steering gearbox replacement problems

i recently won a 93 cherokee in an auction and it had a bad steering gearbox in it but had a refab'd one in the back seat . when i went to replace it i noticed that the bracket/mount that is normally between the frame and the steering gearbox wasnt there . not knowing much about XJ's i found out this bracket was missing only after installing the new gearbox and seeing that there was a gap between the frame and gearbox . ive called everywhere including jeep and done tons of researching on the net and cant find this thing for the life of me . does anyone have any advice ? where to get one or whst i can do in place of this bracket ? help is much needed and would be greatly appreciated .

check with www.jcroffroad.com

The dealer should be able to get the spacer, I got one from them a few years ago and it was pretty cheap. Steering gear box spacer, they should be able to see it right in the diagram.

get an aftermarket one. c-rok makes one as well.

I might have one. I'll check this weekend. They are all the same through out the years. Check you local chapter on here also as someone may have a few from parting the jeeps out

x2. Aftermarket is the way to go as the OEM aluminum spacer was crap brand new.
I ordered from three places and the c-rok was best and with better bolts in a kit ready to install.

Click-Click-Pull said:

x2. Aftermarket is the way to go as the OEM aluminum spacer was crap brand new.
I ordered from three places and the c-rok was best and with better bolts in a kit ready to install.

Click to expand...

I have one from JCR and it is seriously heavy duty but when you stop to think what the "spacer" is doing, you realize it is just a spacer. It is just pushing the steering box away from the unibody.

Really, I would think 3 separate spacers would do the same job, having the spacers attached just makes install easier. That is why it is a flimsy piece of aluminum from the factory, it is not meant to be load bearing from what I can tell. If your frame is bending that much that the spacer is now keeping the bolt holes aligned, you got bigger issues.

iwannadie said:

I have one from JCR and it is seriously heavy duty but when you stop to think what the "spacer" is doing, you realize it is just a spacer. It is just pushing the steering box away from the unibody.

Really, I would think 3 separate spacers would do the same job, having the spacers attached just makes install easier. That is why it is a flimsy piece of aluminum from the factory, it is not meant to be load bearing from what I can tell. If your frame is bending that much that the spacer is now keeping the bolt holes aligned, you got bigger issues.

Click to expand...

Forces are still being transfered from the box through the spacer and into the unibody and the OEM wasn't designed for the forces applied stock let alone the forces applied by larger tires or offroad driving or just driving a 20+ yr old rig. As well as the spacers being connected by the plate only helps to spread those forces instead of focus them to one point. The reason for 3 spacers was to compare quality or materials and welds. The losers went back for a refund. I was only giving my opinion of quality. Muah!

thanks for all the responses , its greatly appreciated . unfortunatly jeep doesnt make that part anymore and really the only hope is the c-rok brace . thanks again , i post again when i see how it goes ....