Building Custom DL and TR??????????

would I be able to use this setup

to build a custom Draglink and Tie rod for my 94 Jeep Cherokee. It has a Dana 30 up front with stock steering and I wanted to build an over the knuckle steering setup?

Here are some pictures of the jeep.



This is my daily driver so heim joints wouldn't last.

i don't see why you couldn't fab your own setup using those ends. make sure and get some good thick DOM tubing.

You'd first have to consider the fact that you will need to drill/ream out the knuckles to accept an over-the-knuckle, top down taper for the tie rod ends.

Secondly, the reason many folks do not bother is that much of the time, the stock knuckle steering arms are too short to allow full movement of the tie rod w/out it hitting the stock swaybar/trackbar axle mounts. Going from lock-to-lock while steering, the tie rod actually moves backward towards the axle housing as the knuckles rotate towards their furthest outward/inward angles. That backward movement will very possibly put the tie rod right into the brackets, causing the steering to bind.

If you go outside and look at your steering setup from the side of the vehicle, (looking down the length of the steering, placing the tire between you and the steering) you will see that the stock inverted Y setup bows outward, toward the front of the vehicle to allow the steering linkage enough room to move backward and not hit the axle. Now envison the same movement with a knucke to knuckle, straight across style tie rod. It places the steering much closer to the axle, and can cause the tie rod to hit.

One remedy to run a knuckle to knuckle system is the crossover steering passenger side knuckle from Teraflex. I got mine from Sam's Offroad for a decent price. It worked fine until it was pulled for the Dana 60.


http://www.samsoffroad.com/samsoffroadsto/index.html

I'm currently running that system. It's a good low $ way to go high steer but there are a few problems.
As arctic said, it will interfere with several components. The swaybar mounts will have to be moved or eliminated. It will (somewhat) lightly hit the trackbar and coil perches. Also, the TREs come very close (within a 1/8") of the inside of the wheel, and that's with 3.5" backspacing. I assume any more backspace will hit.
Like I said, it's a nice, strong, reasonably cheap way to go but there are some issues you will need to address.
I actually just started a thread about this setup because I'm considering using this system in an inverted Y configuration (in your picture on top, imagine the two TREs on the left swapped top to bottom) which may solve some of these issues.

Thanks for the info, I guess I need to think about it some more. Or I could use the outers of a Liberty if I could find some pertty cheap. Either way I have to think about it.

Joe said:

Thanks for the info, I guess I need to think about it some more. Or I could use the outers of a Liberty if I could find some pertty cheap. Either way I have to think about it.

Click to expand...

If youre going to go through the hassle of converting components from another vehicle, just go all out and purchase a complete stock WJ steering system. Beefy components and factory crossover.

bring out an old thread, but using the same TRE's in the first post, or similiar ones, could i do this without going OTK? same concept, getting DOM tube threaded for the TRE's. also, anyone have an idea of the cost involved?

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=67834

as some aholes on this site would say.

"try using the search"

and as i would say in reply...that's how i found this thread. thanks for the link. however, i already looked at that and it doesn't quite cover what i'm looking for. i'm trying to see if a little more work gathering parts will save me some money or not, since i have more time than money right now.

dfreeman616 said:

bring out an old thread, but using the same TRE's in the first post, or similiar ones, could i do this without going OTK? same concept, getting DOM tube threaded for the TRE's. also, anyone have an idea of the cost involved?

Click to expand...

Yes, you just ream the knuckles out from the bottom instead of the top. Might eliminate the clearance issues.