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WJ knuckle swap and 1-ton steering complete

Dustys

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Kansas
I benefited over the past several months by gathering information from different post to do my WJ knuckle swap and 1-ton steering upgrade.
Thought I'd post up pictures and parts I used this weekend to finally get it all installed.

Pieces and parts:

U-pick it:
01' WJ knuckles, and Calipers, PS pump
98' Durango box

New parts:
01' XJ upper ball joints
01' WJ lower ball joints
01' XJ unit bearings (mines an 01' already but I figured I'd replace while in there)
JKS Flange spacer
02' Explorer Sportrac rotors ( important b/c 01' wont fit, I tried)
New brake pads

1-ton steering:
I went with 1.5" x .25 wall DOM. Some may say overboard. But now I dont need a front skid this stuff is beefy.

Ruff Stuff Specialties
Fast shipping and great prices. DOM was cheaper shipped than I could buy it local. They have just lowered their shipping, its $17 flat for steering components with DOM. Cheap considering the almost 60 lb shipping weight.

They have Steering Component Packages They are generic but can be put together for what you need.
I used one ton GM crossover steering set but used offset TRE's for the stabilizer. I used a mis-alignment TRE for the pitman arm side of the draglink. This gives alot more droop to the passenger side instead of being held up by the draglink.

Off center trackbar axle bracket
3/4" heims
and same DOM for trackbar setup

I wanted to use heims so I didn't use the JKS over the axle bracket

Don't forget
Jam Nuts
TRE inserts
And anti-seize!
Now a series of photos of the process....
 
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DOM and TRE from Rough Stuff
I beginning to doubt that I need this ridiculous size. This is what happens when friends send you emails of stuff you ought to buy...

Untitled by Agustus McCrae, on Flickr



Weld on JKS flange spacer to the passenger side knuckle
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Sandblasted the knuckle clean. Some have thought it not necessary to weld on the flange, I disagree as does JKS. Disclaimer: I am not a professional welder, I am a hobbyist, I consider my sources and use advice from others to form best practices.
That being said, Important to get the knuckle hot with a torch for it to weld properly, then do it in stages and stick it in a bucket of sand to cool, so the welds don't pop from cooling to fast.

TIG was a little hard to get in there. Had a 1/4" deep channel between flange and knuckle to get first few welds into.
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Weld on one side of the inserts to the DOM the others after the knuckles are installed and measurements are taken.

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Ream the knuckles
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Everything is working fine, the taper went smooth the TRE fits snugly Right? WRONG. This is supposed to be an OVER the knuckle steering so tapering the holes in the stock direction got me nowhere. I only did one backwards, but to late I might as well have done them all that way. So plan B, I just drilled them all out 7/8" and welded in tapered inserts. I had a buddy to the 7/8" drilling at his shop with a industrial drill press. the taper self centers so I could do that at home, but a straight bore has to be angled in more than one direction so a drill press that moves is preferred.
7553067740_0b24a59ea9_c.jpg
 
Paint em' up!

I like this stuff, time will tell how trail proof it is. But it goes on well with a brush and thats always a plus.
7552759748_2f86d500d9.jpg

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Old and new brake and rotor comparison. Along with a shop tool for size comparison.:guitar:

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This is the incorrect rotor, same size but out of an 01' instead of an 02' sportrac. The hub isn't deep enough.

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Install

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Axle Trackbar mount. Its clocked forward about 10* to clear the upper control. Stock bracket and stabilizer bracket was removed.

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There are some clearance issues to be aware of....
Better make sure your wheels are large enough, stock wheels you can forget about.. I have 15" Mickey Thompson's with a good bit of offset, and they don't taper on the inside but it was close.
7552760970_4d4f852dbf.jpg


This picture is misleading. Its not touching anywhere and there is a fair amount of space at least an 1/4" all the way around the caliper. But still tight.

7552757038_aeccda52ce.jpg


The offset TRE contacted the wheel on full lock turns. Granted you won't be doing full lock at any speed but still no good. I ground the edge of the TRE since there seemed to be a little extra cast there where it was rubbing and have maintained good clearance there since.

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Some have mentioned spacing issues with the sportrac rotors and the calipers. My calipers rubbed the back side of my new rotors and gouged them pretty good. I had to add 1/16 inch thick washers behind my calipers to get the proper spacing. 1/8" spacing would be about perfect and I have a disc rotor spacer on order to correct that since washers are dangerous in that position.

I don't know if it was the O'rilleys house brand rotors or the NAPA unit bearings but the back of the rotor was .010 too small to slide over the hub flange. So, started it up, put it D, and lightly held a spinning flap disc to the the top of the flange and presto.

Hope some of this helps.

Feel free to ask ???
 
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Take it out for a flex. Gained a lot of drop on the passenger side now that my stock draglink isn't hanging the axle up. Now its just the brake lines... tight as banjo strings. Looks like its time for longer ones again. Sorry, it was a little dark out.

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Kudos sir!

Good job with the pics of the process. I think this will help clear up ALOT of questions that creep up everytime a thread with a WJ knuckle swap is brought back from months ago.
 
Thanks! I found the lack of photos a little frustrating too. There is a lot of good information out there but it is spread around a bit. I wish I had time to be a little more thorough with part numbers and step by step assembly.
 
Looks good, man.

Mine looked Juuust like that. kinda. lol Mine wasn't painted up quite as nice. I used the JKS TB Bracket and TRE's all the way around.
 
Listen here Troy...... I never said I did this all by myself without the help and work of my awesome friends and awesome skillz. Do I need to put credits after every post if someone else helped me ?
Aahem, Ladies and Gentlemen, I'd like to give a shout out to Troy, Polly, and Clint for all they're suggestions, welding skills, and shop usage. In addition I plegarized all work from this site and things they said or did, the only thing that you saw that is mine is the Jeep that it is on, oh and the hand in a picture. And thank u.
 
looks good man. i just buit a hp dana 44 and used wj knuckles over the past couple weeks. i did mine slightly differently. here's what i used:
99 wj knuckles
2000 xj unit bearings
spicer wj ball joints all around (the xj and wj uppers are supposed to be the same)
teves wj calipers and rotors, drilled for 5x4.5
stock wj steering (my axle is jk width so the tie rod worked, drag link needed to be shortened about 3")
this track bar bracket: http://www.polyperformance.com/shop/Synergy-Suspension-Axle-Mount-Track-Bar-Bracket-p-17677.html
unit bearing spacers similar to jks that i had my buddy waterjet and i did the finish machining on the lathe. i did weld them on as well.
15x8" eagle alloy wheels, 3.25" backspacing, plenty of clearance
durango box, rebuilt and tapped for hydro assist

i did not need to space out the calipers. the rotor was pretty centered and it works fine. maybe it's because i'm using teves brakes instead?
i'm only using wj steering temporarily until i figure out what i want to do. i ran out of funding and time for this project for a little while, and i jut wanted to drive it again.
 
Could you got away with not using a offset Tierod end?

I run Hiems for my steering and been looking at doing the WJ swap also..
with the wj tie rod and ends i come about .75" from the stock dana 44 diff cover at full lock.
 
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