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STEERING RECOMENDATIONS

thanks john and mike.

well another vote for currie. since i posted this thread i bought currie and installed. what a freaking difference it made. tightened up steering even with a bad box and track bar. put new track bar on and new box and holly molly its light and fluffy. once i do ball joints from synergy I'm sure it will get better. but i have to put on the brace i bought from john before i can get it aligned because I'm 1/2 and inch off center.

But i looked at the Uturn, RRO otk kit and the RE otk kit and a few others and honestly currie is the safest one to go with personally. its also super beefy and yes people have bent it up but i can't make a coment on this yet till after prison hill.....
 
MikeMc said:
That make 2 incidents I know of for bent tierods on Currie. I've bashed the crap out of my UTK setup and never bent... still can't drive straight on the high way though. :)

Re the U-turn setup:
If you google some pictures you can see the brackets not only bolt to 2 wheel bearing bolts but to the stock knuckle steering arm also. Seems like that would be even stronger than stock. I like it. The downside is that what they call high-steer is only about 1/2" higher than stock. I think they're on the right track but this isn't quite perfect yet.

new_steering_fix.jpg
Click to expand...


That looks scary to me, but to each his own. What is that old saying? Something about a fool and his money shall soon part ways...


Bent currie? Happened almost everytime I went out. My tie rod was straightened so many times with my shop press it was like a wet noodle. Do the driver side flip/otk kit sooner than later, it is worth it for sure. My current set-up is a WJ conversion, heims, and .250" wall 1.25" tube tie rod and drag link. Way stronger than the currie solid tie rod and is pain in the ass to get bent back straight. But it is way more work to get installed correctly.
 
MikeMc said:
I'm a fool but I'd never buy that. I'd just rip-off their idea and weld-up my own.

For me I can't really lose by experimenting because I already have a floppy setup, but I like my over-size TREs and unbendable tie-rod so I'm not going to step backwards in those areas.
Click to expand...

The main problem wiith that set-up is it changes the ackerman angle. The front tires will turn at a different rate and will cause pretty severe tire scrub on the outside tire. Similar to people who think you can use right and left hand drive WJ knuckles to get high steer. It just doesn't work.
 
My Currie tie rod came bent from the factory . . .

My 4th or 5th time I have bought a new Currie heavy Duty steering set up, but I can't drive very well and I go way too fast for my own talent! Also I have over 4" of lift.
 
OK that makes sense. I'll buy that. Now I'm going to completely hijack this thread since the OP has solved his problem/question.

What about this one. Bluetorch and somebody else makes this one? The tie-rod geometry does not change so ackerman shouldn't change either. I know this isn't a dana 30 XJ but they make a similar one for it. Again, I would make it not buy it. Time I have, money I don't.

standard.jpg


This might be the D30 version.

190.jpg
 
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If you are going that far you may as well buy the teraflex knuckle. Also, a raised drag link will require a raised track bar mount on the axle end to prevent bump steer.
 
It sounds like the WJ swap is the correct way to go.

But comparing the Currie setup to the ZJ setup I currently have, is there really much difference between the two?

I'm not bashing Currie, just trying to learn.
 
Tony_SS said:
It sounds like the WJ swap is the correct way to go.

But comparing the Currie setup to the ZJ setup I currently have, is there really much difference between the two?

I'm not bashing Currie, just trying to learn.
Click to expand...

The currie tie rod and drag link are both much bigger diameter than the stock ZJ stuff. The tie rod ends are bigger as well. The main difference are the angles of the tie rod ends on the drag link, they are set for vehicles with a suspension lift rather than optimized for stock height vehicles.
 
Bryan C. said:
The main problem wiith that set-up is it changes the ackerman angle. The front tires will turn at a different rate and will cause pretty severe tire scrub on the outside tire. Similar to people who think you can use right and left hand drive WJ knuckles to get high steer. It just doesn't work.
Click to expand...

For the U-turn steering, there is a bracket that bolts to the driver side and extends it to the same position as the new passenger bracket. Just FYI. Originally in the past years, the kit did not have this. But if you look it up and look at pics, there is a bracket that matches on the driver side.
 
Tony_SS said:
It sounds like the WJ swap is the correct way to go.

But comparing the Currie setup to the ZJ setup I currently have, is there really much difference between the two?

I'm not bashing Currie, just trying to learn.
Click to expand...

night and day. Ive ran both and upgraded to currie from ZJ. there is not even a fair comparison, two different worlds. The currie is so far ahead of the ZJ stuff...
 
Jon, Ive got a question for you and everyone else that is running custom heim steering. For a d30, 33s-35s, would you reccomend the Currie or building a custom steering? MaxxXJ bought a DIY universal kit for ~$200 IIRC.

I just keep going back and forth on the WJ swap and steering upgrades. I currently have a rustys steering from ~5 yrs ago, so not running stock junk. Thanks for the opinions.
 
My ultimate recommendation if you are running a dana 30:
WJ knuckles and currie steering. You can keep stock style steering with the WJ knuckles if you want, and you just get the brakes upgrade, but you don't mess with track bar.

I would only recommend buying Currie used, since its like 500$ new...

you don't need WJ brakes on 33, or even 35s.

I would only go Heims if you want to save money, but it might not handle as good as the currie setup.


I miss my old dana 30, with currie steering, on WJ brakes. The jeep doesn't steer half as good as that setup. I will eventually be going currie and WJ on my MJ, but thats further down the road. For now since Im on a tight budget, I went with a IRO tie rod for 55$.
 
What about using .188 wall DOM and quality TREs instead of heims on a custom steering setup?
 
Do the biggest diameter and thickest wall tie rod you can fit. My 1.5" .25 wall dom tie rod is bent so freaking bad. It's frowning and rubs my diff cover constantly now. Needs to be replaced and will be replaced by 1.5" .25 wall tube sleeved with 1.75" .120 wall tube plug welded all over. Maybe that will hold. Don't pinch pennies on your steering with .188.
 
Or, go with some chromoly tubing for your tie rod and other steering links. Does cost a little more, but lighter and stronger.

Jeep450r said:
Do the biggest diameter and thickest wall tie rod you can fit. My 1.5" .25 wall dom tie rod is bent so freaking bad. It's frowning and rubs my diff cover constantly now. Needs to be replaced and will be replaced by 1.5" .25 wall tube sleeved with 1.75" .120 wall tube plug welded all over. Maybe that will hold. Don't pinch pennies on your steering with .188.
Click to expand...

Honestly, I think even if you were to sleeve it, and use threaded bungs at the ends it would keep the inner tube in place.
 
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I run .250 wall 1.75" DOM and still bent it...I was talking with someone that ran something like 2" .375 wall tubing for steering somewhere at some point..
 
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