- Location
- Bakersfield, CA
I hope Rob doesn't mind, I'd rather answer his PM in the forums so the info is available. He's asked some good questions.
I've had two steering designs on the XJ, the D30 had small spacers to raise it up some and was an inverted Y design, with the drag link going from the pitman arm to the pass knuckle. The later design on the D44 was an inverted T with the tie rod knuckle to knuckle and the drag link attaching to tabs on the top of the tie rod. Here's a link to the album with some pics of both setups.
http://fototime.com/inv/C466180E77AACF4
I just drilled them to 5/8", which works with the small Jeep taper.
On the pitman arm for both setups I kept the stock tie rod end. It didn't work that well on the D44 setup since the axle had more down travel, and would wear out the TRE prematurely. I fixed it by putting a very slight bend in the drag link at the pitman arm, and haven't worn out a TRE since. Of course, I went out and bought a 20mm 1.5 tap that most might not do, but they're not expensive from Enco.com. On the D30 inverted Y setup I kept the stock adjustment collar to center the steering, on the inverted T setup you rotate the drag link.
On the buggy I used a 3/4 rod end with misalignment spacers down to a 5/8" bolt. I originally had TRE's on all the buggy steering, using the Tera large TRE's that keep the small Jeep taper, but I ditched it all and went to rod ends for simplicity. Oh, I also used 5/8" F911 bolts on all the steering ends, torqued to 250'.
I use a QA1 double adjuster where appropriate, part number ADJ12-12. I didn't know about them when I did the XJ steering, but later went back and changed it. It's a right hand/left hand male/female piece that allows you to use right hand thread rod ends on both ends, and you just turn the adjuster to set the toe or center the steering. With the inverted T on the XJ I use one at the driver side knuckle to set the tow, on the buggy with inverted Y steering I use one at the pitman arm to center the steering.
By using one of those adjusters, you can go ahead and weld tabs onto the steering link for the ram with no concerns for having to rotate the link for adjustments. On the XJ inverted T the ram mounts to tabs on the back side tie rod. On the buggy the ram is behind the axle on a double ended high steer arm.
Yes, that's a pretty good idea. Just don't tighten the nut before you weld it so the threads are true. I'll use either threaded inserts or tap it myself, but I prefer to tap it since that way you can use smaller size heavy wall tubing. Poly Performance sells .281 wall DOM with 11/16" ID so you can tap it to 3/4"16 thread, and they sell it by the foot. It's great stuff for steering links, tough as you'll ever want.
I made my spacers myself, but I had 5/8" ID DOM tubing at that time. I used 5/8" ID tubing and drilled it out to 11/16" to tap the 3/4" threads. I didn't like doing it that way without a lathe to get it perfectly straight, so next time I ordered 11/16" ID tubing and didn't have to drill it. I ground the taper myself, but you could also weld on a cone washer. I didn't weld the spacers to the knuckle, I think that could weaken the metal. My spacers were 1 1/16" tall, as tall as I could go and still clear the inside of the rim. With that short a spacer I wasn't concerned with bending the knuckle.
One comment on steering strength. There was a very good discussion recently about bolt strength. It was pointed out by some legit engineering types that a bolted joint's strength comes from the friction between the mating surfaces, not on the sheer strength of the bolt. Most bolt failures occur because the bolts weren't torqued tight enough. So, on steering use grade 8 or F911 bolts and torque them properly, around 220' on a grade 8 5/8" and 250' on an F911 5/8". And check them now and then.
nhrocker said:
I've had two steering designs on the XJ, the D30 had small spacers to raise it up some and was an inverted Y design, with the drag link going from the pitman arm to the pass knuckle. The later design on the D44 was an inverted T with the tie rod knuckle to knuckle and the drag link attaching to tabs on the top of the tie rod. Here's a link to the album with some pics of both setups.
http://fototime.com/inv/C466180E77AACF4
nhrocker said:
I just drilled them to 5/8", which works with the small Jeep taper.
nhrocker said:
On the pitman arm for both setups I kept the stock tie rod end. It didn't work that well on the D44 setup since the axle had more down travel, and would wear out the TRE prematurely. I fixed it by putting a very slight bend in the drag link at the pitman arm, and haven't worn out a TRE since. Of course, I went out and bought a 20mm 1.5 tap that most might not do, but they're not expensive from Enco.com. On the D30 inverted Y setup I kept the stock adjustment collar to center the steering, on the inverted T setup you rotate the drag link.
On the buggy I used a 3/4 rod end with misalignment spacers down to a 5/8" bolt. I originally had TRE's on all the buggy steering, using the Tera large TRE's that keep the small Jeep taper, but I ditched it all and went to rod ends for simplicity. Oh, I also used 5/8" F911 bolts on all the steering ends, torqued to 250'.
nhrocker said:
I use a QA1 double adjuster where appropriate, part number ADJ12-12. I didn't know about them when I did the XJ steering, but later went back and changed it. It's a right hand/left hand male/female piece that allows you to use right hand thread rod ends on both ends, and you just turn the adjuster to set the toe or center the steering. With the inverted T on the XJ I use one at the driver side knuckle to set the tow, on the buggy with inverted Y steering I use one at the pitman arm to center the steering.
By using one of those adjusters, you can go ahead and weld tabs onto the steering link for the ram with no concerns for having to rotate the link for adjustments. On the XJ inverted T the ram mounts to tabs on the back side tie rod. On the buggy the ram is behind the axle on a double ended high steer arm.
nhrocker said:
Yes, that's a pretty good idea. Just don't tighten the nut before you weld it so the threads are true. I'll use either threaded inserts or tap it myself, but I prefer to tap it since that way you can use smaller size heavy wall tubing. Poly Performance sells .281 wall DOM with 11/16" ID so you can tap it to 3/4"16 thread, and they sell it by the foot. It's great stuff for steering links, tough as you'll ever want.
nhrocker said:
I made my spacers myself, but I had 5/8" ID DOM tubing at that time. I used 5/8" ID tubing and drilled it out to 11/16" to tap the 3/4" threads. I didn't like doing it that way without a lathe to get it perfectly straight, so next time I ordered 11/16" ID tubing and didn't have to drill it. I ground the taper myself, but you could also weld on a cone washer. I didn't weld the spacers to the knuckle, I think that could weaken the metal. My spacers were 1 1/16" tall, as tall as I could go and still clear the inside of the rim. With that short a spacer I wasn't concerned with bending the knuckle.
One comment on steering strength. There was a very good discussion recently about bolt strength. It was pointed out by some legit engineering types that a bolted joint's strength comes from the friction between the mating surfaces, not on the sheer strength of the bolt. Most bolt failures occur because the bolts weren't torqued tight enough. So, on steering use grade 8 or F911 bolts and torque them properly, around 220' on a grade 8 5/8" and 250' on an F911 5/8". And check them now and then.
