Bandit's World's Longest Track Bar Build

[BanditBronco]

Finally, the time has come for me to install the Solo Motorsports radius arms I have had for a bit, as well as build a track bar and add ram assist, along with possibly some coilovers or fancy shocks to be determined.

I have built a similar track bar set up on a buddies Bronco that came out well, so I decided to give it a go on my rig as well as possibly simplify it a little. The basic preference is, I found a rear jeep 1 ton swap bracket that works pretty well as an outside the radius arm mount for the front of a Bronco. Full disclosure, I have only done this on HP44 axles with the C's welded in the stock location. It does require some modification to the mount for tie rod clearance, but I will get to that later on.

On the frame side I am running a tmr customs offset bracket that is made for a jeep style bushing up top, so the track bar will be hiem on the axle and a bushing at the frame.

tacked the arm pivot boxes onto the frame last night trying to dial in my wheelbase and see what kind of full bump clearance I will need for the track bar. I think I am going to cut them off this evening and move them back a little, I think. I got excited trying to get a tad more wheelbase and ended up a hair too far forward. In the picture I am sitting at about 96" with 1" ruffstuff spring perches in the rear but I will probably pull it back to around 95" or 94.5" depending on steering clearance.

I will update as I move forward this week.

 

[JB Fab]

Nice! Solo makes some great stuff!

 

[toddz69]

Looking forward to this! Love the Solo arms.

Todd Z.

 

[BanditBronco]

Moved the pivot boxes back about 3/4" last night just to be safe. After that, I sucked the C-Bushings down and bumped it out again. These pictures show how it is currently bumping out. Limiting me now, is the drag link to the front cross member. If I take care of that, I have an inch or two more to be had. I am wrestling with a few things though. right now, I have 4-degree bushings installed, you can see in the pictures that my pinion angle is a little low, as well as my caster may be a bit extreme. I will probably step down to some 2-degree bushings and see what that does for me.




Also, I am trying to plan out bumps and shocks. I took a picture looking up into the fender well so that you can see my limiting factor, which is where the battery sits in my tube core support. Originally, I had planned on trying to stay simple and keep coil springs and see what length of shock I could have room for. After getting into it a bit I entertained the idea of possibly going coilover just for packaging's sake. I have a set of 12" CO's and mounts, but my dilemma is, If I mount them as high as allowable, it is going to push my axle even farther down then it currently is at full bump, so I would lose some up travel. I haven't ran the numbers on up travel from ride height yet, I should probably do that first, could answer my question for me.

Other option is to run a set of gen1 raptor rear shocks I have with the WH 3.5" coils I was running previously. It is looking like I could fit those under the battery tray at full bump which would be a plus. Downside is, they measure 10.75" of shock shaft so I would lose some down travel I imagine.

If anyone has any insight for me, I am all ears. This rig is a do it all, lots of rock crawling, highway miles to the trails, want to go to Baja for a few days? load it up let's roll, ice cream? let me pull the top off and cruise Main on the way.

So, I am okay with some give and take as needed, I understand it isn't a rig without any compromises.

 

[rocknhorse76]

I’m running a D60 up front with 14” Radflo c/o’s and I managed to get just over 5” of uptravel before the radius arms are nearly hitting the frame. I have the equivalent of 3” suspension lift and 2” body lift. Because I used weld-on mounts for my radius arms, I was able to run my track bar all the way out to the inner c on the passenger side.
If you want to stay with coils and shocks, look at the Bilstein 7100 short body remote reservoir shocks. I’d be willing to bet that the 12” travel would be about the same length at ride height and give you more down travel than the Raptor shocks. I ran the 14” version with 3.5” BCB coils and WH shock hoops and had about 4.5” of uptravel.

 

[rocknhorse76]

Here’s some pics with the coils, hoops, and 14” short bodies

 

[jamesroney]

Finally, the time has come for me to install the Solo Motorsports radius arms I have had for a bit, as well as build a track bar and add ram assist, along with possibly some coilovers or fancy shocks to be determined.

I have built a similar track bar set up on a buddies Bronco that came out well, so I decided to give it a go on my rig as well as possibly simplify it a little. The basic preference is, I found a rear jeep 1 ton swap bracket that works pretty well as an outside the radius arm mount for the front of a Bronco. Full disclosure, I have only done this on HP44 axles with the C's welded in the stock location. It does require some modification to the mount for tie rod clearance, but I will get to that later on.

On the frame side I am running a tmr customs offset bracket that is made for a jeep style bushing up top, so the track bar will be hiem on the axle and a bushing at the frame.

tacked the arm pivot boxes onto the frame last night trying to dial in my wheelbase and see what kind of full bump clearance I will need for the track bar. I think I am going to cut them off this evening and move them back a little, I think. I got excited trying to get a tad more wheelbase and ended up a hair too far forward. In the picture I am sitting at about 96" with 1" ruffstuff spring perches in the rear but I will probably pull it back to around 95" or 94.5" depending on steering clearance.

I will update as I move forward this week.

You are going to want to figure out your steering linkage sooner than later. By that...I mean before you weld your radius arm pivot box. You already figured out that 96 inch wheelbase doesn't work. (Which is really 95 as it pertains to front axle location, and I understand the extra inch from the leaf spring perch) So you are sitting at 95. But your steering clearance is a potential problem.
I don't know what steering box you are running, but the F150 4x4x2 box has a shorter sector shaft arc than the Saginaw box. But it looks like you are running 76-77 F150 knuckles with TRO. So what happens is that when you turn your steering box from lock to lock, you end up short on your tie rod travel. This results in you not being able to make a u-turn in the same street that you have been making U-turns in. So you either end up setting your steering stops WAY out...or you end up binding your steering box with short steering. Either way, you lose the advantage of having a high clearance radius arm because you run out of steering first. In my case, I ended up ditching the stock pitman arm, and running the F150 4x4 arm. (which is longer) That longer arm made contact with my tie rod at full stuff. It was only 1/4 inch, but a 1/4 inch is plenty. When the tie rod contacted the pitman arm, it shot the sector thru the top of the steering box, and broke the cap off at the two big bolts. Pitman arm prevented the arm from coming all the way out, but it was ugly. (and of course you can't steer)

So you need to shove the axle back enough to clear the actual pitman arm that you are going to run. This is why some people end up moving the steering box. Pick your poison.
Also, you noticed that your pinion angle is wrong. And it is even more wrong if you clock your t-case when/if you do your tummy tuck. So figure that out soon. BECAUSE...when you put your caster where it needs to be, you WILL be cutting and turning your C-s. A HP D44 comes from the factory at 6 degrees caster and 5 degrees of pinion inclination. You are going to end up at about 12 degrees of pinion with a D20, and closer to 15 degrees with an Atlas, and even more if you clock it. So now you need to put an additional 10 degrees into the inner C to hold caster. That will pull your tie rod back a fair amount, and give you more clearance. So you need to know that sooner than later.

All of this can be mitigated with a high steer arm on the passenger knuckle and moving the drag link to the arm. But of course the disc brake D44 high steer knuckle is a unicorn. I think the aftermarket might have one by now. Good luck and have fun.

 

[BanditBronco]

I’m running a D60 up front with 14” Radflo c/o’s and I managed to get just over 5” of uptravel before the radius arms are nearly hitting the frame. I have the equivalent of 3” suspension lift and 2” body lift. Because I used weld-on mounts for my radius arms, I was able to run my track bar all the way out to the inner c on the passenger side.
If you want to stay with coils and shocks, look at the Bilstein 7100 short body remote reservoir shocks. I’d be willing to bet that the 12” travel would be about the same length at ride height and give you more down travel than the Raptor shocks. I ran the 14” version with 3.5” BCB coils and WH shock hoops and had about 4.5” of uptravel.

I appreciate the reply, looks as though the short body stuff saves about an inch, and bilstein also makes a short body CO. I am trying to avoid buying more shocks if possible as I have a few options that I have stashed over the years. Once I get the axle sitting where I know it will work, I will dig more into what I can fit via measurements and actual reality.

 

[BanditBronco]

You are going to want to figure out your steering linkage sooner than later. By that...I mean before you weld your radius arm pivot box. You already figured out that 96 inch wheelbase doesn't work. (Which is really 95 as it pertains to front axle location, and I understand the extra inch from the leaf spring perch) So you are sitting at 95. But your steering clearance is a potential problem.
I don't know what steering box you are running, but the F150 4x4x2 box has a shorter sector shaft arc than the Saginaw box. But it looks like you are running 76-77 F150 knuckles with TRO. So what happens is that when you turn your steering box from lock to lock, you end up short on your tie rod travel. This results in you not being able to make a u-turn in the same street that you have been making U-turns in. So you either end up setting your steering stops WAY out...or you end up binding your steering box with short steering. Either way, you lose the advantage of having a high clearance radius arm because you run out of steering first. In my case, I ended up ditching the stock pitman arm, and running the F150 4x4 arm. (which is longer) That longer arm made contact with my tie rod at full stuff. It was only 1/4 inch, but a 1/4 inch is plenty. When the tie rod contacted the pitman arm, it shot the sector thru the top of the steering box, and broke the cap off at the two big bolts. Pitman arm prevented the arm from coming all the way out, but it was ugly. (and of course you can't steer)

So you need to shove the axle back enough to clear the actual pitman arm that you are going to run. This is why some people end up moving the steering box. Pick your poison.
Also, you noticed that your pinion angle is wrong. And it is even more wrong if you clock your t-case when/if you do your tummy tuck. So figure that out soon. BECAUSE...when you put your caster where it needs to be, you WILL be cutting and turning your C-s. A HP D44 comes from the factory at 6 degrees caster and 5 degrees of pinion inclination. You are going to end up at about 12 degrees of pinion with a D20, and closer to 15 degrees with an Atlas, and even more if you clock it. So now you need to put an additional 10 degrees into the inner C to hold caster. That will pull your tie rod back a fair amount, and give you more clearance. So you need to know that sooner than later.

All of this can be mitigated with a high steer arm on the passenger knuckle and moving the drag link to the arm. But of course the disc brake D44 high steer knuckle is a unicorn. I think the aftermarket might have one by now. Good luck and have fun.

My 4x4x2 box is pushed pretty far forward, I am not 100% sure what pitman arm it has on it, but I am pretty sure it's an F150, it's for sure non-Bronco. I have been cycling the steering as I change things so I will definitely make sure I don't have any contact anywhere at bump and stuff for both sides. I have over and inch of adjustment in the arms where they currently sit so, I will adjust them as needed till I know my wheelbase is at its best length possible. T-case is staying where it is, as high as it will go without body mods which isn't happening. I have been wheeling this rig pretty hard for over a decade with stock arms, stock shocks, and a drop track bar bracket that touched the tie rod 2 inches into its travel. So, I have a pretty low bar to hit with a lot of improvement to be had. I plan on throwing 2-degree bushings in and seeing what that gets me first.

 

[BanditBronco]

Finally made some headway worth noting. Both track bar mounts are welded in and the trackbar is built. From the axle mount to the frame mount I have a little difference in plane. You can kinda see it in this picture at full bump where the axle mount is tilted back the track bar goes a few degrees forward to meet up with the frame mount. It worked best this way to avoid the oil pan. My only worry is having that little bit of side load on the upper bushing. Let me know what you guys think, if I can get away with it or if I need to S bend the track bar so the bushing doesn't have any tension. I can still spin the bushing bolt by hand when the bar is fully mounted so it isn't super tight.


Here is the frame mount all finished up. Really like the look of the offset TMR bracket.


Full Bump ended up being limited by where I finalized my frame bracket for the track bar and full driver turn tie rod contact with the frame bracket. No biggie, I like where it ended up, roughly 5" between the frame at the coil bucket to the side of the radius arm. I have almost no side-to-side transfer from bump to ride height on the track bar, I haven't measured its full travel yet to see exactly how much swing it will have. Probably very minimal though, that is one of the main reasons for going with the longest track bar you can fit.


With the axle centered at ride height and cycling it up to bump I don't have any exhaust contact anymore and everything spins free and clear. I used to have major contact issues between the exhaust and the driveshaft because the lengthened stock track bar I had wasn't the correct length. Big win for me.



Now onto the fun stuff finally. My locked offroad bump stops came in and I decided on running the raptor take off shocks just for the best packaging with my current set up. So next updates will show some air bumps and shocks!

 

[Tiko433]

What A arms are those? They are a work of art.

 

[BanditBronco]

What A arms are those? They are a work of art.

www.solomotorsports.com

 

[Apogee]

You do nice work and a lot of good ideas. I'm mid-swap on a 65" full-width HPD44 and I'm needing to sort out the steering and trackbar. Love those Solo Motorsports arms.

 

[rocknhorse76]

Finally made some headway worth noting. Both track bar mounts are welded in and the trackbar is built. From the axle mount to the frame mount I have a little difference in plane. You can kinda see it in this picture at full bump where the axle mount is tilted back the track bar goes a few degrees forward to meet up with the frame mount. It worked best this way to avoid the oil pan. My only worry is having that little bit of side load on the upper bushing. Let me know what you guys think, if I can get away with it or if I need to S bend the track bar so the bushing doesn't have any tension. I can still spin the bushing bolt by hand when the bar is fully mounted so it isn't super tight.
View attachment 892823

Here is the frame mount all finished up. Really like the look of the offset TMR bracket.
View attachment 892824

Full Bump ended up being limited by where I finalized my frame bracket for the track bar and full driver turn tie rod contact with the frame bracket. No biggie, I like where it ended up, roughly 5" between the frame at the coil bucket to the side of the radius arm. I have almost no side-to-side transfer from bump to ride height on the track bar, I haven't measured its full travel yet to see exactly how much swing it will have. Probably very minimal though, that is one of the main reasons for going with the longest track bar you can fit.
View attachment 892825

With the axle centered at ride height and cycling it up to bump I don't have any exhaust contact anymore and everything spins free and clear. I used to have major contact issues between the exhaust and the driveshaft because the lengthened stock track bar I had wasn't the correct length. Big win for me.

View attachment 892826

Now onto the fun stuff finally. My locked offroad bump stops came in and I decided on running the raptor take off shocks just for the best packaging with my current set up. So next updates will show some air bumps and shocks!

I bought 2 pairs of bumps from Locked Offroad and they’re supposed to be shipping on the 27th. Have you figured out a good way to mount yours?

 

[BanditBronco]

You do nice work and a lot of good ideas. I'm mid-swap on a 65" full-width HPD44 and I'm needing to sort out the steering and trackbar. Love those Solo Motorsports arms.

Appreciate it. I am no professional, but if you work in the industry long enough you tend to want to build nice stuff. Hardest part for me is slowing down an already slow process and making sure it's to the best of my ability.

I bought 2 pairs of bumps from Locked Offroad and they’re supposed to be shipping on the 27th. Have you figured out a good way to mount yours?

Took some pictures early in the process on Saturday, I will grab some more of my progress tonight so you can see what exactly I am going for. Very similar to how most people mount them, with some angled plate work in 0.125. If you are going to bump off the radius arm, the biggest thing is to get it as close to the axle as possible. The farther away, the more leveraged force you have coming down on the arm.

I had to make a pedestal on the radius arm to get the bump sitting where I wanted in up and down on the frame, it will get boxed in on the sides as well. Shock will go behind the bump stop mounted to the radius arm with a tube upper mount.

 

[BanditBronco]

Passenger side shock mount is tacked in, drivers' side is halfway finished. set it up with 1" of shock shaft showing at bump. After checking the lower mount at ride height, I ended up dropping it a little lower, so it measures ~2" of shaft at bump. The shock mount centerline is 2.5" away from the frame and the bump stop centerline is 1" so I have a 1.5" difference in plane. I shouldn't see that much change in shock movement from static bump to flexed bump, but it should give me some wiggle room. Once everything is built and heavy tacked, I plan on forklift flexing it to make sure everything worked out the way it was designed before final welding and paint. Since these arms are basically stock arms with added length there is still too much bind to get the front axle to flex on the jack stands.

 

[rocknhorse76]

Appreciate it. I am no professional, but if you work in the industry long enough you tend to want to build nice stuff. Hardest part for me is slowing down an already slow process and making sure it's to the best of my ability.

Took some pictures early in the process on Saturday, I will grab some more of my progress tonight so you can see what exactly I am going for. Very similar to how most people mount them, with some angled plate work in 0.125. If you are going to bump off the radius arm, the biggest thing is to get it as close to the axle as possible. The farther away, the more leveraged force you have coming down on the arm.

I had to make a pedestal on the radius arm to get the bump sitting where I wanted in up and down on the frame, it will get boxed in on the sides as well. Shock will go behind the bump stop mounted to the radius arm with a tube upper mount.

I’m running coilovers and weld-on mounts for the radius arms, so my bumps will actually be striking the mounts a couple inches behind the axle. Bumps will be here tomorrow.

 

[BanditBronco]

Shock mounts are pulled off, welded out, and cleaned up. Got them hung up and some Mexican Powder Coat sprayed on last night. Should be able to get them tacked in for the last time tonight and then check clearances real time with springs and tires before finish welding them to the chassis. Super happy with how they came out, with some old school Cage vibes. Getting antsy to drive this thing, I hope in handles much better than it previously did.

 

[Apogee]

I'm digging the shock mounts...was thinking about doing something similar with mine when I get there, not that I'm doing coilovers. Are you going to fab up a cross-over for the shock towers over the engine to stabilize them a bit more, or leaving them as-is?

 

[BanditBronco]

I'm digging the shock mounts...was thinking about doing something similar with mine when I get there, not that I'm doing coilovers. Are you going to fab up a cross-over for the shock towers over the engine to stabilize them a bit more, or leaving them as-is?

With how short they are, only being about 4" above the coil bucket, and only being used for the damping side of things, these will be plenty strong enough. If I was going coilover and also had vehicle weight on them, usually yes a cross over is necessary. I have seen some designed without a crossover that seemed plenty strong though as well. I think the crossover is one of those items that tends to get overdone because people think it's a necessity when it actually isn't.

It is another reason that I decided on keeping the coil / shock combo and not go to coilovers though. With my explorer 351 engine combo, I have very little room to try and squeeze a tube from one side of the engine bay to the other.