Draglink/Tierod hitting sway bar bracket?

Ok here is the deal. I added a 2" spacer to my front end, this is in addition to 3.5RE coils. The problem is I cant turn all the way to the right because the draglink TRE is hitting the lower sway bar bracket. I do not have a drop pitman arm on it yet, is there any other way to keep it from making contact? Thank you in advance.

Terry

are your control arms adjustable?

I had this exact problem a few weeks ago. I ended up going to IRO OverTheKnuckle steering.

Many shops told me it's very common and they just put a bit of a bend in the drag link to space it out from the sway bracket.

I however chose not to do that.

Biggest problem is the caster..and adj. of your arms.

I have been dealing with this (by ignoring it) for too many years now. I too have the 5.5" RE lift which seems to commonly experience this problem. I believe it really is a function of caster adjustment (if you have OEM steering) as there are many folks out there who say they have no clearance issues at all in this area. My problem is that my lift is so old, RE was still supplying non-adjustable UCA's and LCA's, even with their high end kits. I guess they were just a little bit off the mark on their measurements...

I'm about to install Currie steering which is supposed to be a direct bolt on, so long as your OEM steering has no clearance issues. Since I do have clearance issues, I imagine it'll be even worse with the beefier steering linkage. Time to find a real solution to the problem. Since my LCA's are non-adjustable, I'm going to try shimming them. My caster needs it for proper adjustment anyways. If it turns out that this throws off my pinion angle to the point that it becomes problematic, then I'll look at relocating my sway bar link mounts.

To get me by for the past couple years, I've been using a little ghettofabbed bolt-on bracket I made. While it definitely helped the situation, it didn't completely solve the problem. It essentially moves the bottom of the link up a couple of inches, keeping it out of the path of the TRE. The basic idea can be seen in these pics:

I like the idea of the brackets.... this will also help get my sway bar out of my springs. Do any of you know if the draglink to tierod TRE is the same size as the knuckle TRE? I am thinking I can flip the Tie rod TRE with a OTK insert and it will clear the sway bar bracket. Let me know what you all think, and thank you for your replies so far.

Terry

flipping the drivers side TRE will cause it to inerfere with the sway bar bracket.

I am not flipping the TRE on the knuckle. I was going to flip the TRE where the drag link and tie rod connect. At the point of the inverted Y. You think that will work?

It is a tapered hole in the drag link tre. You can't flip it without redrilling and using the 1 ton tre.

Well, I finally got around to making my shims. I cut them out of 1/8" aluminum plate using the dimensions provided by gojeep on his website. I'd suggest making them about 1/8" shorter as they were just barely hanging out the bottom of my LCA brackets. I imagine this is probably due to the RE brackets being slightly shallower than the factory frame brackets.

I put two shims on each side for a total of 1/4". While there is still plenty of forward adjustment left in the oval holes on the brackets, I am pretty much out of useful thread on the bolts sticking out of the back of the adjustment sleeves. I could maybe fit another 1/16" shim in there, but it would probably result in the threads being flush with (or just below) the top of the nuts.

So what were the results? I started out with a -2* pinion angle and (I believe) 2* of caster. I wasn't overly concerned with my initial caster measurement as I was more focussed on eliminating the tie rod / sway bar link clearance issue. After installing the shims, I now have a -3* pinion angle and 3* of caster. Seeing as the OEM shims are .4mm and .9mm and the ideal caster for my '99 is supposed to be 7*, I really thought maxing out my shim pack was going to affect my caster more than that.

Clearance is much improved, but still not eliminated. Instead of the TRE hitting right in the middle of the sway bar link as shown in the above picture, the top of TRE just skims the bottom of the mount. This was with the passenger side tire jacked up until the driver side tire came off the ground. I have not had a chance to check the clearance with the front suspension fully flexed out.

So where do I go from here? The only way to easily get any more caster out of my setup would be to get adjustable (or longer) LCA's. I really don't know how much further I'd want to push it though. Considering I have a 242 and use four wheel drive at highway speeds on occasion, I don't think I really want to increase my pinion angle much more. My low caster measurement has never bothered me in the past and the last thing I want to do is give myself front end vibes due to a poor pinion angle.

To eliminate the clearance issue, it looks like modifying the sway bar mounts is going to be the only option. At least now that I installed the shims it should just be a minor modification. The other option would be to cut them off and weld in some aftermarket ones that are designed specifically to address this issue. As for improving caster any further (without causing further harm to the pinion angle), it's either adjustable ball joints or cutting off the inner C's, rotating them to the proper caster angle while maintaining the proper pinion angle, and then welding them back on.

This all really leaves me wondering... how is it that there are folks out there at this lift height, with stock steering and sway bar mounts, that have no clearance issues? Is there really that much variation in the way these things were assembled at the factory? I'd be curious to know what their front pinion angles are. :dunno:

This all really leaves me wondering... how is it that there are folks out there at this lift height, with stock steering and sway bar mounts, that have no clearance issues? Is there really that much variation in the way these things were assembled at the factory? I'd be curious to know what their front pinion angles are. :dunno:

I could not agree more! Looks like Im gonna spend some bux and get the 220 hooked up in the garage and get the welder going with some custom brackets. I will post before and after shots. Thank you for all of your input.

Terry
atriot:

i never had a clearance issue with my RE 4.5" kit and ACOS up front, until i installed drop brackets this weekend and now mine rubs there big time. i think its all a matter of adjusting the arms, if you have that option. i plan on making my lowers longer to tilt the pinion down some more

fyrfytr1717 said:

So what were the results? I started out with a -2* pinion angle and (I believe) 2* of caster. After installing the shims, I now have a -3* pinion angle and 3* of caster.

So where do I go from here? The only way to easily get any more caster out of my setup would be to get adjustable (or longer) LCA's. My low caster measurement has never bothered me in the past and the last thing I want to do is give myself front end vibes due to a poor pinion angle.

To eliminate the clearance issue, it looks like modifying the sway bar mounts is going to be the only optionAs for improving caster any further (without causing further harm to the pinion angle), it's either adjustable ball joints or cutting off the inner C's, rotating them to the proper caster angle while maintaining the proper pinion angle, and then welding them back on.

Click to expand...

Response below in the next message- finger hit 'send' too soon.

[FONT=&quot]Most of us have clearance problems.
I have heated and bent the sway bar mount, ground on it some and then had to reinforce it and still get a tiny amount of rubbing when flexed the right way.
It would have been easier to cut the sway bar mounts off and replace them with longer ones. That will happen if/when it gets the steering changed to OTK.

In adjusting the front alignment, pinion angle, according to the FSM, is the most important angle. You want to get it about a half a degree up or down. The half-degree misalignment allows the needle bearings to rotate.
After adjusting my XJ's CAs to the best possible angles, it had a little over 3 degrees of caster. Adding a set of adjustable ball joints brought it to 5.25 degrees, just within Factory specs. It's a lot easier to change a couple of ball joints than to cut roll the inner Cs, if 2 degrees is all you need.

Jeep's engineers spent thousands of hours and million of dollars fine-tuning the stock front suspension to working properly without binding or other problems.
We go and screw the whole thing up by changing just about everything and then wonder why things don't work right...'what happened'.
Plan on spending more time and money if you want to get the front end dialed in.
After you get the sway bar bracket worked out, you probably will next need to stop the sway bar from hitting the coil springs.
If it is not that, something else will demand attention. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] It's vicious cycle but worth it, especially if you drive it on the street.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] If I had a dollar for every hour spent working out some little problem, I [/FONT][FONT=&quot]could buy a lot of parts.[/FONT]:laugh:

I had the same problem after I installed my 5.5" RE Extreme Duty lift. Instead of adjusting the castor (cuz I liked the way it was), I went some taller sway bar end links from Poly Performance. A set of beefy end links will correct your problem for a few bucks.

I posted this procedure on Der Froggen Bloggen (Frog Blog). http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1025143

Here's a few pics from that thread...



Sunday was a busy day for the Frog. In addition to the TC skid, I also solicited welding help from Jeff and Stuart from my club (Boonie Bouncers) and got the new sway bar brackets welded in place. After installing the RE 6200 Extreme Duty lift, I noticed rubbing on my right sway bar during right turns. This is something I failed to notice after the lift install, and I feel dumb and foolish for not spotting it right off. Before you ask about locating the end link to the outside of the bracket, I did that but the bracket protuberance still interfered with the drag link. Besides, the end link did not want to extend to the outward side of the bracket. So there.



Because the sway bar end link was making contact with my drag link, I disconnected if for the time being. Apparently, this is common with the 5.5" lift due to castor angle. My castor seemed perfectly fine, so I opted to purchase some taller sway bar brackets from Poly Performance. The following photos outline some key steps with the install.



This photo (above) clearly shows the sway bar bracket and proximity to the drag link ball joint. Imagine the end link hooked up and making a right turn. Not a pleasant sound.



Here's the same bracket at a different angle. Take a look at yours and you will find an outward facing bevel pressed into the bracket. I'm assuming this is for strength, and not appearance.



A few minutes with my Makita grinder flattened out the bevel. A cutoff blade took the top couple of inches off the bracket in no time. This was done to prepare for the new bracket from Poly Performance.



Yes, I changed both sides for symmetry. Here's a shot of the driver's side. I'm thinking you could save 13 bucks and only do the passenger side, but who would do such a thing and risk upsetting the fine balanced nature of the Cherokee?



Now that the original bracket was ground smooth and cut to proper height, I clamped the taller bracket to it and prepped it for welding. I have not welded metal since high school a mete 28 years ago, so I solicited the help from some off-road buds. These guys don't even drink beer, so I don't know how to repay them.



Thanks to Jeff and Stuart, I am now a proud recipient of taller sway bar brackets and the freedom to steer left and right, during normal ride height or max flex. Oh, if you are looking for a final photo of the job, I'll need to post that at a later time. I totally forgot to take a pic of the brackets after I primed and painted them. Take my word on it...they are glorious!
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1025143

Geez! And all I did was cut the old brackets, weld in a 2" piece of flat stock and.... no more problems and it cost about $0.30.

smokinlib1 said:

Geez! And all I did was cut the old brackets, weld in a 2" piece of flat stock and.... no more problems and it cost about $0.30.

Click to expand...

I like the cut of your jib sir. I do have said stock at the house and will look at engineering this my self. I am not afraid to cut and weld (INSERT EVIL LAUGH)!!!

Terry

I just made a "v" cut and rolled the bracket back(towards the rear) about 1/2".

RCP Phx said:

I just made a "v" cut and rolled the bracket back(towards the rear) about 1/2".

Click to expand...

I think this is the route I'm going to try before I resort to hacking them off and replacing them.

RCP Phx said:

I just made a "v" cut and rolled the bracket back(towards the rear) about 1/2".

Click to expand...

Post up a pick so we can see how it looks....... I can gusset this as well to strengthen it as well.


Terry