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Steering upgrade for my 96 classic DD

Gary Briggs

Gary Briggs

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Escalon, Ca
After reading dozens of archived threads I just decided to ask the question directly, if you owned my 96 XJ that gets daily driven and moderately wheeled, which style/manufacturer would you buy?

Like I said it's a 96 with a junkyard lift.
V8 T-bird coils
Full S-10 leafs, and I mean the full leaves not a bastard pack.
Adjustable track bar, bilstien 5100's, Mid-length LCA's




I could go to pick and pull and grab all the ZJ/WJ V8 stuff, or spend the cash on the beefy kit from Ironrock.

To be honest I'd rather learn from others experiences than make my own mistakes, any info would be greatly appreciated!
 
Do you have a price range in mind? Any plans for more lift or bigger tires? IRO steering is nice and many people have positive things to say about them. I have had a modified stock setup that never really worked. I have Currie now and I love it.

Search JCR, IRO, Serious Offroad, Currie, Rustys, and look at some custom setups, see where that gets you. Price is usually a big factor for most people, so before you spend the $$$$, know what you want and how it stacks up against other options.
 
I will not be putting bigger tires and I wish I would have never lifted it, and I can't really return it to stock with the modifications I had to do to install the S10 leafs.

My stock steering feels spongy, I'm sure my angles are terrible and any upgrade would help. I intend on adding a steering box brace when I do the upgrade.
 
The ZJ tie rod is solid, where the XJ one is hollow and easily bent. The drag links are the same. And I'd recommend buying new as opposed to a junkyard piece. If you find one in a junkyard, chances are that it is the original piece, meaning that it's at least 16 years old.

I bought my Moog ZJ tie rod ends and adjusting sleeve from Rockauto.
 
The only intrest I have in the ZJ stuff would be junkyard prices, I looked at the Moog stuff at Rockauto, for the price of NEW oem stuff it really wouldn't be that much more money for a Rusty's or IRO kit.
 
Jays siik xj said:
The zj tie rod is almost double the thickness as the xj... as long as its not bent I don't see a problem getting one from the junkyard and replacing the tie rods.
Click to expand...


Well, that makes no sense. A ZJ tie rod assembly consists of two tie rod ends (a long one and a short one) and an adjusting sleeve, similar to the one on the drag link. If you replace the tie rod ends, as you suggest, you're basically replacing the entire assembly, minus the adjusting sleeve.

I just went the ZJ route because I had a bad experience with an aftermarket setup (twice). I decided to go with a reliable factory-like tie rod assembly, which is fine for my purposes, which are similar to the OP's.
 
Last edited:
Gary Briggs said:
The only intrest I have in the ZJ stuff would be junkyard prices, I looked at the Moog stuff at Rockauto, for the price of NEW oem stuff it really wouldn't be that much more money for a Rusty's or IRO kit.
Click to expand...

The prices are radically different. I am into my new ZJ tie rod for $80 end to end. It is a drop in replacement, and if the parts wear out, you can replace them anywhere. I've done this upgrade on both my XJ and the LJ with no issue.

Just do the tie rod, not the drag link or pitman. There is a tread around here somewhere that reported drivability issues when going beyond the tie rod.

-Ron
 
Don't grab the pitman arm unless you are prepared to drop your track bar as well. You want them to be parallel.

The 1" drop would be nice for steering feel but would probably introduce bump steer, which is when you hit a bump and the jeep steers itself.
 
I don't know if it offers a 1" drop or not.

Either way, I wouldn't. I've lifted many XJs 3-5.5" and haven't found a need yet.
I'd just upgrade the tie rod for dependability Off-Road and call it good.
 
For a DD just dont go inverted T. Learn from the mistake that basically everyone makes. I upgraded my inverted T to over/under knuckle heims and it is sooooo much better. Either go V8 ZJ or go all the way, just dont stop in the middle with inverted T.
 
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