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Topic: Rusty's Trackbar Failure

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GLXJ PRESIDENT
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Rusty's Trackbar Failure

1st off left me get my disclaimer out of the way....

1) Yes I typically do not talk highly of Rusty's products; however I am in no way putting his company down or him personally down. I personally have not had great success with his products; however know some that have.

2) I am only posting this for the simple fact to put an awareness in those who are running Rusty's trackbars.

3) I am only posting this as this problem is a known issue with this trackbar. This is not just a one time occurance; as it has been known to happen several times.

______________________________________

Taken from another forum...

Take it off and chuck it as far as you can. It is a piece of trash and cost my friend his jeep. I know that many of you already know this is true, but here is a reminder for those of you considering the Rusty's trac bar. Oh and my friend is physically ok, but emotionally scarred since it was his love.

n3233720_38042262_2770.jpg

n3233720_38042257_1057.jpg

n3233720_38042258_1380.jpg

n3233720_38042259_1817.jpg



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Here is a video of the Jeep being pushed off the road.



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Wow, I am glad that they are ok.  How common is this to happen, not just with Rusty's but over all?  I worked a crash on thursday with a truck that the same thing happened.   His track bar broke and he ended up driving straight out into a muddy field.  Luckily all that happend was the trac bar broke and he needed a car wash.  I don't know if it was after market trac bar or not.  It was a Chevy truck, couldn't tell if it was lifted.  If it was lifted, it wasn't much.



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It's just a known issue with the Rusty's bar. The TRE fails and it breaks. The bar itself is fine; it the TRE that's failing. I've been told that Rusty's refuses to change out the TRE; and it's got some funky ACME thread on it that nobody's been able to find an alternative TRE to use.

I think a lot of it has to do with the design on the trackbar itself. Most trackbars over 3" of lift use a heim (or similar) joint and go to a double sheer mount on the frame side with a heavy duty mount. If they don't go double sheer they've at least used a heim joint that allows the joint to flex. Rusty's is one of the only one's that still uses a TRE.

I have not heard of any other issues with any other trackbar on the market as far as failing goes. The only one I had in the past was the TNT setup with the bolt failing but they resolved that issue with upgraded hardware as soon as they were made aware of it.

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wow that sucks! that was a sick looking Jeep!

ever hear anything about a skyjacker trac-bar going bad? thats what im running.

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No experience or hearsay of any failure with the Skyjacker part.

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I am glad that it appears no one was hurt...at least seriously.

I'm one who has never had an issues with any of Rustys products. I did bend the TRE on his trackbar at Haspin a couple of years ago. As hard as the Jeep hit after it slid sideways on the side of the hill, I can understand why it bent. Keep in mind Rusty does NOT make the TRE. Not to excuse him if the one he is supplying is substandard. BTW, the thread is a standard thread that is used on most TRE's, it is not an Acme thread. At least mine was not.

I replaced mine with his HD trackbar mount, and end. It is not a heim joint, but a poly bushing supported between the two sides of the HD mount. It allows MUCH more flex than a TRE ever could.

I guess one observation I have is, if this guy had done the belly pan, long arms, beadlocks, and those huge tires, and whatever else, what in God's name was he doing running a trackbar with a TRE on the end. It appears to me that was a failure waiting to happen. Again, glad he was not hurt though.

Also, I believe that RE has some issues with their "cheap" trackbar awhile back didn't they?

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firehawk wrote:

I guess one observation I have is, if this guy had done the belly pan, long arms, beadlocks, and those huge tires, and whatever else, what in God's name was he doing running a trackbar with a TRE on the end. It appears to me that was a failure waiting to happen. Again, glad he was not hurt though.


If the info you provided is true, then I agree with you 100%.  If something should be replaced, and you don't replace it, don't blame someone else.



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Another observation that I've noticed, that is NOT the end of a Rustys trackbar. Not unless the owner welded the TRE into the trackbar itself....not likely. Rustys trackbar has internal threads that the TRE threads into. Whatever we are looking at has external threads in the end of it.

I really can't say WHAT we are seeing. Is it the end of the draglink? Did it break where the toe adjustment is made????? It is the only steering part that I can think of that has a swaged end and external threads. Even the tierod has internal threads.

I'm REALLY confused now!confused.gif

-- Edited by firehawk at 17:24, 2008-05-08

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While I agree for the most part...

In my opinion than Rusty's shouldn't advertise it as "heavy duty" than. Also he advertises it for lift from 2-7". So by advertising it at that height I'd have to say you'd expect for other greater mods to be done if someone has a lift that is say 5.5" like the above TJ had.

Also I quote from Rusty's website.

"Rusty's Off Road products are warranted to be free from material and workmanship defects for as long as the original purchaser owns the vehicle."

So yes he does not produce the TRE, but it is part of his product. It should be covered under the warranty. If the issue is known that the TRE's are failing than either a) redesign your product so the TRE's don't have as much stress, or b) go with a stronger TRE. I do agree that a TRE shouldn't be used on a trackbar at that height, but that does not stop the fact that Rusty's sells a product that is intended for offroad use that does use the TRE. A consumer puts faith in buying a product made by a manufacture; if the product continues to fail the said manufacture should make changes to stop the faliure.

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firehawk wrote:

Another observation that I've noticed, that is NOT the end of a Rustys trackbar. Not unless the owner welded the TRE into the trackbar itself. Rustys trackbar has internal threads that the TRE threads into. Whatever we are looking at has external threads in the end of it.

I really can't say WHAT we are seeing. Is it the end of the draglink? Did it break where the toe adjustment is made????? Even the tierod has external threads.

I'm confused!



The 1st pic is the TRE itself.

Here is a photo of Arcticcat's broken Rusty's TRE to help show more what your seeing.

Picture003.jpg

 



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Ok, now it makes more sense. I know you and I don't agree about Rustys, and that's cool but... the TRE is bent. It appears it didn't just break suddenly, but maybe was damaged somehow. It's scarey to think that Ethan and I drove all the way home from Haspin that day and my trackbar's TRE was bent MUCH worse than his is. EEEEk!!!

All in all I hate to see that happen to anyone. I'm glad he was ok, and hope he had adequate insurance to cover his loss, even though I'll bet the insurance company will not cover the cost of all the modifications he had done. I wish Arcticcat all the best!

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Just saw you're other post. Has he contacted Rustys? Dang sure I would! I wonder HOW a manufacturer would have to deal with something like this failing, and causing a vehicle to be totaled? I assume it will say in the small print that the PART is all that would be covered. I guess he could go after the manufacturer that made the TRE too.

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1. Did he rebuild the Rubi (it looks like a manual one too!) or is it, um, in China being processed with lead destined for redistribution at Wally World?

2. I use JKS tracbar and have no problems to date, just keep the 'johnny joint' greased every oil change and you'll be okay, otherwise mine will make little clicking noises.


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firehawk wrote:

Another observation that I've noticed, that is NOT the end of a Rustys trackbar. Not unless the owner welded the TRE into the trackbar itself....not likely. Rustys trackbar has internal threads that the TRE threads into. Whatever we are looking at has external threads in the end of it. I really can't say WHAT we are seeing. Is it the end of the draglink? Did it break where the toe adjustment is made????? It is the only steering part that I can think of that has a swaged end and external threads. Even the tierod has internal threads. I'm REALLY confused now!confused.gif

-- Edited by firehawk at 17:24, 2008-05-08


 I'm new here, And am just learning about this Rusty's issue. But I have to agree with this. the Photo at the top isn't the same as the track bar I got from Rusty's.. But I'm super concerned. I suppose I am going to get the loop end and bracket.



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