Heavy Duty Drag Link

I bent my 98 Xj's stock tie rod tube/ drag link which ever you prefer to call it the other day when I hit a big rock.

Anyone recommend or have good luck with any particular brand of after market heavy duty tie rod tubes?

Any suggestions greatly appreciated! Keep in mind I have 8" lift and 35" tires.

Thx..

Northern Pride said:

tie rod tube/ drag link which ever you prefer to call it

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those are two distinct and separate parts. i will assume you're talking about tie-rod (the name implies that it ties something together, in this case letting the wheels turn at the same time, by tying the driver side knuckle and passenger side of the draglink together) the easy replacement is ZJ v8 tierod, it's solid stock and not tube like the XJ one.

thx dennisuello I call it a tie rod tube because it connects the two tie rods. I was told that it was also called a drag link. Sorry for the confusion.

Where might be the best place or price for the stock ZJ V8 tie rod tube be? So this will fit my 98 XJ with out issue?

thx again..

draglink connects steering arm to knuckle, tie-rod connects knuckle to knuckle. XJs are kinda different in that the tie-rod doesn't go from knuckle to knuckle, but from draglink to knuckle.

Northern Pride said:

thx dennisuello I call it a tie rod tube because it connects the two tie rods. I was told that it was also called a drag link. Sorry for the confusion.

Where might be the best place or price for the stock ZJ V8 tie rod tube be? So this will fit my 98 XJ with out issue?

thx again..

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any auto parts store that sells rod ends, NAPA, AutoZone, etc.

currie's steering system is generally recognized as being good beef for the XJ. Cannot say the same about Rusty's based on personal experience.

Rubicon Express and a couple of other places sell good quality, strong XJ tie rods. Here's a link....I've run this, it's very stout: RE tie rod

You also are likely to bend your stock drag link (pitman arm to pass knuckle), so think of a complete replacement steering system while you're at it. The stock steering is VERY marginal for 8" lift and 35's.

Thx for all the help guys!

I called AutoZone for a 98 Grand Cherokee tie rod tube and they said they have it for $15.99 I think that's the way to go right now. I looked at currie and RE and really like to get the whole system but, but can't do it money wise right now.

I think the solid one that the V8 ZJ has will work great. As I break things I will replace them.

Thx for all the input. Now to make sure the AutoZone guy was looking up the right part.

to go wit ZJ tie-rod you have to ge three parts. driver side rod end, adjuster and pass side long tierod with rod end built in. total is over $100.
i am also running Currie Draglink and it's the way to go with over 4" lift, since the rod ends have bends in them to prevent binding at droop.

I went with the Currie tie rod tube. It's actually for a TJ but they said it would fit. $85.95 I was thinking of doing the whole kit for $399.95 but they said with 8" lift and 35" tires it would need to be jimmied with for it to work.

I don't see why if the stock works fine. But they said it was desined to work with no more than 4" lift.

Northern Pride said:

I went with the Currie tie rod tube. It's actually for a TJ but they said it would fit. $85.95 I was thinking of doing the whole kit for $399.95 but they said with 8" lift and 35" tires it would need to be jimmied with for it to work.

I don't see why if the stock works fine. But they said it was desined to work with no more than 4" lift.

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The stock doesn't really work fine at 8". The tie rod end at the pitman arm already has much of it's available movement used up and will be maxed out at full droop, dramatically shortening it's useful life. It's a very good idea (read necessary) to check it for wear often......you don't want that joint coming apart on you anywhere, road or trail. The same thing applies to the drag link joint at the passenger knuckle, although it's more durable than the one at the pitman arm. To get your steering to center at that height, the adjusting collar on the drag link leaves more threads showing on the drag link, and it is very common for the drag link to bend at those threads. Sometimes it bends a little and sometimes it bends a LOT, even into a 90* angle, and can break when trying to straighten it out which turns into an interesting trail repair. Keep in mind, I'm not talking theory here, I'm talking experience.

Additionally, a minor point but applicable, the inverted Y steering system changes the toe as the suspension cycles. This isn't a problem when the angles are relatively close to being flat because there is little or no change, but as the angle increases the amount of toe change increases. You won't feel it, but it's happening, and it's another reason that the stock steering is not OK at 8" of lift. You can get by with it with varying degrees of luck for a while, but 8" really does need a redesigned steering setup.

Just an FYI.

Why would currie build a replacement steering setup that only works up to 4" of lift? To me that make no sense?! Especially considering that they are asking 400 dollars!! :dunno:

mike

12monkeys said:

Why would currie build a replacement steering setup that only works up to 4" of lift? To me that make no sense?! Especially considering that they are asking 400 dollars!! :dunno:

mike

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Because it was built for a TJ, but it works on an XJ because they use the same components. A TJ's steering has less angle on it than an XJ's does, the steering box/pitman arm is closer vertically to the axle housing. So, a TJ with 4" of lift has better steering angles than an XJ with 4" of lift. Plus, very few lift a TJ more than 4-6", they don't need it, and they can do a 1" body lift to provide plenty of tire clearance.....something that can't be done on an XJ. Many XJ's are lifted 6-8". So, the Currie steering is a good product, but it's a beefed up stock design.....not adequate for the taller XJ lifts.

Goatman thx for the info I really appreciate it. I guess I will keep an eye on the whole front steering system and hope one of the billion after market makers out there makes the whole setup for a 8" lift soon.

Thx again!

Hey thanks for the answer...it makes more sense to me now!

mike

Something that helped me when I still had the D30 was flipping the steering over the knuckle. You can do this easily with heims by just drilling out the knuckle to 5/8s and use 3/4" heims with 5/8s sleeves. Some people don't want to run heims on the front steering so you can have the knuckels machined with a tapered reamer to still use TRE's. The crucial thing to look at is the static (non-drooped) angle of the TRE/heim at the pitman arm. I made a steering for my D30 with heims and bent my draglink such that this static angle was nearly flat. Anything less than flat will max the heim/tre and severly lessen it's life. Keep in mind that flipping the steering on top of the knuckle will necessitate raising the track bar mount on the axle because the TR will interfere with it.

IMHO, the most important part of lifting an XJ is dealing with the steering.

SeanP

I'm using a drop pitman from a ZJ, a draglink from a TJ and a heavy duty tierod with 1/2 ton dodge ends. I havn't had any problems since doing this. 35" tires 6" lift.

Just wanted to give an update for closing.

I ordered the heavy duty tie rod tube for a TJ from currie for my XJ. It fits perfect! No problems at all, just a big pipe wrench and a little muscle.

It's very stout! I installed it Saturday morning, I can't imagine bending that again. The next thing will probably be the draglink to bend.

That was with out question the way to go.

Thx for all the help to those who responded, much appreciated
Doug...

I have the Currie 1" diameter 4130 chromoly replacement tie rod on my 93' with 4" of lift and 33's. I bent it once (right after I got it) and straightend it, and then bent the piss out of it last weekend and it's too bad to straighten now. Both times it was the only thing that bent. I had really hoped it would hold up better. I have a larger one coming and I'm going to flip it on top of the knuckle on the drivers side. Hopefully it'll be far enough out of harms way for a while but I'm sure that with the new one being bigger with a heavier wall thickness, if I do hit it, I'll bend the drag link or break a TRE.

Dave

Where you getting the new one from Dave?