Noisy traction bars

[drservo]

No worries, I didnt take it as though you were knocking our bars.

I like Lucas Red Tacky, but you do have to keep an eye on it in dryer climates as it can dry out. Another good one I just found was Valvoline Cerulean.

The large 3.0" joint at the front side of the bars should be tightened down just to the point that you can still move the ball around by hand but feel a reasonable amount of friction on it. All of the smaller poly bushing location bolts and frame bolts should be torqued to 110 ft lbs.

The front shackle should sit perpendicular with the frame of the truck while the truck is unloaded and sitting on level ground. The 3/4" bolt that holds the traction bar into place should slide into the hanging shackle freely with out any preload on the bars.

I would suggest doing one change at a time, this way if it fixes the problem, you have isolated it. Doing a bunch of things all at once may fix the problem but it wont tell you the true source of it.

If you need anything, just let me know.

I know the ball does not move freely by hand, so I need to loosen the bushing nut?

I have to bump the 3/4 bolt out with a mallet, do I loosen the jam nuts and back off on the threads at the back of the bars?

 

[clayton]

I really have to wiggle the 3/4 bolt on mine to get out but I can. I think im over tight as well as the ball doesnt move freely either.
It took me quite a while to get the bars lined up to not put any preload on.

 

[Shipmate]

Mine do not make a sound. Been on the truck for 14k now and only greased twice. Need the grease them now grease looks a little old.

 

[luther's 2008]

I'm in the process of installing my PMF bars. I gotta say Trevor has been great to deal with. He answers his phone, answers any question, and responds to email even at 10pm. The product and service is quality in every sense of the word.
Thanks to this thread, I already bought 2 tubes of Lucas Red....and it's great for greasing up the boat, and dump trailer.

 

[B585Ford]

I'm in the process of installing my PMF bars. I gotta say Trevor has been great to deal with. He answers his phone, answers any question, and responds to email even at 10pm. The product and service is quality in every sense of the word.
Thanks to this thread, I already bought 2 tubes of Lucas Red....and it's great for greasing up the boat, and dump trailer.

I agree about Trevor. He is definitely top notch. The last time I bought it, I bought 2 tubes too and I also use it on my dump trailer.

 

[NotStock]

I know the ball does not move freely by hand, so I need to loosen the bushing nut?

I have to bump the 3/4 bolt out with a mallet, do I loosen the jam nuts and back off on the threads at the back of the bars?

Yes, back out the small allen set screw and then back the spanner nut off a few clicks.

You will need to loosen the jam nuts at the rear and turn one of the endlinks a turn or two. You should only have to make an adjustment on one of the axle bolts.

 

[NotStock]

Thanks for the compliments guys. I just really love what I do and I want to take care of every customer we have.

 

[B585Ford]

I have been trying to help a fellow gear jammer out by testing the Tbars by popping the clutch (which I never do because I don't like to beat on my drivetrain truck). I really couldln't appreciate any wrap in the cab....only problem is that I was hitting the RPM redline really quick. Here's the link if you are interested:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FB2MYZLALtM&feature=youtu.be


Notice how loud the clutch is...it is the old style SB 3850. I hear the new ones hardly make a sound.

 

[drservo]

Well after I was ready to adjust the links on the back i noticed the bushings were wore out, Trevor sent me 8 more via xpress mail at no charge even though it was caused from installation. The co that installed them had so much tension on them one side of the bushings wore completley through. So I put the new bushings in, adjusted the rear links, loosened the nut on the front joints so the ball would spin, greased every thing up and still have noise. Buttt I think its all coming from the rear springs now. I'm putting a link to a video where I left the front bolt out and am just pushing up and down on the traction bar. This is whaty it sounds like every time I start, stop, or hit a bump. Any ideas?

I'll say again Trevor is a great great and has top notch customer service!

 

[drservo]

 

[drservo]

http://s648.photobucket.com/albums/uu201/drservo/?action=view&current=IMG_2026.mp4

 

[07_powerstroke]

Mine do the same thing I need to call Trevor soon I have 1500 miles on them I can't believe how the bushings are worn already.

 

[Twinturbostroker]

Yeah that would drive me bananas......

 

[6.4psd916]

Mine were bad till I replaced the ballistic joint races, the creaking noise went away, but I killed my rear bushings with regular grease, and a ton of droop out when taking my lift off. Split them in half.

 

[drservo]

Yeah that would drive me bananas......

Yea its about to!

 

[drservo]

Any thoughts on the noise Trevor?

 

[NotStock]

Its probably because you were working on stuff but make sure your jam nuts on the endlinks are tight. That is an odd sound. Could possibly be one of the endlinks but it really doesnt sound like it.

Have you check the sliders between the leaf spring leafs? Front and rear spring eyelet bolts?

An easy way to quickly check out locations would be to spray Silicone spray on one location at a time and see if it fixes the noise. As soon as you can isolate the noise, it can be addressed.

As always, feel free to shoot me a call if you need any help.

 

[powerlifter405]

Maybe I missed it but for me:

#1- I tightened everything according to Grade 8 specs http://www.imperialsupplies.com/pdf/A_FastenerTorqueCharts.pdf I lubed the bolts, and things tightened w/out issue or a fight. The airline industry puts anti-seize on nearly every bolt or nut so I do the same and find things don't seize up, torque values are easier to reach (drop the value slightly) and i've had NOTHING loosen up.

#2- I got everything in hand tight and once everything was in place, I installed the frame mount. When I had the trac bar attached to the frame mount, the VERY LAST bolt to be tightened was the large 3/4 bolt at the axle mount.

#4- I used "green grease" full synthetic and lubed the crap out off every thing. Additionally prior to installing the bushings at the axle end of the bar, I took a nail, heated it to make some small channels for the grease to flow through both planes on that respective poly bushing. I greased the bushings as I put them in, I greased the center "bolt tube" as I pressed in into the bushings. When I greased all the fittings I greased them until grease came out the sides.

#5- I call Ballistic and they informed me to make sure their joints are greased well AND after a few days of driving go back through and check them. ALL mine were loose. I made a tool and tightened them all down at least half a turn.

#6- I put one turn of the joint to pre-load the bar.

#7- I used anti-seize on the lock nut but I have a 2 1/2 foot giant wrench and tightened the lock nut as much as I could.

I don't know if this will help anyone but besides being time consuming to install they work great.

NO squeaking, smooths shifts and no axle wrap.

 

[powerlifter405]

http://s648.photobucket.com/albums/uu201/drservo/?action=view&current=IMG_2026.mp4

thought:
If those bushing are like on the single bar setup, there is no way for the grease to channel between the tube and bushing. I got a nail hot, cut some small channels into mine. I greased everything as I put them together and when I greased them up when installed i used almost a whole tube of grease to do all my fittings. but I have no squeak.

Its free to do and it may solve your issue. You won't be out anything but a few hours.

Good luck, that'd drive me nuts:fustrate:

 

[drservo]

Its probably because you were working on stuff but make sure your jam nuts on the endlinks are tight. That is an odd sound. Could possibly be one of the endlinks but it really doesnt sound like it.

Have you check the sliders between the leaf spring leafs? Front and rear spring eyelet bolts?

An easy way to quickly check out locations would be to spray Silicone spray on one location at a time and see if it fixes the noise. As soon as you can isolate the noise, it can be addressed.

As always, feel free to shoot me a call if you need any help.

Forgive the ignorance but what are sliders between the leaf springs?