im trying to figure out what is all needed to do this swap and having bad luck finding good info on it... i understand ill need all the brake stuff for it... looks as if i need 1/4 spacers to go between the hub and knuckle... can i use the stock wj steering and bolt it right in i guess is my question... does the track bar need to be moved? and help would be great...
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wj knuckle swap questions?
- Thread starter Alboy97XJ
- Start date
- Location
- WA state
WJ axle = 3" wider than XJ, so the stock WJ steering components need to be modified or aftermarket.
For best angles you will want OTA track bar mount.
For best angles you will want OTA track bar mount.
xj^REMY
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Connecticut
No "kits"... Lots of info on this swap... As mentioned, track bar will have to be OTA... OR if you've got fab skills, Post #19
& like you already mentioned, the spacers... Might as well go with JKS for both... Spacers, OTA Bracket... So track bar will have to be custom, with your choice of ends... You'll also need 01+ XJ/TJ unit bearing hubs... & if you use WJ rotors, they need to be re-drilled to 5x4.5" to use XJ rims, or 5x5" adapters for the rear
Add in the rotors, pads, calipers, caliper brackets, tie rod, drag link, & if you don't weld yourself, pay to have the brackets welded on... It's not "cheap"
- Location
- NE Texas
JKS makes a steering kit as well as the 1/4" hub spacers and OTA bracket
I used
JKS spacers
91-98 unit bearings
03 sportrac rotors
Akebono calipers
Ruff stuff 3/4" heim steering
Ruff stuff 3/4" heim panhard kit (trac bar)
Spicer wj balljoints
Jcr swaybar mounts
All parts brand new (minus knuckles) You will have to do swaybar mounts and other little odds and ends (research)
I'm at $800(lots of room to save $$)
But man, it stops on a dime! I also did a Durango box at the same time.
I used
JKS spacers
91-98 unit bearings
03 sportrac rotors
Akebono calipers
Ruff stuff 3/4" heim steering
Ruff stuff 3/4" heim panhard kit (trac bar)
Spicer wj balljoints
Jcr swaybar mounts
All parts brand new (minus knuckles) You will have to do swaybar mounts and other little odds and ends (research)
I'm at $800(lots of room to save $$)
But man, it stops on a dime! I also did a Durango box at the same time.
Last edited:
- Location
- WA state
IIRC, there is a shorter JKS trackbar/bracket that works with their OTA mount. JeepCherokeeGuy99 had this.
The Ruffstuff steering kit is probably your best bet, as you can cut the dom to length and weld it all together, instead of modifying stock stuff.
The Ruffstuff steering kit is probably your best bet, as you can cut the dom to length and weld it all together, instead of modifying stock stuff.
SolarBell
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Wheat Ridge, CO
$800 is still only $50 more than the Vanco kit which only gives you better brakes and doesn't upgrade the steering at all.
- Location
- Hammertown, USA
Thats never going to hold up. A single sheer trackbar bolt on an inner knuckle?
WILL. FOLD. LIKE. TACO.
xj^REMY
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Connecticut
haha, funny guy... are we talking soft or hard shell taco?
- Location
- Hammertown, USA
xj^REMY
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Connecticut
a prius did that
GrimmJeeper
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Gardena, CA
SolarBell
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Wheat Ridge, CO
X2. Dan, you listening?
foxwar71
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Foxboro, MA
I believe Rusty's also offers the hub spacer piece. The tierod/draglink pieces from JKS are nice and worth the price IMO (if sticking with WJ ends), the metric tap sizes are hard to find and expensive. If somebody made the 24x1.5mm tube adapters for the WJ ends, that would be nice though.
I used:
-WJ Knuckles
-WJ Ball Joints (lower is different than XJ, top is the same)
-Akenobo calipers
-JKS 1/4" spacers
-2001 TJ hubs (hub flange ground to fit inside sport trac rotors)
-Sport Trac Rotors w/.1" steel spacer behind rotor to space rotors properly within caliper (would probably just redrill WJ rotors if I did it again)
-goferit flipserts to go OTK, Teraflex offset ball joint on tie rod (uses stock taper, but is larger overall ball joint)
-Chevy 1 ton TRE's on drag link (use the draglink specific ones so it can handle the misalignment)
-Waggy dropped pitman arm (same drop as stock XJ, but longer)
-1.5" diameter, .25" thick DOM for all tubing
- Just added the Polyperformance, Synery frame side track bar mount and brace
- Currie narrow Johnnie Joint (1.6") on frame side of Trac Bar
- 3/4" Heim on axle side of Trac Bar
- Ballistic Axle side bracket, boxed in upper control arm mount I am planning on redoing the axle side bracket to make the trac bar longer (same length as drag link) I get a little bit of bumpsteer on dirt roads/wheeling
- Homebrew sway bar mounts welded to upper C's
New frame side track bar mount:
Hey Cal: Did you plate the other side of the C and then run a sleeve between them? Or is it just one plate welded to the front of the C?
-WJ Knuckles
-WJ Ball Joints (lower is different than XJ, top is the same)
-Akenobo calipers
-JKS 1/4" spacers
-2001 TJ hubs (hub flange ground to fit inside sport trac rotors)
-Sport Trac Rotors w/.1" steel spacer behind rotor to space rotors properly within caliper (would probably just redrill WJ rotors if I did it again)
-goferit flipserts to go OTK, Teraflex offset ball joint on tie rod (uses stock taper, but is larger overall ball joint)
-Chevy 1 ton TRE's on drag link (use the draglink specific ones so it can handle the misalignment)
-Waggy dropped pitman arm (same drop as stock XJ, but longer)
-1.5" diameter, .25" thick DOM for all tubing
- Just added the Polyperformance, Synery frame side track bar mount and brace
- Currie narrow Johnnie Joint (1.6") on frame side of Trac Bar
- 3/4" Heim on axle side of Trac Bar
- Ballistic Axle side bracket, boxed in upper control arm mount I am planning on redoing the axle side bracket to make the trac bar longer (same length as drag link) I get a little bit of bumpsteer on dirt roads/wheeling
- Homebrew sway bar mounts welded to upper C's
New frame side track bar mount:
Hey Cal: Did you plate the other side of the C and then run a sleeve between them? Or is it just one plate welded to the front of the C?
Last edited:
Paintballpsyco2369
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Memphis, Mi
JKS makes a steering kit as well as the 1/4" hub spacers and OTA bracket
I used
JKS spacers
91-98 unit bearings
03 sportrac rotors
Akebono calipers
Ruff stuff 3/4" heim steering
Ruff stuff 3/4" heim panhard kit (trac bar)
Spicer wj balljoints
Jcr swaybar mounts
All parts brand new (minus knuckles) You will have to do swaybar mounts and other little odds and ends (research)
I'm at $800(lots of room to save $$)
But man, it stops on a dime! I also did a Durango box at the same time.
What you did is basically the EXACT same thing I am planning to do. I am curious though, I am also going to be using the sport track rotors and I have read a couple places that you need to space out the caliper bracket, and some places say you don't. Did you run into that issue at all? I have a 98 XJ axle and am just re-using the hubs as new ones are a bit much even with my discount at work, but I know the "issue" people refer to is the TJ hub vs the XJ hub in relation to the sport trac rotors. The general consensus seems to be TJ hub and re-drilled WJ rotor. I AM NOT re-drilling anything, hence the sport trac rotors so I am just wondering, from someone who has done what I am planning to do, how did it go, or were there any issues or anything?
I am replacing all the ball joints with Moog ones from work (gotta LOVE working at an auto parts store with these projects lol), to the best of my knowledge at least they "should be done" when a knuckle is removed, price isn't too much more anyway so I figure why not. Sourcing out the spacers now for the hub/knuckle mount. As for steering, just going to re-use the WJ stuff, though shortened of course. I would like to do the flip, and probably should by the looks of everything, but I am unsure if the passenger side will contact anything; I haven't had too good a look at the TRE's for the WJ steering yet, sitting in the garage and tomorrow I have the day of so mock up time
Eventually down the road I will convert to Heims, but for now I want to get this stuff done so I can get all the other work on the XJ done and get it back on the road. Sway bar plan is to get the zone offroad brackets and relocate the links (have disconnects which after an upper arm upgrade now hit the steering, hence the premature birth of the WJ portion of my XJ build, originally planed to do this at a later date...). As for the track bar, just bought a Rusty's HD track bar body mount and Ruff stuff track bar axle bracket, am going to try to re-use an adjusted WJ track-bar, hoping it will work. If not, will have to cross that bridge when I get closer to it...Prices on my end thus far are well below what some people are posting for the cost of this upgrade. Most expensive parts are the ball joints and rotors. Going with some nice performance rotors, and ceramic pads all around, combined with the WJ booster, corrected prop valve and my 8.8 in the rear, this thing should be one hell of a nice stopping rig... Going with the extra cost of running all stainless lines too so it should last a long time. It is kind of funny how fixing one small thing can snowball into a monstrosity of a built rig. Loving almost every minute of it though, and it will pay off in the long run getting all this stuff done now...
Getting away from the brakes for a quick moment, I have heard of the Durango thing, how good of an upgrade is that? Just curious.
John
- Location
- NE Texas
Yes, with the sport-trac rotors i had to grind down about 1/16" inch off the outer diameter of the Hubs, (BTW Timkens are $70/ea from rockauto!)
For spacing the caliper out from the knuckle, i used 2 semi-thick grade 8 washers on each bolt.. with grade 8 Bolts for the caliper and red locktite.. ( i could not justify the Dealerships $8/bolt ) the spacers together, come out to be about 3/16" worth of spacing, witch looks perfect IMO!
I personally used Spicer WJ upper and lower Ball joints..
I used JCR swaybar endlink mounts, But i could not use them the way they advertise them.. i had to get crafty!
another thing to consider is Brake lines, even with the super long chevy lines, and my hardlines being bent down for more length, my brake lines are still to this day acting as a limiting strap.. i'm working on fixing that, But food for thought.. if your lifted, expect to need longer lines!!!
I had a JD2 model3 to my disposal, so i curved my drag link at the bottom end, aswell as bowing the ends of the tie rod for diff cover clearance..
With my whole setup, my only complaint has been the durango box and the lack of "throw" so i am putting a WJ pitman arm on in the morning, we'll see if that helps!
For spacing the caliper out from the knuckle, i used 2 semi-thick grade 8 washers on each bolt.. with grade 8 Bolts for the caliper and red locktite.. ( i could not justify the Dealerships $8/bolt ) the spacers together, come out to be about 3/16" worth of spacing, witch looks perfect IMO!
I personally used Spicer WJ upper and lower Ball joints..
I used JCR swaybar endlink mounts, But i could not use them the way they advertise them.. i had to get crafty!
another thing to consider is Brake lines, even with the super long chevy lines, and my hardlines being bent down for more length, my brake lines are still to this day acting as a limiting strap.. i'm working on fixing that, But food for thought.. if your lifted, expect to need longer lines!!!
I had a JD2 model3 to my disposal, so i curved my drag link at the bottom end, aswell as bowing the ends of the tie rod for diff cover clearance..
With my whole setup, my only complaint has been the durango box and the lack of "throw" so i am putting a WJ pitman arm on in the morning, we'll see if that helps!
Paintballpsyco2369
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Memphis, Mi
That I can deal with, aside from the WJ rotors, any idea if there might be anything else with the 5x4.5 pattern to fit the hub? Trying to go as little "hard modification" as possible for this setup... I can get the precision ones for about the same from O-reilly if not cheaper wiht my discount, and since the ones I have now are fine, no plans to replace. Perhaps in the furure, but for now I am good lol.
I think I will be able to find a solid 3/16" spacer, if not make one just to keep it one piece. Is there anything that says they should be welded at all, or is a "loose fit" ok to do like that? Also, were the bolts you used a fine or course thread count? Are there longer stock bracket bolts to use from something else? Any chance you may have a part number for them? Friend of mine works at a dealership and can get me his discount on them, or I can cross reference them at work and probably find them...
I will be using Moog, but only because I get my discount, and lifetime warranty. Opted to go with the non-caster adjustables. An engineer friend of mine and I were talking about ball joints some time ago and apparently the wider the tire is, the less that adjustment will matter in small increments (he explained this much more elaborately). Since I have 12.5's presently, the added cost would be just wasting money, a precious commodity these days...
I am using some Teraflex disconnects, so I guess I will have to figure that out once I get the new steering/braking stuff installed what I'm going to do. I have been looking at different kits for the bar mounts, and I keep flipping around on the JKS, zone offroad and the JCR ones. Probably a stupid thing to be in the air about, but I can't make up my mind what to get lol.
I am lifted right now, roughly about 4.5-5" Probably a touch less once I get my front bumper put on... My plan was to use the Wrangler lines, and I am running custom stainless steel lines, so will mount them a bit lower than stock. Of what I can tell, the akebono calipers seem to bolt onto the lines a bit higher then the XJ calipers, so between the lines I have, and where I put the mounting bracket, I think I will be fine. Thanks for the heads up on that.
I ended up going to the scrap yard for a couple parts I needed for another pair of upgrades today, then got home and was cleaning them up so I didn't get too much of a chance to look at all the steering like I had wanted to, but a brief look at the tie rod, it seems that if I flip it, then also flip it end to end, it would "protrude" forward a little for more "inner clearance", might make sway bars a bit easier to route and then of course the high steer thing lol. Will dig a bit deeper into that in the next couple days...
I am not familiar with the WJ arm, almost picked it up from the guy I bought my WJ axle from, but I didn't have the removal tool and didn't want to have to ask to borrow one... How does it differ? I have a ZJ arm I was contemplating using on my XJ, I know it is about 1" lower than the XJ arm, with my old steering plan it would not have done too much to be worth while, but I am wondering if it may with the new plan, might make the trackbar modification a bit easier...
Anyhow, just realized the time so I shall say goodnight, have up to get ready for work in 5 hours and still need to take a shower so good night, and thanks again for getting back to me.
Paint
I think I will be able to find a solid 3/16" spacer, if not make one just to keep it one piece. Is there anything that says they should be welded at all, or is a "loose fit" ok to do like that? Also, were the bolts you used a fine or course thread count? Are there longer stock bracket bolts to use from something else? Any chance you may have a part number for them? Friend of mine works at a dealership and can get me his discount on them, or I can cross reference them at work and probably find them...
I will be using Moog, but only because I get my discount, and lifetime warranty. Opted to go with the non-caster adjustables. An engineer friend of mine and I were talking about ball joints some time ago and apparently the wider the tire is, the less that adjustment will matter in small increments (he explained this much more elaborately). Since I have 12.5's presently, the added cost would be just wasting money, a precious commodity these days...
I am using some Teraflex disconnects, so I guess I will have to figure that out once I get the new steering/braking stuff installed what I'm going to do. I have been looking at different kits for the bar mounts, and I keep flipping around on the JKS, zone offroad and the JCR ones. Probably a stupid thing to be in the air about, but I can't make up my mind what to get lol.
I am lifted right now, roughly about 4.5-5" Probably a touch less once I get my front bumper put on... My plan was to use the Wrangler lines, and I am running custom stainless steel lines, so will mount them a bit lower than stock. Of what I can tell, the akebono calipers seem to bolt onto the lines a bit higher then the XJ calipers, so between the lines I have, and where I put the mounting bracket, I think I will be fine. Thanks for the heads up on that.
I ended up going to the scrap yard for a couple parts I needed for another pair of upgrades today, then got home and was cleaning them up so I didn't get too much of a chance to look at all the steering like I had wanted to, but a brief look at the tie rod, it seems that if I flip it, then also flip it end to end, it would "protrude" forward a little for more "inner clearance", might make sway bars a bit easier to route and then of course the high steer thing lol. Will dig a bit deeper into that in the next couple days...
I am not familiar with the WJ arm, almost picked it up from the guy I bought my WJ axle from, but I didn't have the removal tool and didn't want to have to ask to borrow one... How does it differ? I have a ZJ arm I was contemplating using on my XJ, I know it is about 1" lower than the XJ arm, with my old steering plan it would not have done too much to be worth while, but I am wondering if it may with the new plan, might make the trackbar modification a bit easier...
Anyhow, just realized the time so I shall say goodnight, have up to get ready for work in 5 hours and still need to take a shower so good night, and thanks again for getting back to me.
Paint
farmerjohnson
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- North Topsail Beach
Hey man, I know this is an old post but did you get all of your questions answered or did you finish? Just curious! Thanks!
