Steve Williams
Caught the Bug
Last weekend I had the fun and educational experience of getting my JK off the Santa Catalina Mountains in Arizona and over the sixteen remaining miles of the Charouleau Gap trail with no track bar. The bracket snapped off of the axle almost halfway through the trail and left a pretty good mess under the Jeep.
I was out with my local club, the Tucson Roughriders, and we were on a trail repair run to fill in some washed out areas of the Gap. There were 7 Jeeps on the run and luckily for me lots of experience in the group. The Rough Riders never leave anyone behind so we removed the remaining bolts holding the track bar and steering stabilizer, got them out of the way, and attached two crisscrossed ratchet straps to hold the axle to the frame (some pics below) and drove her very gently the remaining way over the gap and finally back to pavement. Trying to limp her home, I got up to about 10 mph, hit a pebble and got a whole new understanding of “death wobble”, she just about came apart in my hands. We parked her and AAA took over from there and 55 miles later we got home in time for supper.
Lessons learned;
So we’re talking about my 2011 JKU Sport that started off with stock front end and D30, she answers to “Ruby” (because of her color not her model) and has 90K well earned miles under her belt. I had installed a RK track bar about a year ago and a new beefed up tie rod and drag link three weeks ago. When you install a new component, follow the load back to the frame. That new 2 inch thick solid steel part won’t do you any good if its attached to sheet metal. If you’re running a D30, go out tonight and check the track bar bracket where it attaches to the axle, if it’s bent or the weld is cracked, replace it with a stronger bracket tomorrow. If it isn’t bent or cracked, it will, it’s just stamped sheet metal, so plan on upgrading the bracket soon, real soon. If that sucker breaks off on the highway you’d be in a world of hurt.
This bent and broken bracket is not what you want to see.
For about two weeks, I had noticed that the steering wheel wouldn’t quite stay centered, even after the drag link was adjusted. It was just a couple of degrees but it was off. I should have known then that something was bending but I didn’t see it. That morning, on the 60 mile run out to start the trail, I twice noticed a strange little bump steer condition that I had never felt before. She took just a bit longer than normal to settle down after hitting a small bump. I now understand the steering stabilizer was not completely doing its job because the bracket was bending or one side was broken. Ruby was trying to tell me something wasn’t right, but it was dark and early, I hadn’t had enough coffee, and it was only a little bit different than normal. Heck it’s a Jeep, something is always making a weird noise or acting strange, right? Wrong my friends, when it feels different, do yourself a favor and find out why.
Always carry two ratchet straps, I didn’t carry them but my buddies in the club did and they got me home. The first thing I did that night when I got home was order 6.
It took about 6 hours to get off the trail with the straps acting as a track bar. She didn’t drive normally but you can get her off the mountain if you take your time. It was easier to drive by looking out the window at the front driver tire. There was very little feedback from the steering wheel and it was impossible to tell if the straps were disconnected until you were headed in an unintended direction. They broke a few times on the tougher rocks/obstacles so we found the best method was to have a friend leading and looking in his mirror to check on the straps and me. Also learned that when you lose some steering control input you can sort of surf the rocks and use the rocks on the trail to point the tires the way you want them to go. Lots of fun, but not recommended on a mountainside trail with a couple hundred foot drop-off.
Two crisscrossed straps got us home. We tied the driver sway bar link attach to the frame on the passenger side and vice versa.
The axle hangs a little funny and she kind of goes where she wants too but it works.
The steering wheel was upside down more than it was right side up and after 4 hours bouncing over rocks that big Jeep logo in the center really does say “Beer” if you stare at it long enough.
Better yet, get that Dynatrac Pro Rock 44 installed. The gusseted track bar bracket material is more than 3/16’s thick. Mine is going in the first week in April when I get back from EJS.
I hope that helps somebody, especially when your Jeep is trying to tell you something. Cheers.
I was out with my local club, the Tucson Roughriders, and we were on a trail repair run to fill in some washed out areas of the Gap. There were 7 Jeeps on the run and luckily for me lots of experience in the group. The Rough Riders never leave anyone behind so we removed the remaining bolts holding the track bar and steering stabilizer, got them out of the way, and attached two crisscrossed ratchet straps to hold the axle to the frame (some pics below) and drove her very gently the remaining way over the gap and finally back to pavement. Trying to limp her home, I got up to about 10 mph, hit a pebble and got a whole new understanding of “death wobble”, she just about came apart in my hands. We parked her and AAA took over from there and 55 miles later we got home in time for supper.
Lessons learned;
So we’re talking about my 2011 JKU Sport that started off with stock front end and D30, she answers to “Ruby” (because of her color not her model) and has 90K well earned miles under her belt. I had installed a RK track bar about a year ago and a new beefed up tie rod and drag link three weeks ago. When you install a new component, follow the load back to the frame. That new 2 inch thick solid steel part won’t do you any good if its attached to sheet metal. If you’re running a D30, go out tonight and check the track bar bracket where it attaches to the axle, if it’s bent or the weld is cracked, replace it with a stronger bracket tomorrow. If it isn’t bent or cracked, it will, it’s just stamped sheet metal, so plan on upgrading the bracket soon, real soon. If that sucker breaks off on the highway you’d be in a world of hurt.
This bent and broken bracket is not what you want to see.
For about two weeks, I had noticed that the steering wheel wouldn’t quite stay centered, even after the drag link was adjusted. It was just a couple of degrees but it was off. I should have known then that something was bending but I didn’t see it. That morning, on the 60 mile run out to start the trail, I twice noticed a strange little bump steer condition that I had never felt before. She took just a bit longer than normal to settle down after hitting a small bump. I now understand the steering stabilizer was not completely doing its job because the bracket was bending or one side was broken. Ruby was trying to tell me something wasn’t right, but it was dark and early, I hadn’t had enough coffee, and it was only a little bit different than normal. Heck it’s a Jeep, something is always making a weird noise or acting strange, right? Wrong my friends, when it feels different, do yourself a favor and find out why.
Always carry two ratchet straps, I didn’t carry them but my buddies in the club did and they got me home. The first thing I did that night when I got home was order 6.
It took about 6 hours to get off the trail with the straps acting as a track bar. She didn’t drive normally but you can get her off the mountain if you take your time. It was easier to drive by looking out the window at the front driver tire. There was very little feedback from the steering wheel and it was impossible to tell if the straps were disconnected until you were headed in an unintended direction. They broke a few times on the tougher rocks/obstacles so we found the best method was to have a friend leading and looking in his mirror to check on the straps and me. Also learned that when you lose some steering control input you can sort of surf the rocks and use the rocks on the trail to point the tires the way you want them to go. Lots of fun, but not recommended on a mountainside trail with a couple hundred foot drop-off.
Two crisscrossed straps got us home. We tied the driver sway bar link attach to the frame on the passenger side and vice versa.
The axle hangs a little funny and she kind of goes where she wants too but it works.
The steering wheel was upside down more than it was right side up and after 4 hours bouncing over rocks that big Jeep logo in the center really does say “Beer” if you stare at it long enough.
Better yet, get that Dynatrac Pro Rock 44 installed. The gusseted track bar bracket material is more than 3/16’s thick. Mine is going in the first week in April when I get back from EJS.
I hope that helps somebody, especially when your Jeep is trying to tell you something. Cheers.
