Front mounted tie rod setup?

Is there a tie rod/draglink setup where the tie rod is actually in front of the draglink instead of behind it (where it mounts to the draglink)?

Sure, steering from a YJ has the drag link in front. But, it's an inverted T design and has a dead spot from tie rod rotation because of the angle of the drag link on an XJ.

What are you trying to do?

Goatman said:

Sure, steering from a YJ has the drag link in front. But, it's an inverted T design and has a dead spot from tie rod rotation because of the angle of the drag link on an XJ.

What are you trying to do?

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Fix this:



Tie rod hits the passenger sway bar link/bracket when turning and flexing. I have a low pinion 30 so I had to tilt the axle a bit more than usual to achieve a vibe-less pinion angle which angled the sway bar links down, into the path of the tie rod. It doesn't rub when driving around town. I plan to go with currie's steering cuz i know it has a deeper angle at the draglink for this issue but I wanted to check out cheaper alternatives if there were any.

I don't have access to a welder or know anyone who does so relocating that sway bar mount isn't really an option.

Most of the time when I've seen that hitting, the drag link was bent back slightly from banging into something on the trail. a little pull got it bent back out and the clearance restored. Of course, once it's been bent, it's not as strong, but you can keep an eye on it. The Currie steering should be OK.


Also, how does your steering feel? If the axle is rotated too far forward you've decreased the castor and might have loose feeling steering.......not much feel of center.

Goatman said:

Most of the time when I've seen that hitting, the drag link was bent back slightly from banging into something on the trail. a little pull got it bent back out and the clearance restored. Of course, once it's been bent, it's not as strong, but you can keep an eye on it. The Currie steering should be OK.


Also, how does your steering feel? If the axle is rotated too far forward you've decreased the castor and might have loose feeling steering.......not much feel of center.

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That's a good thought but it was never bent. I replaced all my steering parts last fall and haven't been wheeling since. I had this same problem with the old steering parts as well. I'm pretty sure it's cuz of the caster. My caster is at 4 degrees right now. My pinion is 2 degrees down from the DS angle. This is the closest I can get it and still have a somewhat decent caster angle and no vibes. It handles pretty good on the road but has a slight tendency to follow the dips in the road.