The rear track bar was a pain, requiring much more 'persuasion' with a hammer and a blowtorch than I expected. You can see in the picture on the right that the top part of the bracket is slightly charred. That's from heating it to soften it so that I could pry it open and create enough space to fit the track bar end. The problem is that the bracket extension is designed to fit (just barely) in the original bracket on the axle. When I installed it on the axle, it was squeezed somewhat closed because of the snugness of the fit, leaving little room for the track bar end. The other issue that made the installation difficult was camber. The rear axle, as a result of the lift kit, is tilted slightly farther back, which causes a 10-15 degree misalignment between the end of the track bar and the extension bracket. As a result, once the bracket extension is installed, the track bar doesn't want to go in there anymore. Initially, I gave up, having read in multiple places that the track bar was a Chrysler add-on after the acquisition in late '87 or early '88. FSJ's for decades have gone without them. But being a safety nut and a guy with two wonderful little kids who deserve to grow up in to nightmarish teenageres, I really wanted to get it back on. So, a hammer, a blowtorch, and a few choice blue words later, it fits. Please note: the gas tank is above the left side of the rear axle. Ergo, no, I didn't blow torch this thing while it was on the car. I did it over a patch of crabgrass on my front lawn with a fire extinguisher nearby. As I said, safety nut.The front was significantly easier, but I still got to use the blowtorch. This time, it wasn't the bracket itself that was the problem. What was troublesome
with the front track bar was the axle end link bushing. Whether it was installed incorrectly at the factory (which is my bet) or by a previous owner, it was offset by over a quarter of an inch. As you can see in the picture at right, the crush sleeve (the steel tube in the center of the track bar end which the bolt slides through) is correctly mounted, but the bushing is "sunk" in (and bulging out the other side significantly), leaving one of the track bar's steel edges to rub against the original bracket on the axle. As a result, it was heavily scored (the lower left portion of the track bar end is shiny because it has been rubbed raw, for lack of a better phrase). The bushing is vulcanized during insertion and fitted with an outer metal sleeve, both of which make it harder to press out the bushing (go here for more specific instructions). By burning it, I was able to melt the vulcanization and push out the crush sleeve and bushing. The new polyurethane bushing is in, and the track bar is on:
