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WJ Swap Steering and Track Bar Questions.

Cburb88XJ

Cburb88XJ

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Purcellville, VA
Hello new to forum, well not really but new account, ive tried researching a good bit but want to make sure i understand some things and get prepared. Im getting different axles which are basically built to the max minus RCVs the front is a d30 hp fully built wj swapped adapted to 4.5 pattern, chromoly shafts, trussed, gusseted outer c's, riddler diff cover, detroit full case locker 4.56s and everything but my plan in order to take advantage of the crossover steering OTK and using OTA trackbar is this...

Order JKS Fab tie rod and drag link with their nuts, ream knuckles or use goferit inserts, Order JKS trackbar relocation bracket. as for tie rods not sure to use 1 ton or WJ ones. Far as the trackbar deal gos i have a IRO double shear adjustable trackbar and im curious if i could just cut a certain amount from the center and use it for the OTA, thats the one thing im not too sure on, pretty sure nobody makes a trackbar just for this most people probably go custom.That OTA mount raises mounting location 4 inches. Oh and im at 4.5 lift now and later on down road i will be either 6 or 6.5 lift. Thanks for any help. :cheers:
 
Sounds like a good plan you have there. You may need to use off set tie rod ends depending on your trackbar bracket. I had to use them on the draglink and I chose to use them on the tie rod as well just so I knew it would clear the diff cover. And you'd be fine simply cutting the bushing off the axle end of your trackbar, taking a small section out of the track bar and rewelding it back together.
 
I was thinking of cutting it in the center somewhere since it has a bend in the beginning and end of the trackbar, its like solid 1.25 rolled steel, and be able to use the same bushing and stuff otherwise if i cut the bushing side off where its bent id have to weld on a big nut and install different bushing and it wouldnt be adjustable either.
 
I just looked at the IRO trackbar image, I see no reason why you couldnt remove material from the middle to correct the length. Might want to source a 3 -4" length of DOM tube with a 1.25" ID to sleeve the area that you cut and reweld, for some added beef. Or not.

BTW, have you been following this related thread? http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1108062
 
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Oh no i havent seen that,most the steering setups in their arent wj swap though. Thats what i planned on doing was cutting center out and sleeving overtop of the cut, i just dont see many people running a trackbar that still has 2 bends in it with a wj swap, everyone has a straight bar, hopefully it wont be a problem. Also what steering are you running?

I was looking at the JKS since its already setup for crossover steering for xjs. For TRE what route you think i should take? thanks
 
We cut and sleeved my re track bar when I went wj
I ran the has tie rod and drag link with the wj ends(which are offset). Also used the goferit flip certs.
No issues with any of it.
 
Alright cool sounds good, thats what i might do, what tie rod and drag link did you run? Also what way did you go about figuring out how much of your trackbar to cut? thanks
 
I used the jks links, as the wj ends are a metric thread, so finding a 24 mm left hand tap was quite pricey.
With the ruffstuff offset tre, it uses a standard thread, so if you want to fab your own, that might be a better route.

As for cutting, we just measured from mount to mount, and figured out how much shorter it needed to be. Then cut a smaller section out of the track bar, sleeve it, and make sure it is correct before burning it in. You can always cut more off, but it's a little harder to add it back. Four rosettes on each end, and perimeter welded. Never had an issue
 
Alright so ill plan to.

-cut stock trackbar to length

-JKS OTA bracket

-JKS tie rod and drag link with jam nuts

-goferit flipserts for OTK

-WJ tie rods which are ES3472 and ES3473?

Thanks for the help



MOOG Part # ES3473
{#52088869AA, 52088879AA} Problem Solver
Heart.png

Front Left Outer; Incl. powdered-metal gusher bearing to allow grease to penetrate bearing surfaces
getimage.php

$23.79

MOOG Part # ES3472
{#52088870AA, 52088870AB} Problem Solver
Heart.png

Right Outer (Steering Arm To Steering Arm); Incl. powdered-metal gusher bearing to allow grease to penetrate bearing surfaces
getimage.php

$23.79
 
For the drag link, I used another set of tie rod ends. The drag link ones are a bit different, and the issue is that you are going otk, which puts the offsets the wrong way. No big deal with the tire roof, as you just turn the bar around. With the drag link, the Othman arm end is bent differently, leaving you with only the wrong offset if you try and use the drag link tre.

Hope that makes sense
 
Cburb88XJ said:
Oh no i havent seen that,most the steering setups in their arent wj swap though. Thats what i planned on doing was cutting center out and sleeving overtop of the cut, i just dont see many people running a trackbar that still has 2 bends in it with a wj swap, everyone has a straight bar, hopefully it wont be a problem. Also what steering are you running?

I was looking at the JKS since its already setup for crossover steering for xjs. For TRE what route you think i should take? thanks
Click to expand...

Instead of using WJ steering linkage, I selected 1.50" OD .250" wall DOM tube with weld inserts and Tera offset TRE's. The Tera units are 7/8" thread x 18 tpi.
The offset TRE's provide the tierod and draglink clearance needed to clear the diff, trackbar bracket and coil buckets. The pitman arm TRE is not offset.

My build thread: http://naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=913774&page=9
 
XJEEPER said:
Instead of using WJ steering linkage, I selected 1.50" OD .250" wall DOM tube with weld inserts and Tera offset TRE's. The Tera units are 7/8" thread x 18 tpi.
The offset TRE's provide the tierod and draglink clearance needed to clear the diff, trackbar bracket and coil buckets. The pitman arm TRE is not offset.

My build thread: http://naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=913774&page=9
Click to expand...

is the offset TRE at the end of the drag link at the knuckle a must have?
 
So if I use the jks for drag link I can use the regular tie rod for the pitman arm side but for the axle side I need the 52088512 crown RHD link. Other wise if I made my own tie rod and drag link I could use 7/8 1 ton stuff?
 
If you want me to take pictures, mine is going under the knife this week. I have all the parts sitting in my garage. Just picked up tubing this morning. 1.5" .250 DOM tierod, 1.25" .120 wall 4130 draglink and trackbar. JKS over the axle bracket drilled for 9/16" RE frameside bracket. 3/4" hiems, tube inserts, etc. Using 1 ton offset TRE's for the tie rod and axle side draglink. The problem with the WJ TRE's is the metric thread. Tierod with inserts is like 60 bucks using one tons.
 
Yea that would be cool, I have the trackbar deal figured out but as far drag link and tie rod gos it would be nice to just make my own bars but I'm not really sure if the 1 ton tie rods are really gonna be that necessary compared to wj ones which would be fine probably
 
tapered inserts are also available for the WJ ends, so that you can run them OTK. i would recommend drilling the knuckle and welding in a tapered insert rather reaming the knuckle from the top, so that you dont have two opposing tapers. can be had at any parts store. definitely strong enough. i dont know of anyone that makes weld bungs specifically for WJ tie rod ends, but clayton offers aluminum links, and i think JKS offers DOM links.

ruffstuff used to offer one ton offset TREs. the nice part being that you can still get traditional one tone TREs from any parts store and put them on to get you home. same size and thread on the shank. they arent listed now, supply issue i believe. the only place ive seen them listed is parts mike, but i havent called to verify that they are in stock. do some homework though, some are listed as having a slightly larger than one ton taper.

the teraflex offset TREs are another option. the shank is the same as one ton, but the taper is stock jeep. they offer some in the one ton taper, but not the offset ones.

heims are also an option.
 
Yes, I have no steering clearance issues at full lock to lock. My build thread has pictures of the WJ swap, including steering clearance. http://naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=913774&page=9

I now run a Ruffstuff diff cover and my tie rod clears it as well.

A bend in the draglink may result in some roll and create play......or not.
 
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You'd have to run a pretty significant bend at the end near the knuckle to be able to use heims. The offset tre just makes it 100x easier.
 
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