Rockkrawler steering

[SkyHighTJ]

Uh, that's only true on the Rubicon D44 fronts and many of the D44 front's that Currie builds... "Real" D44 fronts do not use D30 knuckles, so the ORO U-Turn kit would not even come close to working.

yah i realise that. but with rubi 44's flooding the market they are a nice Easy bolt on choice.

 

[Jeepin Jason]

yah i realise that. but with rubi 44's flooding the market they are a nice Easy bolt on choice.

That's true. A lot of folks [here] don't really consider those a "real" option though, because the only real benefit they offer over a D30 is the ability to run gears lower than 4.88's. Most of the guys [here] are wanting a D44 for their bigger brakes, beefier housings, larger balljoints, flat-top knuckles, etc, and usually want high pinion.

 

[HTeK]

Most of the guys [here] are wanting a D44 for their bigger brakes, beefier housings, larger balljoints, flat-top knuckles, etc

Bingo. The ONLY thing a rubi 44 would do for me is get me into the 5.xx gear range. I run the same 760x joints. Locker choices are negligible tween the 30 and 40.

In my book, a rubi front 44 is a dana 30 with a big ring and pinion.


Oh yeah... did somebody say something about steering? :dunce:

 

[SkyHighTJ]

That's true. A lot of folks [here] don't really consider those a "real" option though, because the only real benefit they offer over a D30 is the ability to run gears lower than 4.88's. Most of the guys [here] are wanting a D44 for their bigger brakes, beefier housings, larger balljoints, flat-top knuckles, etc, and usually want high pinion.

Yah I know alot of folks that wouldn't put one under their rig. Then again I know alot that would in a heart beat. Its a step in the right direction, and it can be built to hold up to the abuse that 35-36" tires give. Unfortunately, by the time you have it "built" you could have "built" a real 44 if you start at the boneyard and do most of it yourself. If your comparing the rubi 44 to a DTD, Currie, Dyantrac, or many others than the rubi 44 is much more inexpensive.

for example....

I have installed 4.88's, superior shafts, the u-turn, and DTD axle tube seals....for the cost of all that, yah I could have a "real" d44, but honestly this is doing the job just fine for me...I wheel this thing hard and i'm quite impressed it has not exploded on me yet. Until I see more break or have problems, I'm not going to knock them.

 

[Jeepin Jason]

Exactly. We've got D30's in both our rigs with lockers and 35's, with no problems so far (knock on wood trim). Now granted, we're not running things like JV or the Hammers, but I know folks that do run those trails with setups nearly identical to ours without problems either.

I've got an ARB, Warn small hub kit w/alloy inners, and the U-Turn kit on my D30, and it all works quite well for me. Our TJ has stock shafts with an OX locker and soon to have 4.88's, and eventually it'll probably get a hub kit too.

 

[wannabe]

This is what Ive been looking for. Geeeeez

 

[AzRick]

but I do wheel with a guy running thier 8" w/rear coil-overs (he's the white XJ w/o doors in thier ad) and I've seen him break everything on that D30 EXCEPT the RK steering.

You haven't wheeled with him enough then :laugh3:

Joe did break a heim on his steering last November in JV. Probably because he never checked the jamb nuts, and they worked loose, causing extra stress on the heim.

The design of the RK steering doesn't thrill me much, but if it's kept tight, it's a pretty decent setup.

I built my own inverted "T" steering two years ago for nearly the same cost, and it has been trouble and maintenance free.

Rick

 

[wannabe]

Rick

Do you know how he likes the steering on the street. My XJ is my DD and with the design of the DL mounted to the outside of the TR Im thinking that any forced excerted on the DL is going to cause the TR to twist rather that laterally move creating a pretty bad dead spot. Thankx

 

[Jeepin Jason]

Rick

Do you know how he likes the steering on the street. My XJ is my DD and with the design of the DL mounted to the outside of the TR Im thinking that any forced excerted on the DL is going to cause the TR to twist rather that laterally move creating a pretty bad dead spot. Thankx

I don't know if that's an issue on the RK steering, but that exact problem is what was wrong with Rusty's original tierod conversion. I ran his original design for a little while before removing it due to the dead spot in the steering from the tierod rotation. Rusty's current design mounts the draglink to the top of the tierod, vs the front of it.

The tierod rotation-induced deadspots are the main reason I'm not much of a fan of the inverted-T design in general, and why I made the statement earlier about preferring to spend more in order to run a crossover setup.

 

[Kittrell]

Jason, check your pm's............. :bunny:

 

[Jeepin Jason]

pm'ed you back.

 

[Kittrell]

Personally I am a fan of the Tera kit. It is cheaper, uses TRE's and you get a whole knuckle as opposed to the bracket like the ORO Steering. If the Tera kit wasn't out here though ORO would be my next choice.......... :lecture:

 

[Jeepin Jason]

Personally I am a fan of the Tera kit. It is cheaper, uses TRE's and you get a whole knuckle as opposed to the bracket like the ORO Steering. If the Tera kit wasn't out here though ORO would be my next choice.......... :lecture:

I like the Tera kit as well, and was originally planning to go that route instead of the ORO kit. The Tera kit requires a new trackbar mount on the axle, trackbar (or just a big frame drop bracket), and you have to raise the swaybar tabs on the axle (basically everything you have to do with the WJ conversion). The end result is better because not only do you get crossover steering but you get much better angles too, but there's a decent amount of fab work involved as well. The ORO kit was a direct bolt-on with no additional mods required, which was what finally sold me on the ORO kit over the Tera kit.

 

[Kittrell]

I like the Tera kit as well, and was originally planning to go that route instead of the ORO kit. The Tera kit requires a new trackbar mount on the axle, trackbar (or just a big frame drop bracket), and you have to raise the swaybar tabs on the axle (basically everything you have to do with the WJ conversion). The end result is better because not only do you get crossover steering but you get much better angles too, but there's a decent amount of fab work involved as well. The ORO kit was a direct bolt-on with no additional mods required, which was what finally sold me on the ORO kit over the Tera kit.

Couldn't have said it better myself. I'll have a spare d30 housing to toy with, which is why I am going this route......... :bunny:

 

[XJAZ]

I'm running the RK steering conversion. The tie rod does not rotate when turning. I wanted to replace the stock tierod, but did not want to upgrade the stock Y steering. So, I went with the RK kit for the price and not knowing yet how much I want to build up a D30.

 

[AzRick]

Rick

Do you know how he likes the steering on the street. My XJ is my DD and with the design of the DL mounted to the outside of the TR Im thinking that any forced excerted on the DL is going to cause the TR to twist rather that laterally move creating a pretty bad dead spot. Thankx

His XJ is not a DD. It's parked during the week and trailered on the weekends. It's a good thing, cause it sucks on the street. Maybe because he's running 35's, beadlocks (self installed and not balanced) and no steering stabilizer.

It does rock around quite a bit and wants to loosen up, which is why he ended breaking that heim in JV. The inverted "T" type setups tend to do that, especially if the drag link is mounted on the front of the tie-rod, rather than on top. Mine's mounted to the top of the tie-rod, which seems to minimize the rocking up and down.

Rick

 

[David B.]

How come so many people can bash RK? Are you speaking from experience? If you haven't run their stuff, you're going purely on "What I've Heard", and the stories you remember are usually just the negative ones. Try it and develop your own opinions. I run a RK 8" LA lift, RK adjustable trac bar, and RK steering conversion. I do not have a single complaint and have never had a problem with any of their components (or their customer service for that matter). In my opinion their steering conversion is the best bang for the buck. Yes, it is still under-the-knuckle, but the tie rod is so beefy it can stand a lot of abuse. I've bashed it pretty hard a couple times. The knuckles themselves will break before the tie rod does. By the way, it is a crossover design. If funds are limited and you are not a master fabricator like me, I would recommend their kit. Watching their website over the past couple years, it looks to me as if they are doing pretty well and still growing.

 

[AzRick]

How come so many people can bash RK? Are you speaking from experience? If you haven't run their stuff, you're going purely on "What I've Heard", and the stories you remember are usually just the negative ones. Try it and develop your own opinions. Yes, it is still under-the-knuckle, but the tie rod is so beefy it can stand a lot of abuse. I've bashed it pretty hard a couple times. The knuckles themselves will break before the tie rod does. By the way, it is a crossover design. If funds are limited and you are not a master fabricator like me, I would recommend their kit. Watching their website over the past couple years, it looks to me as if they are doing pretty well and still growing.

Barney, I'm not bashing RK at all. I just pointed out the obvious. If you're gonna run unbalanced beadlocks with no stabilizer, it's gonna wobble. The inverted T design only makes things worse. Ya it sucks on the street, but so does mine or any other setup in that situation. (Oh ya, he has never put more than maybe 20 psi in the tires either).

The white XJ in question is my friends XJ. I welded on nearly every bit of his kit for him. I know the jeep well. In fact, I just drove it for 4 days during the recent BOTW trip out here in Arizona.

Many of the parts on my own XJ are RK parts. Coils, brackets and a brand new set of rear leafs that are toast after 3 runs. I think they make some great products, and some OK parts. So does pretty much every other company out there.

If you are a master fabricator, why are you buying an aftermarket steering system?? Why not make your own?

Rick

 

[Jeepin Jason]

how is the RK kit a cross over design?

 

[cherokeekid]

are there any actual pics of the RK steering?