D44 high steer links

I am in the process of getting all the parts together to put my d44 in. This axle is set up for high steer. I am going with the tnt truss which will put the trac bar above the axle. I have searched and only found info on d30 high steer. So I was wondering what some options are for steering links for the d44 the only company I have found to make links is Spyder Customs and it's pretty costly. An cheaper ways to go?

Are you looking for tie rods or hi steer arms? Or a complete steering setup?

thobson said:

I am in the process of getting all the parts together to put my d44 in. This axle is set up for high steer. I am going with the tnt truss which will put the trac bar above the axle. I have searched and only found info on d30 high steer. So I was wondering what some options are for steering links for the d44 the only company I have found to make links is Spyder Customs and it's pretty costly. An cheaper ways to go?

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This is what I did (btw I'm a bit of an ebay junkie). I bought a set of stock F250 Ford flattop knuckles on ebay for $45.


I bought a set of highsteer arms from a company called "Harsh Terrain" off ebay for $120. They have an ebay store too.


The stock pitman arm isn't long enough to turn the the highsteer arms far enough to get full turning radius so used a longer Waggy pitman arm.




Then I ordered my tie rod and drag link from Foothill offroad. They will build your links to order for $289. I used 1 ton Chevy TREs. (They're on ebay too.....)
http://home.foothilloffroad.com/steering.jsphttp://home.foothilloffroad.com/steering.jsphttp://home.foothilloffroad.com/steering.jsp1V


This is the finished steering.


As for moving the trackbar above the axle, I used a JKS above the axle trackbar relocation bracket.

http://www.partsmike.com/

Check out parts mike. Complete inverted T set ups. not the cheapest but the last one you will need....

I have high steer arms I am just looking for the steering links and I am trying to stay away from an Y or T style steering but instead do I true high steer. I have found some places to make custom steering links but they are pretty expensive.

Sierra Drifter said:

The stock pitman arm isn't long enough to turn the the highsteer arms far enough to get full turning radius so used a longer Waggy pitman arm.

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SD would that be a stock waggy pitman or drop? TIA blaise

blaisetd said:

SD would that be a stock waggy pitman or drop? TIA blaise

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I used a stock waggy pitman arm, it only has a one inch drop. Waggy drop pitman arms are available, but the stock one combined with the jks trackbar relocation bracket was just right to make the draglink and trackbar parallel (high steer). The draglink hole in the wagy pitman arm is larger than a stock XJ. I bought the draglink and pitman arm from Foothill Offroad both with the same tapper, 1 1/2" over one foot tapper if I remember correctly.

thobson said:

I am trying to stay away from an Y or T style steering but instead do I true high steer.

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You are thinking of crossover steering then, cause in those pictures, that is a true high steer. Crossover is where the drag link attaches to the knuckle (hi steer arm), and then a separate tie rod mounts to the same arm, and then to the other arm.

thobson said:

I have high steer arms I am just looking for the steering links and I am trying to stay away from an Y or T style steering but instead do I true high steer. I have found some places to make custom steering links but they are pretty expensive.

Click to expand...

I'm going to assume you want to do true crossover steering. Most of the crossover setups I've seen either use hiems stacked on the highsteer arm, or they attach the draglink to the highsteer arm, and attach the tierod to the knuckles. There normally isn't room on the highsteer arm to attach 2 TREs. I didn't want to use hiems, and I didn't want the tierod down on the knuckle, so I elected to go with the inverted T configuration. It has worked well for me so far. Make sure you use high steer arms long enough that the tie rod clears the coil springs when the steering is at full lock. The tie rod moves closer to the springs as you turn the steering.

BTW, I believe my total cost for high-steer was $494 plus some shipping and tax. Thats knuckles, high-steer arms, draglink, tierod, pitman arm. I think that's a decent price.

thobson said:

So I was wondering what some options are for steering links for the d44 the only company I have found to make links is Spyder Customs and it's pretty costly. An cheaper ways to go?

Click to expand...

Hi Steer aint cheap, no way to get around it. Don't try and skimp on your steering, Steering and Brakes are the most important part of your rig. You said your axle is set up for hi steer, I take that to mean your axle already has flat top knuckles?

So you just need steering arms and links... find a reputable company (wfoconcepts.com, partsmike.com, or other) and figure out what you want - there are a few different ways to go...

This is how I will be building my high steer crossover steering.

Photo and axle by Jeff 98 XJ WI



It will use a TJ steering arm that is reamed out to fit the TRE's.

At full suspension compression the draglink and tierod just clear each other.

Here is a link to his build.

Jeffs axle build on madxj.com

This is the best page for high steer info: http://77cj.littlekeylime.com/web_rs44.html

and this: http://77cj.littlekeylime.com/flatop_knucles.html

thank you everyone for the correction true crossover is what I am looking to do. My axles are set up for this with steering arms(avalanche) already mounted to the flat top knuckles. I was just wondering if there where any other options to lower the cost of the steering links, drag link and tie rod. But understanding that I do not want to skimp on these parts I will just suck it up and have some made.

Since this is a daily drive would going with a high steer set up be nicer?

Also will I for sure need to run a waggy pitman arm or does it differ for each application. Right now I am running RK longest drop pitman? Also will I have issues with the TNT ota trac bar mount linning up properly with drag link?

thobson said:

thank you everyone for the correction true crossover is what I am looking to do. My axles are set up for this with steering arms(avalanche) already mounted to the flat top knuckles. I was just wondering if there where any other options to lower the cost of the steering links, drag link and tie rod. But understanding that I do not want to skimp on these parts I will just suck it up and have some made.

Since this is a daily drive would going with a high steer set up be nicer?

Also will I for sure need to run a waggy pitman arm or does it differ for each application. Right now I am running RK longest drop pitman? Also will I have issues with the TNT ota trac bar mount linning up properly with drag link?

Click to expand...

High-steer is fine for a daily driver.
The advantages of high-steer are, it reduces the steep angle of the draglink, it moves the tierod up high out of the way of rocks, and it is less likely to roll the tierod up before it actually moves wheels, thus eliminating a possible dead spot in the steering. (not a concern if you do true crossover). In my experience you need to have the tierod about 7 inches out from the balljoints in order to clear the coil springs at full lock. With a 7 inch high steer arm, the stock pitman arm will not turn the knuckle all the way to the point where the steering stops on the knuckle make contact, thus you lose some turning radius. Your pitman arm needs to be as long horizonally from the hole to hole, as the high steer arm from ball joint to tie rod hole. I hope I explained that right.

So here is my high-steer arm and a XJ drop pitman arm, the verticle drop amount has nothing to do with this issue.



Obviously the pitman arm doesn't have enough 'throw' (only 5.5") for the high-steer arm 7 1/4".
With this combination I could turn my steering wheel as far as it would go and my steering knuckles did not turn all the way to the steering stops.
So to correct this I got the Waggy pitman arm, which is 7" hole to hole, which was enough.

The next issue is making sure the draglink and the trackbar are parallel so you don't experience bumpsteer. For me the waggy pitman arm with only one inch drop and the JKS above the axle relocation bracket, on a full width axle, gave me parallel links. If you are doing true crossover then the angle of your draglink will be different. I sugest you install your steering first, when you are satisfied with your highsteer, then figure out where your axle side trackbar mount needs to be to make it parallel to the draglink. Then buy or fab a bracket that will position the trackbar in the right place.

You might want to read the build thread in my sig.
You might want to call Foothill Offroad and tell them what kind of draglink and tierod you want, they will most likely build it to order for a very reasonable price.
Make sure you know the measurements and what kind of joints you want, hiems or tres, if you order something that doesn't work, you probably won't be able to return it.

Sierra Drift thanks that was lots of really helpful information!! I know have a much clearer idea of how to go about setting this up and what to look for.

My only concern now would be I plan on using the tnt truss which has all the mounts already welded onto it includding the ota trac bar mount. Will not being able to adjust where this mout goes create an issue for me, or does this just simply mean that I might have to ditch my trac bar and have a new one fabbed that will be perfect length?

thobson said:

Sierra Drift thanks that was lots of really helpful information!! I know have a much clearer idea of how to go about setting this up and what to look for.

My only concern now would be I plan on using the tnt truss which has all the mounts already welded onto it includding the ota trac bar mount. Will not being able to adjust where this mout goes create an issue for me, or does this just simply mean that I might have to ditch my trac bar and have a new one fabbed that will be perfect length?

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Well if you can't change the axle side trackbar mount, you might be able to adjust the draglink by using a pitman arm with the correct amount of drop to make the links parallel. Or worst case you change the trackbar mount on the TnT truss, a little cutting and a little welding. And no matter what, you will have to adjust the length of the trackbar.

You wont know until you get there,thats where the pitman arm comes in.You just want the angles to be the same.

Sierra Drifter said:

I used a stock waggy pitman arm, it only has a one inch drop. Waggy drop pitman arms are available, but the stock one combined with the jks trackbar relocation bracket was just right to make the draglink and trackbar parallel (high steer). The draglink hole in the wagy pitman arm is larger than a stock XJ. I bought the draglink and pitman arm from Foothill Offroad both with the same tapper, 1 1/2" over one foot tapper if I remember correctly.

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Seirra: that is what I wanted to hear, I've been wanting to pickup a waggy/ford pitman arm to regain the steering I lost with my d44 swap, but I was concerned I would need a waggy drop pitman arm to keep my steering angle ok, and they aren't cheap, but I can grab a waggy pitman arm at the pick'n'pull.

Gravesdiggerxj said:

Seirra: that is what I wanted to hear, I've been wanting to pickup a waggy/ford pitman arm to regain the steering I lost with my d44 swap, but I was concerned I would need a waggy drop pitman arm to keep my steering angle ok, and they aren't cheap, but I can grab a waggy pitman arm at the pick'n'pull.

Click to expand...

Just so you are aware, the hole for the draglink is larger on a waggy pitman arm, so you will need to replace the TRE on the draglink. Also, the stock waggy pitman arm only has a one inch drop, if you might need a Waggy drop pitman arm to keep your draglink and trackbar parallel.

Sierra Drifter said:

Just so you are aware, the hole for the draglink is larger on a waggy pitman arm, so you will need to replace the TRE on the draglink. Also, the stock waggy pitman arm only has a one inch drop, if you might need a Waggy drop pitman arm to keep your draglink and trackbar parallel.

Click to expand...

I'm set up over the knuckle with one ton chevy ends so I figured I'd have to ream the waggy pitman arm out anyway.