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steering upgrade??????

mudrat

NAXJA Forum User
Location
scappoose
I have been trying to make up my mind on what kind of steering upgrade to go with-JCR,rusty's,TNT,etc.then i see on another site someone using the ZJ setup. is this a good switch?how much stronger is this rod?price comparision. i did search and came up with little on this setup?
 
looks like a good upgrade for the$$ but are the knuckles the same? as thats also a major breaking point. i am just worried i will break the ZJ setup,but hate the 1ton JCR on the road.live or let die i know but steering handling is a big deal to me
 
I have the ZJ tierod and it feels just like factory, if anything tighter because it doesn't flex at all like the original hollow tie rod.

Knuckles are stock. You can break anything, but it was cheap and definitely beefier.
 
thanks for the info, iwill call the crown dealer tomorrow by the way what year did the PN's come form if the #'s you had on the write up are no longer good?
 
mudrat said:
I have been trying to make up my mind on what kind of steering upgrade to go with-JCR,rusty's,TNT,etc.then i see on another site someone using the ZJ setup. is this a good switch?how much stronger is this rod?price comparision. i did search and came up with little on this setup?

Ok, here's the deal. The ZJ tie rod is heavier and will bolt right on. But it will bend, heck even the JCR 1 ton will bend if you put the whole weight of the jeep on it. I did the JCR 1 ton after bending 3 stock tie rods, and 1 zj tie rod due to rock ADD.Yes, that's me at 4 minutes swapping tie rods. See the rock, concentrate on rocks before it, forget rock was there until you feel rock hit. I call it rock ADD.
I slightly bent the JCR when I got hung up on a rock then backed up and the rock rolled putting the full weight of the jeep on it. Nothing that flipping it and using the Stock jack under it couldn't straighten. By far the JCR has been the strongest, and cheapest to do. We avoid Rusty's like the plague out here, as it doesn't take the abuse.

Now, with that said, I had already invested in 15" wheels/tires. If I had to do it again, I'd go 16" wheels and metric 33's, with a WJ conversion. I may still do that and sell the jcr setup/knuckles. But bang for the buck, the JCR can't be beat.
 
Base your steering setup around the type of wheeling you do... if big rocks are in your future then bending components are a fact of life, but you can build one setup stronger than another.
After having alot of isses with my previous set up, i wanted something stronger...

My current set up is from Bulletproof... 3/4" carbon/chromemoly heims, 1.25" x .22 wall DOM drag link and a 1.375" x .375 wall DOM tie rod. So far i've beat the snot out of it & had the whole weight of the vehicle on the tie rod at one point.... and its still straight. Im sure i'll bend or break something one day, but overall im realy happy with the quality & feel.

jeeparizona045.jpg


jeeparizona052.jpg


027.jpg
 
I pieced my ZJ kit locally in a day and it feels great. All in all, it was under $200. Plus, if I ever need a replacement part, they carry them i stock at most local auto part stores.
 
mattyj said:
My current set up is from Bulletproof... 3/4" carbon/chromemoly heims, 1.25" x .22 wall DOM drag link and a 1.375" x .375 wall DOM tie rod.

Matt,
I am seriously considering getting that set-up.

I don't daily drive it, but I drive to trail heads, often doing several hundred highway miles each way.

In your experience, are there any issues at highway speeds over long distances?

In this thread:
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=50360&highlight=steering+bullet+proof

He puts the heim joint systems under "-----More Offroad Oriented" as opposed to "for daily driver". I would assume this system would be fine, but just want some opinions.

Thanks for any input!
Mike
 
WheelinJR said:
That's alot of pivot pressure above the knuckle for a single shear point. It'd scare me personally.


While I agree with you at the mechanical level, I've seen matty flog that rig pretty hard and it seems to hold up.

I probably still wouldn't run it, but it makes me think twice..
 
cal said:
While I agree with you at the mechanical level, I've seen matty flog that rig pretty hard and it seems to hold up.

I probably still wouldn't run it, but it makes me think twice..

On the trail wouldn't really concern me so much. I'd more worry about it on the street.

I've heard reviews of heim style steering setups being pretty road sloppy as well.
 
WheelinJR said:
I've heard reviews of heim style steering setups being pretty road sloppy as well.


I've heard that, but people I know that run them say the opposite.

I used to be really against rod ends, but as time goes on i'm warming to them.

*shrug*

I still use TRE's, but I'm getting tired of replacing them.
 
WheelinJR said:
That's alot of pivot pressure above the knuckle for a single shear point. It'd scare me personally.

The system they offer can be done UTK or OTK. For OTK, I have the same concern. They do address it on their website:

This kit requires placing both tie rod and drag link above the knuckle, therefore increasing stress on the steering end of the knuckle. The special Grade-9 190,000psi F911® bolts we use are incredibly strong for this application (used in the Aerospace Industry), and the clamping force created by the "rod end sandwich" more evenly transfers the torque stress to the knuckle. The drag link separately transfers movement to the driver side directly though the tie rod, with only a small amount of work being needed from the passenger side knuckle to do this. This leaves the passenger side knuckle to receive only the torque needed to turn itself. The passenger side knuckle itself does NOT move the driver side knuckle, the drag link and tie rod do!

For any concerns regarding our Tie Rod Over Knuckle System's "single shear" mounting point, this is not a problem at all for a properly installed system. Since we are using one of the strongest and most durable bolts (F911®) on the planet, a double shear additional support bracket at the nut-end of the bolt is not necessary at all. The key components are what hardware is being used, the spacing between the rod ends and the geometry and forces contained. The axle's knuckle would bend well before this fastener system would fail. Keep in mind most track bars are fastened to the axle with a "stud" that is typically very low grade material from the factory, and is in single shear plane as well. The track bar experiences a significantly increased amount of stress and force than a steering component ever would, as the track bar resists the side to side forces of the entire truck's weight as well as the bending forces a typical rigid track bar bushing exerts while trying to snap the stud off, as the suspension tips forward and back during it's vertical travel (due to the radius arms pre-determined arc). Note: Our Bullet Proof Track Bar eliminates this additional twisting stress with our free floating Spherical Rod End Track Bar kit replacing the stock type rubber or poly bushings.
http://www.bulletproofsteering.com/steeringoption.html



Sounds good to me, but is it BS? I don't know much about this stuff.

I guess am still concerned about being sloppy on the road...
 
WheelinJR said:
That's alot of pivot pressure above the knuckle for a single shear point. It'd scare me personally.

while i was slightly worried at first... ive wheeled the shit out of it & so far so good. I check the torque almost every run & after about 20 days wheeling it hasnt had to be snugged up at all.

Info on the fasteners can be found here: http://www.bulletproofsteering.com/boltspecs.html

I know its not for everyone... but so far its working great for me.
 
ocean_jet said:
Sounds good to me, but is it BS? I don't know much about this stuff.

I guess am still concerned about being sloppy on the road...

I dont DD mine, but the steering if anything is more precise feeling than when i was running my old TRE set up.
The heims are also life guarenteed... so if they ever get sloppy im covered. So far they are still tight as hell.
 
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