PDA

View Full Version : Tie Rod and Drag Link Steering Upgrade



SCAMPER ZJ
07-11-2005, 05:36 PM
In June 2005 while attending Grand Slam West in Moab, I bent my drag link on Golden Spike going over the Golden Crack obstacle. This occurred in spite of cautious wheeling that day (in other words no bouncing or gunning it through obstacles, DAVE :smt003 ), though I must admit that I don't usually flex it quite that much during my daily driving! :yawinkle: Anyway, it was bent pretty bad (see pic below, it is bowing forward at the steering shock), and I thought that this would be the end of my wheeling trip. I certainly didn't want to attempt any more obstacles with a weakened drag link and risk getting stuck (or worse). Lucky for me however, one of the guys in the group had an "extra" drag link that he let me borrow (thanks, Scott). I did the swap right there in the City Market parking lot, then headed back out to the trails.

http://www.jeepsite.net/MOAB32.jpg
http://www.jeepsite.net/Steering01.jpg

While still at GSW, I had the good fortune of running into Kevin from KevinsOffroad (http://www.kevinsoffroad.com). He had replaced his stock drag link and tie rod with the U-Turn (http://www.offroadonly.com/products/new/u-turn) from Off Road Only (http://www.offroadonly.com). Kevin said he had been real impressed with it, and had recently begun retailing them on his web site. After getting home and doing some of my own research, I gave him a call and ordered one up.

A couple of days later the U-Turn (http://www.offroadonly.com/products/new/u-turn) arrived. Talk about beefy! Compared to the stock setup, these chromoly components look TOUGH! I really don't see bending this drag link like I did the stock one (pictured again below).

http://www.jeepsite.net/Steering02.jpg
http://www.jeepsite.net/Steering03.jpg

Since the setup is designed for a TJ with 3" of lift, some minor modifications needed to be done to fit my ZJ with 7" of lift. Kevin recommended using slightly beefier ends with more articulation for the drag link (NAPA part #2692023). Both are right-handed tie rod ends (terminology that is a little confusing since in this case they are used on the drag link, not the tie rod). The larger range-of-motion in the tie rod ends is necessary in order to minimize the stress placed on these parts, as well as the pitman arm and other components. Since the taper is of a larger diameter, I had to ream out two slightly bigger drag link holes: one in the bracket on the passenger side, and the other in the pitman arm. I used a drill press to do the former, and a hand-held 1/2" drill for the latter. For the tie rod itself, I used the tie rod ends that came with the U-Turn (http://www.offroadonly.com/products/new/u-turn).

http://www.jeepsite.net/Steering06.jpg
http://www.jeepsite.net/Steering07.jpg
http://www.jeepsite.net/Steering08.jpg
http://www.jeepsite.net/Steering09.jpg

To make the installation a little easier, I took off the passenger side tire. Not only did this make torquing the bolts easier, it also allowed me to droop the axle with and without the tie rod and drag link connected. The reason I did this was so that I could reassure myself that the orientation of the drag link, with the bend slightly forward, did not limit droop (which would have indicated potentially excessive stress on the tie rod end, etc.). The droop remained at 10" before and after, so I am confident that wear-and-tear will be minimized.

http://www.jeepsite.net/Steering10.jpg
http://www.jeepsite.net/Steering11.jpg
http://www.jeepsite.net/Steering12.jpg
http://www.jeepsite.net/Steering13.jpg

I must admit I was a bit nervous when I first took it for a test drive at 1AM the day before heading to Wheeler Lake (and less than a week before Holy Cross). However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that not only did the steering seem smoother, it also was more responsive. Turning corners was easier, and it held lines better. I wasn't disappointed when I took it out on the trail, either. Now the steering is less likely to have problems under strenuous conditions, and flex shots look even better with the U-Turn (http://www.offroadonly.com/products/new/u-turn) hardware under there!
:bling:

http://www.jeepsite.net/05Wheeler0166.jpg
http://www.jeepsite.net/05HC0204.jpg :fart:

MC
07-23-2005, 10:50 AM
Yup I run a U-turn, sway-loc, Airock combo on my ZJ....its a tough beefy setup.

Looking good

Kraqa
07-23-2005, 01:34 PM
I have seen this on other boards. Did they supply you with longer bolts for the hub? The knuckle setup seems sketchy to me.


how much did you pay?

MC
07-23-2005, 01:55 PM
I have seen this on other boards. Did they supply you with longer bolts for the hub? The knuckle setup seems sketchy to me.


how much did you pay?

I cant remember if they did supply the longer bolts but I have jumped 4 feet with mine and made tight turns at 85mph with my ZJ and have baja'ed it on very rough terrain and it worked great...as far as being sketchy..I think its the best for the application, why would it be sketchy?

Kraqa
07-23-2005, 02:06 PM
that bolt on plate puts alot of leverage on bolts that were not designed for it.

those bolts already hold you hub on. now they also have to put up with the force of turning tires. I'm sure this kit will work great. but there will eventually be a instanse when those bolts will no longer hold. There are tones of kits out there doing an inverted T that are time tested and work great. just makes me wonder why you woudl want to test out this one. I'm sure it wasn't cheep. probably the same as the other kits.

MC
07-23-2005, 02:10 PM
The bolts dont take the brunt of the turning force. The (I dont know what to call them).......the fins have a step in them and the side of the plate...which I think was .250 sits tight against the knuckle as well as a tie rod end fitting tight and the 2 bolts in the knuckel holding it together I dont see what could fail....their are only 3 bolts holding the knuckle on at all times in a stock formation with the 30 front on the ZJ's and TJ's. I saw a version of this at EJS in Moab but they used Heim joint style rod ends and it wasnt street legal and kinda ugly but the same principal.

BigDaveZJ
07-23-2005, 02:13 PM
I would think those bolts would hold up just fine. If you think about the forces applied to them, it'd be more of a pull/push along the length of the bolts, rather than a lateral force.

SCAMPER ZJ
07-23-2005, 08:30 PM
I have seen this on other boards. Did they supply you with longer bolts for the hub? The knuckle setup seems sketchy to me.

Hey Kraqa,

It doesn't come with new hub bolts, but I really don't think they need to be any longer (there was PLENTY of thread left after putting the bracket in there). Admittedly, there may be a little bit of additional leverage going on with regards to the hub bolts simply because the bracket is slightly offset, but these mostly are intended to just stabilize the bracket. The bracket is primarily secured by bolting to the steering knucke using the OEM drag link hole, and rotation around this (short) axis is minimized by the shape of the bracket cupping around the knuckle.


ow much did you pay?

It was around $600 for the u-turn through Kevin, not including the tie rod ends and reamer.

BTW, I've enjoyed watching your build progress and really dig that exo-cage (http://mallcrawlin.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1214&postdays=0&postorder=asc&star t=240)! I like what you did with the rear suspension (http://mallcrawlin.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1214&postdays=0&postorder=asc&star t=150) too, it really seems to articulate well. That thing is a BEAST, hope to see it at next year's GSW!!

Stan

Jim311
07-24-2005, 02:35 PM
Jesus, 600 bucks? Maybe I'll make my own bracket....

Kraqa
07-24-2005, 05:16 PM
thnx for the props on my ride and it will definatly be in MOAB next year for GSW.

but 600 for you steering. poison spyder (whome i dont' liek that much) has one for way cheeper. and the home brew one only costs abotu 150 or so to make.

SCAMPER ZJ
07-24-2005, 10:56 PM
Yeah, I looked into the one from Poison Spyder, but I really liked this one.

Nothing about this venture has been cheap, that's for sure. The quote Jim has from ATL ZJ seems quite appropriate:


it's a hobby that rarely makes good financial sense.