build a kevin conversion bracket???

[dangerousdave]

ok so i have the last few parts coming in for my lift except for the most important one, as things go. The track bar conversion bracket.... dang it. I have already contacted Kevin and there is nothing he can do without selling me another track bar. so what do i do? I think i can build a conversion bracket but does this sound as dangerous to anyone else as it does to me? I trust my welding but can the factory track bar bracket take this? what do yall think? If i do this i am basically thinking of adding a piece of u channel to the existing track bar bracket that is the width of the track bar wide and long enough to allow for solid bolting. Another down side to building this is it is my DD. I do lots of highway driving and don't really want to fight with DW. Getting DW would kind of defeat the purpose of this track bar system. ideas? and dont be the smartass that says go buy one please.

NOTE: Kevin has been a huge help to me. I did not buy this track bar from him. It came with my lift that i bought used. so i am paying the price for it now.

[ZJ Pappy]

Would he build you one if you sent him your track bar bracket?

[jsteves]

I know what you asked, but buy the one from Kevin. You will not regret it. Sell the other bar you bought. I say this b/c if you are leary then you shouldn't be doing it and I don't want to be the vehicle on the other side of the road that you hit when it lets go.

[OverkillZJ]

It's been done by a couple on here, I think Chadjans was one of them, but it always struck me as "almost" scary. I don't know, it's one of the few parts I really wouldn't screw with, the stock mount in its generic form kinda freaks me out, slapping more metal to make a ghetto conversion might work great, or might not, I couldn't tell you for sure.

See how hard I tried to NOT be that guy and tell you to go buy one?

[dangerousdave]

i sent him a email on it and the bracket is not sold separately. kinda sucks but he tried to help me.

thanks mat for the hint.... of all people i figure you would have tried somthing like that.

Would he build you one if you sent him your track bar bracket?

[redline61]

The Kevins track bar bracket is a stock piece with a piece of tubing welded to it. When I first saw it I thought some one had a picture of the one my friend made and not something a company would sell. Just build it yourself. My friends is holding up well, he did brace it because we thought it was a bit scary looking. Not to knock the guy at all but that is rather back yard as hell for a company. But it does work.

[dangerousdave]

The Kevins track bar bracket is a stock piece with a piece of tubing welded to it. When I first saw it I thought some one had a picture of the one my friend made and not something a company would sell. Just build it yourself. My friends is holding up well, he did brace it because we thought it was a bit scary looking. Not to knock the guy at all but that is rather back yard as hell for a company. But it does work.

yeah thats basically what im gonna do. the Kevin design is very strong though. and if I could just buy the bracket i would.

[jsteves]

Try Clayton's. They make a custom bracket. I don't know if it would fit your trac bar but it might be worth the call.

[OverkillZJ]

I think I got the Claytons and Kevins brackets mixed up; if it works for Kevins I don't see why you couldnt' build your own

[redline61]

I will sell you one. $50 shipped.

[dangerousdave]

I will sell you one. $50 shipped.

im gonna try building it first. if i fail i will message you. Thanks. what does the Clayton bracket look like? i dont mind making a hybrid.

[redline61]

It's hard to tell but there is a decent amount of bracing.

[dangerousdave]

looks good. thats pretty much what i have in mind. I really hope it mine turns out that well. have yall had any dw? do the brackets run parallel to the bumpers? it looks very stout though. thanks for posting up pictures. are yall dealing with snow now or are these old pictures?

[CANADIAN ZJ!]

I machined out a nice piece of 2" x 1/4" wall hss. welded it straight onto the stock trac bar mount. I didnt even think twice about strength, it's exactly how kevin makes them. So long as you can weld with good penetration it will be fine.

Had mine about 8months, no DW (part of that is you can't have any slop in the through bolt hole for the rod end). I even managed to rip the stock axle end trac bar/sway bar mount right off my axle, but the welded conversion frame mount is holding up well.
machined hss:


welded to stock mount:


my custom trac bar, 1.5" dom 1/4 wall, being cheap I re-used the stock bushing, it was still in good condition :

[dangerousdave]

i tacked everything together last night. I think i ll have some pictures up soon. I used 1/4" so the weakest point is going to be the welds. it also looks like i will get about a 1" - a 1.5" of drop out of this. This might help pull the drag link into parallel.

[Krash80]

Here's the stock bracket I modified a while back after seeing Kevin's. The plates that the bolt passes through and the one that backs them are 3/8, the gusset is 1/4". I feel the gusset is pretty important since the lowered mount puts a lot more leverage on the bracket. (note: the trackbar pictured is NOT streetable or safe...it's just a YJ end butt welded to a ZJ bar for mock-up purposes.)

[CANADIAN ZJ!]

you mean pull the trac bar into parallel. the t/b mount won't move the drag link

and you measured to make it that way on purpose right? you need the t/b and d/l parallel to avoid bump steer

[dangerousdave]

you mean pull the trac bar into parallel. the t/b mount won't move the drag link and you measured to make it that way on purpose right? you need the t/b and d/l parallel to avoid bump steer

yeah exactly I meant that the new bracket would bring the track bar into parallel with the drag link. I just said it in a complicated way. I measured the track bar out to approximate Kevins's track bar as much as possible.

Krash80 i am going to add a gusset when i get the bracket in place and can make sure i wont be creating a problem anywhere else. I agree that a gusset is very important with the added stress on the track bar.

Thanks all.

[ATL ZJ]

I'd copy the Kevin design if I were you, but weld it to the framerail with a few stitches of weld. His bracket has held up to a ton of beating under my buggy, surviving multiple steering box failures, among other relevant breakage. I'd argue that it's one of the strongest parts that Kevin sells, in proportion to the forces exerted on it.

[cooperzj]

I stitched my stock frame mount to the frame and it has held up very well.

[Skyline]

i sent him a email on it and the bracket is not sold separately. kinda sucks but he tried to help me.

thanks mat for the hint.... of all people i figure you would have tried somthing like that.

I don't think that Kevin's bracket is designed to work with the stock track bar...so you'll need a different track bar anyway. He has his track bars made by JKS, so it's certainly a decent piece. I guess if you're making your own track bar, you're SOL.

[zj95maxx]

go buy reciever tube..do some cutting, some welding, boom, kevins track bar bracket, and it already comes with the correct size hole.

[dangerousdave]

i own the track bar that comes with Kevin's track bar conversion, i never received the mount however. I decided to build it. I did not buy the track bar from Kevin. I got shafted in a junk yard buy where the dick didnt send me the bracket along with a few other parts to my lift. Im not trying to be redundant to the guys that are tired of hearing about it but i just want to make it known that Kevin has done a ton for me.

As far as welding the track bar to the bracket, I think that i will be doing that. I hadnt thought about that yet but it seems like a good plan.

[dangerousdave]

ok well i finished the bracket tonight. I am going to install on sunday. I changed the design about half way through. I think the gusset will work how i did it but im not very sure. Its really only there as a oh shit piece. Also i know some of the welds look ruff. They are burnt in though. I layed a bead then laid two on top of it. In all I sure the part will work fine. I will post installed pictures later.

[dangerousdave]

ok so the install is done. It went very well and only took about 2 hours. I only have a small problem and it will go away after my lift is installed. My gusset is about 2 inches away from my spring perch. So I bump if i hit a RR crossing to fast. This just means i cant drive like a jackass for a few weeks. here are the pictures of the bracket and arm after the install.





Do i need to have a alignment after messing with the track bar? I know its a very newb-tastic question but still its better to know for sure than wait and see. I figure I shouldn't need one because what did i change.