't stock either. Nice work and video though.
That is actually a MetalCloak front track bar. They make some really good quality stuff at competitive prices. Really can't go wrong. Thanks for watching 🤙🏼
Oops, sorry, I should have read your comment more carefully 😬. I think you are correct about the track bar I replaced 👍🏼. Still don't know where it came from 🤔
Haha! That's my Wii Fit age 😆😆 I just turned 70 last month 😏 Still feeling great! 😁 Thanks for the compliment and for watching, I hope you got some useful information. Cheers 🤙🏼
@@blackpearlvoyager4174 oh really, Happy Belated Birthday! and thank you for the useful information, i just installed the same trackbar on my JL, unfortunately, i did not follow through with using 9/16 bolts, instead used the stock bolts and torqued it to 130lbs.. Most annoying part was the metal flakes from grinding the trackbar axle mount, it got all over me the place
You are correct my friend. There is no shortage of different styles and brands of track bars for the for the Jeeps. This was the best quality at a price under $190 that I was able to find. You can spend three, four or $500 on a track bar but that's just not me. Thanks for watching and commenting!
I believe they come in a variety of threads, but I'm pretty sure the ones I used were 18 threads per inch. I'm not sure that it really matters a great deal. They're grade Eight bolts and should be able to withstand high torque values like the 125 foot pounds required. Just make sure you use nylock nuts or add lock washers. 9/16 grade 8 bolts are a little hard to come by. So whenever I was digging around at the local Napa auto parts store if I found them, I just matched them up with some nylock nuts that fit and didn't worry too much about the thread count. I've had no issues so far. I just inspected them the other day and the paint lines are all still matched up. No movement at all. Hope this helps. 🤙🏼
Not all hero's wear capes :)
😆👍🏼
A lot of lifts and aftermarket companies are re using the factory fully threaded bolts instead of changing them to a same size bolt with a shoulder and it’s a big mistake !! Great video 👍👍👍👍
Nice install, I put the same ones on my 2018 JLU. I liked the way you measured the centering of the axle better than my way.
I wish I had seen your video first
great tip on the new hardware size
That MC duratrak bar CAUSED me massive death wobble and I'd always had a steering nibble since installing it. Another manufacturers track bar resolved the issue. Not sure if it was a manufacturer defect or what the cause. I plan to rebuild the joints on it...
Always nice to have a Light bulb 💡 Moment.
Not too old?
Great video man. Gave you a sub. Just got my Gladiator and love it....little small for me..lol..but the wife loves it.
I'm happy to hear you got some useful information out of that. Thanks for the subscription and don't forget to like too!😆
I'm 5'11 and 260 and I prefer to call the Gladiator interior intimate rather than crowded. But I'm perfectly comfortable most of the time. Feel free to check out some of the other things we're doing with it, my wife loves ours too and it's never in the driveway 😏 Cheers!
@@blackpearlvoyager4174 o yea....neither is mine. I am 6'4" and 380 so its a tight fit...lol-gave a like also
Are you sure that is a factory track bar? It looks like the Rough Country one. Not to say you are wrong, it very well could be, but my 2021 has a non adjustable hollow tube, and that thing looks solid. I have not seen anything different than mine on any JL or JT. Very nice if it is factory.
Now you've got me wondering 🤔😆. All I can say is I did not purchase or install any adjustable track bar until I decided on the metal cloak. There is an outside chance, a very slight possibility, that the dealership installed it when I had the TSB executed for the steering gear box change. It was intended to stop the wandering nature and it replaced the aluminum gearbox with a steel one. But I cannot imagine the dealership would go to that expense. It was my alignment guy that pointed out that it even had an adjustable track bar and it appears he may have actually made an adjustment as it seems to have teeth marks from some kind of tool. Thanks for watching, cheers!
Yeah, that's a tough one sometimes. I have a local Napa automotive parts store that's been well established and happen to have some of the hardware that I need. 9:16 seems to be only used in automotive because you cannot find it at Lowe's or Home Depot or even Ace hardware. The other alternative is to buy it on Amazon but it's sometimes tough to find in the size you need and you have to buy a whole box of them for big money rather than just spending a few bucks per bolt.
So two choices I guess, find a well-established Napa auto parts store or maybe a tractor supply store if they don't have it they may be able to get it for you alternatively you can order it from Amazon. Good luck thanks for watching 🤙🏼
That's a Rough Country track bar for sure!!..that bar came with my 3.5 lift kit I'm switching out for mc
Where did you get the 9.16 hardware from
Sir... This a great video tyvm... My question is... Exactly what size is the jam nut... The three jam nut wrenches available at Metal Cloak are not the correct size i believe... Thank You in advance
I'm not sure myself. All I know is that I didn't have the correct size wrench either! I didn't bother to measure it, it's in the 30mm range I think, so I just grabbed my biggest crescent wrench and reefed on it while tapping on it with a dead blow hammer. It's plenty tight! I check it whenever I do a torque check. Even if it loosens up the setting won't change. Get it tight as you can and put a paint line across it and just keep an eye on it 👍🏼
Great video! What were the recommended bolt sizes for both the axle and frame?
9/16 x 3
@@blackpearlvoyager4174 fine or course?
@@JMSynthetics your choice really. I think I went with 18 threads per inch but I'm sure you can go with 12 threads per inch and be just fine just use good nylock nuts. And make sure they're grade eight bolts. Hope this helps.
Nice shirt Ted... haha.
Do you know the size of the jam nut? No idea if I have a wrench big enough to tighten it. Still waiting for mine to be delivered. Thanks.
I don't know off the top of my head but if you have a 12-in crescent wrench it will definitely work! That's what I used. 😎
So in your opinion the steer smarts yeti is weaker than this one? I always wondered the same but my fríe d keeps. Swearing by those yeti bars.
No not at all. I'm am familiar with the steer smarts yeti setup and I was going to upgrade my JK with that steering system.
The nice thing about the new Gladiator is that it already has a very Stout steering system. I just needed a better track bar.
I'm absolutely certain that you will like the yeti system. Cheers!
Nice Job, and thanks for the info, I was going to order a YETI Adjustable Track Bar but it's a adjustable in the center, now I'm thinking twice made sense what you said, how long are the new bolt you needed
3 inch will be about right, if you can find them. Any longer and you won't be able to get a wrench on the axle side. YETI makes a good product but I'll bet it's more expensive. Good Luck!
Did you use any blue or red loctite on the adjustable end? Thanks.
No, loctite is not really necessary just put a good cinch on that jam nut. It's not going to come out of there or move. It can't back out if you think about it because it's bolted to the mount on the axle end. I suppose it couldn't hurt to put some blue loctite on that jam nut though...after thinking about it for a minute 😆
where did you get the bolts? and what was the exact size for the 9/16 bolts?
For this particular application I used 3 inch bolts. And yes they are a little difficult to find. Most home supply stores don't carry them even in their vast hardware stocks. I finally had to scrounge some up at a local auto parts store like Napa or have them order them for you. For some reason. 9\16 grade 8 bolts are tough to find. You might try Amazon but you may have to buy them in bulk rather than a few at a time.
Don't forget the washers on each end of the bolt. Other suspension components can be upgraded too but they may need to be a little longer or shorter depending on the application. I change them out as I do upgrades. For instance, I recently got some metal cloak upper control arms and when I change those I will upgrade the bolts then. Good luck on your build and happy holidays!
What's the torque value, found 110 ft lb and 52 ft lb on the JT forum. Thanks
110 foot pounds is about right for lug nuts but not the suspension parts. 52 ft lb sounds more like shock mount bolts.
Both ends of the track bar should be 125 ft lb. Same goes for the upper and lower control arm bolts.
Thanks for watching, Cheers!
So it’s 2, 9/16 x 3 grade 8 bolts, 2 washers (what size), and Nylock nuts? And no issues?
Yes that formula works out perfectly for the track bar on your Jeep. You should be able to buy 9/16 inch washers to match the bolt size. No issues whatsoever. Make sure you mark the heads of the bolts with a paint pen and just keep an eye on them. I have had no movement or loosening at all since I installed them. Good luck!
@@blackpearlvoyager4174 did it today and it went perfect!! Thank you for the video, the new bolts are way better than the stock ones, and the coarse partial threads make me feel better than the stock full threads
Not a factory track bar. I have a 2021 JT and lifted it and swapped the track bar. Stock bars are not adjustable. Only the drag link is adjustable. Was your Jeep used I assume?
Nope brand new off the showroom floor. As a matter of fact they tried to sell me a different one but I caught him on it 😆.
You got me wondering now I've had it in for repairs twice now and someone must have replaced it without letting me know. Either the dealership when they did the steering box upgrade or the repair shop. I'm going to go back a few videos and have a look. Thanks for your input. 🤙🏻
I just checked and in September of last year I had it in for repairs and the adjustable track bar is on there 🤷♂️. It had to be the dealership, probably had one laying around, and they put it on there as part of the steering box upgrade I guess?🤷♂️
@@blackpearlvoyager4174 Very interesting. Wonder why they would use a not OEM track bar. Looked like your steering damper wasn't stock either. Nice work and video though.
@@scotteramsey yeah I bashed the steering stabilizer pretty good on Hell's revenge earlier in the year 😆😆
Did you use any washers?
Yes. Each end needs 2. 1 behind the head of the bolt, 1 behind the nut. Thanks for watching and good luck! Happy Thanksgiving 🦃
That's a rough country adjustable trackbar.
That is actually a MetalCloak front track bar. They make some really good quality stuff at competitive prices. Really can't go wrong. Thanks for watching 🤙🏼
Oops, sorry, I should have read your comment more carefully 😬. I think you are correct about the track bar I replaced 👍🏼. Still don't know where it came from 🤔
Flag nut, not wing nut.
Correct. Couldn't recall the name at the time... (ex-pothead)😆
68? more like 55 my friend
Haha! That's my Wii Fit age 😆😆
I just turned 70 last month 😏 Still feeling great! 😁
Thanks for the compliment and for watching, I hope you got some useful information. Cheers 🤙🏼
@@blackpearlvoyager4174 oh really, Happy Belated Birthday! and thank you for the useful information, i just installed the same trackbar on my JL, unfortunately, i did not follow through with using 9/16 bolts, instead used the stock bolts and torqued it to 130lbs.. Most annoying part was the metal flakes from grinding the trackbar axle mount, it got all over me the place
There is all kinds of adjustable track bars for jeeps lol. Plus that metalcloak bar is wayyy overpriced for what it is.
You are correct my friend. There is no shortage of different styles and brands of track bars for the for the Jeeps. This was the best quality at a price under $190 that I was able to find. You can spend three, four or $500 on a track bar but that's just not me. Thanks for watching and commenting!
are those bolts fine thread?
I believe they come in a variety of threads, but I'm pretty sure the ones I used were 18 threads per inch. I'm not sure that it really matters a great deal. They're grade Eight bolts and should be able to withstand high torque values like the 125 foot pounds required. Just make sure you use nylock nuts or add lock washers.
9/16 grade 8 bolts are a little hard to come by. So whenever I was digging around at the local Napa auto parts store if I found them, I just matched them up with some nylock nuts that fit and didn't worry too much about the thread count. I've had no issues so far. I just inspected them the other day and the paint lines are all still matched up. No movement at all. Hope this helps. 🤙🏼