Rough Country Trackbar Tie Rod End Replacement

A while back I had the misfortune of hearing a clunk coming from under my Jeep, while also feeling the steering not quite working right. Fortunately, I was a couple blocks from home and made it into the driveway safely. What I found was a blown out tie rod end on my Rough Country track bar. Fortunately it uses the same TRE as the drag link, and I was able to source one same day at NAPA. 

Removing the rusted up cotter bit and nut required the use of a cut off disc on my Dremel, and a little pounding. Once out, I was able to remove the TRE with some heat and a large pipe wrench. 

When I put it back together, I made sure to be generous with my anti-seize to ensure that in the future, this is easier to do. 

One thing I ran into, was that the hole on the frame mount was wallowed out a bit. Using some grade 8 washers, I was able to pull the TRE up enough to make it nice and tight. 

Hand Throttle or Redneck Cruise Control

Simple bike shifter

One of the nice things about an automatic, is that it doesn’t require two feet to drive. It also gives you a spare when you need to hold the brake and hit the gas for a tricky climb. With my manual, when I’m sitting on a hill, sometimes a third foot comes in handy. In that thought, I installed a hand throttle using a bike shifter and cable, plus some bits and pieces. It’s also great on the rocks, as it keeps the throttle set so that I’m not modulating the gas as I bounce around. On highways, it makes a great redneck cruise control, but I don’t suggest you do that, as it doesn’t disengage like factory cruise control.

Cable running through new hole in throttle cable bracket

Connected to throttle.
Apparently this is where factory cruise control connected

Happy 4th of July

Have a safe and happy 4th of July my American Friends and Readers

Oh say can you see by the dawn's early light,

What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming,

Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,

O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?

And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,

Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;

O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

Happy Canada Day

To my fellow Canadians, both Jeep drivers and non-Jeep drivers. Have a safe and happy Canada Day

O Canada!

Our home and native land!

True patriot love in all thy sons command.

With glowing hearts we see thee rise,

The True North strong and free!

From far and wide,

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

God keep our land glorious and free!

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

Ô Canada!

Terre de nos aïeux,

Ton front est ceint de fleurons glorieux!

Car ton bras sait porter l'épée,

Il sait porter la croix!

Ton histoire est une épopée

Des plus brillants exploits.

Et ta valeur, de foi trempée,

Protégera nos foyers et nos droits.

Protégera nos foyers et nos droits.

$15 and 15 minutes to improved Jeep Security

We're all aware of the big red steering wheel locks out there. Designed to lock your steering wheel and prevent theft. I am guilty of running one on my old Jeep. Even though I do know that they're easy to defeat and only deter opportunistic theft. 

With the TJ, I went to a RFID based secondary starting system. Not Sentry Key, but my own home build system. I'll cover it in a future post. 

For the quick security, I went about as simple as you can. I put a padlock on my Jeep. It's really quite simple. I went with a Brinks shackle style lock. I put the drivers side seat forward and leaning against the steering wheel. Once set in that position, I drilled the base with a hole big enough for the lock. It's down near the floor of the Jeep, and behind the little spring plate cover. Once the lock is in place, it's impossible to move the seat back. I doubt bolt cutters could get onto the shackle, and without a torch or cut off tool, the lock is staying put.

The would be thief can't put the seat back, and if you can't sit in the drivers seat, you really can't drive away. 

Fixing the TJ transfer case shifter

Not that there was anything wrong with it. Well, except that it looked like a parking brake. I was bored one afternoon and decided to "fix" it, and make it look like the old CJ/YJ style. 

I cut the handle off just before the bend where it goes forward. From there, I welded on some threaded rod, gave it a blast of black paint, and screwed on my old YJ shifter. I'd say it was a win.

The indicators on the shit knob even lined up and were correct.

When a further moment of boredom set in, I found a broken front axle shaft, and I figured with some paint and a nut welded to the bottom, it would make a great shifter knob. I cleaned it up, gave it a blast of paint, and there you have it.


Oh, you noticed the switches in the last picture.. What do they do? Well, they control my winch. Look for an upcoming post about that. You also noticed the bike shifter on the gear shift? Yup, future post on my hand throttle is in the pipe.

15 Minute Jeep TJ Driveway Alignment

With new tires, comes the recommendation for an alignment. My old tires had some weird wear on them, and I knew my alignment was out. With new tires on the way, I wasn’t overly concerned. Now that my new tires are on, I want to make them last as long as possible. To do that, an alignment must be done by an expert shop… or by me in my driveway.
Tools required for this are a 13mm wrench, a 13mm socket and ratchet (or a second 13mm wrench), a tape measure or two, some 2x4’s, bungee cords, and a big pipe wrench.

Attached the 2x4’s to your tires, parallel to the ground. Using a tape measure, measure the distance across the back of the 2x4 and the front. Properly aligned, there should be between 1/16” and 1/8”. This is the Toe measurement of the Jeep. Unless you have castor bolts (most TJ’s don’t), this is the only thing that can be adjusted for an alignment.

If adjustment is needed, undo the collars on the tie rod and get the pipe wrench handy. Give the tie rod a couple of turns in the appropriate direction and measure the 2x4 distances again until you get to where it needs to be.




Once done, tighten up the collars and congratulate yourself on saving a few bucks at the alignment shop.