Rusty's Track Bar & Mount
Repair and reinforcement

by Andreas Ritterbusch
Posted: April 22, 2001
Last Revision: July 30, 2002

After my OEM track bar mount started to show some wear, I decided to replace it with one of the track bars that come with a drop-down bracket. I opted for Rusty's Off-Road track bar and drop-down bracket. Below are some images. After some time the welds cracked and I was rather disappointed by the superficial welds holding this bracket together. I considered sending it back, but decided against that.
Instead I added some heavy reinforcements to this bracket to make it stronger than anything currently out there for sale.

Warning:
Some time ago I noticed that the welds (critical welds!) are starting to crack and to separate on this track bar drop-mount made by Rusty's Off-Road.
This could be potentially turn into a serious issue and probably has been resolved by the manufacturer in the meantime. Nevertheless, if you own one of these, make sure you keep a close eye on this problem area.
Viewed from the driver's side wheel well. The bracket's finish is basically gone already (couple of months after installation).
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Viewed from underneath. The drop is approximately 5" measured from the frame rail (uni frame) to the center of the bolt.
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Another view from underneath. The inner width of the bracket is 1-9/16".
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Cracked welds (circles).
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Detail of the cracked welds (circles).
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I started out with a 4" by 12", 1/4" thick mild steel plate. I drilled some holes in it and welded that plate on with a couple of rosette welds (to help avoid warpage).
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The left over triangular pieces were a perfect fit (green arrows) on the lower part of the bracket. Left arrow showing where one of the triangular pieces was removed.
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After the welding some rough grinding and finishing.
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Another view.
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Another view.
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Another view.
Note: A weld was added after the image was taken.
The triangular reinforcement is welded front and back, not just on the front with the back side weld missing as shown here.
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Another view.
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Painted with real paint. A bit rough, but now it is very strong. The welds were welded with penetration in mind rather than looks. Quite obvious, isn't it?
I rounded off all edges in case the front coil springs rub against it. Here I had the front coils removed to fine tune my front suspension (i.e. stop tires from rubbing and stop front drive shaft from bashing into my Borla header. The two hockey pucks and extended MJ stop did the trick).
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Another view.
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Initially I recommended this bracket but since the welds are coming apart I am no longer sure about this previous recommendation.
Now with the heavy duty reinforcement plates welded on there I like it again and feel once again safe on the roads (and off of them).
I would like to advice XJ/MJ owners with similar brackets to carefully monitor them for damage. If you own a bracket that cracked along the welds, contact Rusty for possible replacement options.

Besides Rusty's bracket, Rubicon Express makes a very similar product (view image).
© Copyright 2002 Andreas Ritterbusch
All Rights reserved.
Photos: Andreas Ritterbusch

 

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