Synergy Jeep JL / JLU / JT Front Track Bar and Sector Shaft Brace

[Roky]

Thanks, I am not going to put it on for now, the hex bolt to the back of the brace stripped, and I am not risking to put it on and never be able to remove it.

Shouldn't there be a better way of bracing the pitman arm nut, you know, some low maintenance option like rubber bushing. I can see this thing easily shift position in the future, and once run out of grease you are SOL.

No problem..... yeah... I see someone improving on this at some point. Instead of the brass bushing, maybe something similar to a wheel bearing or along those lines, idk......

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[4xFUN]

Thanks, I am not going to put it on for now, the hex bolt to the back of the brace stripped, and I am not risking to put it on and never be able to remove it.

Shouldn't there be a better way of bracing the pitman arm nut, you know, some low maintenance option like rubber bushing. I can see this thing easily shift position in the future, and once run out of grease you are SOL.

Yup, there should be a better way if needed...and I do have both factory and extended warranty if down the road excessive steering gearbox wear occurs. So, after a bit of reflection I have decided to forgo the sector shaft bearing, cut the tabs off that hold the bearing assembly in place, paint the damm thing black and just use it as a steering gearbox/trackbar brace. Done.

 

[plex]

Yup, there should be a better way if needed...and I do have both factory and extended warranty if down the road excessive steering gearbox wear occurs. So, after a bit of reflection I have decided to forgo the sector shaft bearing, cut the tabs off that hold the bearing assembly in place, paint the damm thing black and just use it as a steering gearbox/trackbar brace. Done.

I will experiment with some soft bushing options while waiting for replacement, definitely going to mark my shaft nut to make sure it does not work itself out.

What you guys think about this redneck engineering? A heavy duty zip tie not too rigid but hold the sector shaft?? j/k

 

[4xFUN]

I will experiment with some soft bushing options while waiting for replacement, definitely going to mark my shaft nut to make sure it does not work itself out.

What you guys think about this redneck engineering? A heavy duty zip tie not too rigid but hold the sector shaft?? j/k

Now that is redneck engineering at it's finest! Seriously though, I wish you luck with your replacement bearing assembly, just do not forget to grease every 3000 miles per Synergy.

As for me, instead of modifying the Synergy bracket for use without the bearing I will list the Synergy brace for sale as soon as the Rancho bracket I just ordered arrives. The Rancho is just a trackbar / steering box support bracket and I have been pleased with the handful of other Rancho products I have used. And if down the road there is an issue under warranty with the steering box, there would be no way for anyone to claim the problem was due to external stress on the sector shaft due to aftermarket modifications...

 

[Aceman]

All right, I finally installed my brace since it is a long weekend, but what a @#$@$#@ major PITA.

First my shaft nut won't come off. It is weird I can actually loose it using my impact wrench, but after the initial loosen up, it won't budge again. I thought it might be red loctite, so after a round of heat gun and PB blaster, I took it off using breaker bar. What was weird is there was no loctite at all, but there were a lot of metal shavings, so I carefully cleaned it up.

I did have to sand the weld a little bit, then the second problem came. The bolts holding steering box closed to the spring were hard to reach using any socket. In ponyboy's video, he showed this step super easy because he has a coilover, so there is no spring in the factory location. And then when I went back to put the bolts back, it is hard to line them up, again a lot of swear words I am not proud of. Almost all the bolts and nuts are super inconvenient to torque, and fuck these allen bolts.

Finally, I have a question, my shaft brace seems having one additional holes in the underside (red circle in the pic), all the videos and pics I saw only have one hole for that tiny flat head. What is that second hole for?

Also when I greased it, I went a little bit trigger happy so there was grease coming out of bushing, is that okay for now?

I also have that extra hole in the pitman arm brace.

 

[Aceman]

So I installed the Track Bar/Sector Shaft Brace on monday. Everything was pretty straight forward but I noticed a huge gap between the pitman arm collar and the brace. On one side the hex nut is snug against the brace, on the other side, the flat-head screw is nowhere near flush with the side. Perhaps we got a bad batch of pitman arm collars?

 

[plex]

So I installed the Track Bar/Sector Shaft Brace on monday. Everything was pretty straight forward but I noticed a huge gap between the pitman arm collar and the brace. On one side the hex nut is snug against the brace, on the other side, the flat-head screw is nowhere near flush with the side. Perhaps we got a bad batch of pitman arm collars?

That does not look good, poor fit collar will work your pitman arm nut loose. Unfortunately you are shit out of luck. Synergy won't do anything since this thing sells like hot cakes, they probably will tell you just bend it yourself.

 

[Roky]

So I installed the Track Bar/Sector Shaft Brace on monday. Everything was pretty straight forward but I noticed a huge gap between the pitman arm collar and the brace. On one side the hex nut is snug against the brace, on the other side, the flat-head screw is nowhere near flush with the side. Perhaps we got a bad batch of pitman arm collars?

Give synergy a call, they’ve stepped up every time I needed something, weather it be information or parts. In the meantime I would at least put a couple washers in there so it will cinch up.

 

[plex]

Give synergy a call, they’ve stepped up every time I needed something, weather it be information or parts. In the meantime I would at least put a couple washers in there so it will cinch up.

I did, unfortunately like other members in this thread, we were told just to deal with it. Disappointed to say the least.

 

[Aceman]

Give synergy a call, they’ve stepped up every time I needed something, weather it be information or parts. In the meantime I would at least put a couple washers in there so it will cinch up.

Yeah, they haven't answered my emails. When I got someone on the phone, they were annoyed and told me they'd call me back which they never did.

 

[Roky]

I did, unfortunately like other members in this thread, we were told just to deal with it. Disappointed to say the least.

Sorry to hear it....... been a month or more since my last interaction, but they were very accommodating as always. Maybe somethings changed.

 

[Roky]

Yeah, they haven't answered my emails. When I got someone on the phone, they were annoyed and told me they'd call me back which they never did.

Did you try PM @AllJumpStyle ?

 

[plex]

Sorry to hear it....... been a month or more since my last interaction, but they were very accommodating as always. Maybe somethings changed.

Yeah, I kind of giving up this product. I don't think the brass bearing is a good idea in this case. the shaft need to rotate freely so we can steer, but at the same time, the bearing is trying to limit the lateral movement. I just can't see this metal to metal contact can do anything good, if someone can come with a different bearing design, maybe a high strength rubber bushing, then I may think about it.

As of now, I will just use it as a track bar brace.

 

[Halstem1]

I've always had good luck with synergy. They always respond via email or even when I message them on instagram.

what is a good grease for this or other joints? The stuff I'm using is runnier looking that the pic above.

 

[oceanblue2019]

I've always had good luck with synergy. They always respond via email or even when I message them on instagram.

what is a good grease for this or other joints? The stuff I'm using is runnier looking that the pic above.

I just bought a tube of the Synergy grease and use that.

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