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Tie Rod Ends

NOTNSUV

You Guys ROCK!
Location
Spring Creek, NV
Another elementary question:

How to determine whether tie rod ends are OEM or aftermarket? I'm guessing measurements are in order. Need to get them replaced.

Guess I could post a pic.

Thanks.
 
What steering set-up are you running?
 
I've got Moog and stock at home. I can measure this evening.

Seems like stock steering assembly. Only difference is the driver side knuckle has a tie rod flip insert so the tie rod on that end mounts above the knuckle.
I'll pull it apart tomorrow. The parts online seem to distinguish them by thread pitch, etc. , either metric or SAE. I don't know if that's year specific or what.
Reason I was curious is the diffs were heavily built by another member and I couldn't remember if the steering was part of the deal way back in '13 or '14. I've since spoken to him and there was no steering included with the package so should be OEM steering unless the previous owner of the XJ changed something.

'99 XJ.

I'll go with Moog if I can find them locally unless there's another favorite brand or an upgrade out there.

Is there a torque spec on these?

Thank you.
 
post up a picture if you can. if there is anything aftermarket someone should be able to chime in pretty quick and help identify what you have. if the tie rod is simply flipped at the knuckle, it is likely still using an OE TRE.

if your running stock steering, i wouldnt stress about thread pitch/direction. i would just order based on position (LH vs RH, inner vs outer). moog is good, rock auto is probably your best pricing. personally when i ran TREs i ran simple durafail (duralast) parts. never really had one long enough for it to actually fail... i would just warranty them out every time i bent my steering.
 
How to determine whether tie rod ends are OEM or aftermarket? I'm guessing measurements are in order. Need to get them replaced.

honestly i wouldnt stress this either. your not going to see any sort of performance or strength gain from one company to the other. replace them if they are sloppy, make sure the boots are in good shape, keep them greased... beyond that, the threaded shank is typically stronger than what they are screwed into. (tie rod or factory drag link adjuster).
 
Pitman arm end (drag link?) and opposite end need replaced. Are these called inner or outer? Don't know squat here. Except that it's the part the steering damper attaches to.

Thx
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Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk
 
That's not stock steering linkage. That's some UTK setup. As for the tie rod ends, the one at the Pitman arm either has a totally wasted boot, or it has a sliding boot setup that is not well sealed. A stock XJ tie rod end (Moog ES3096L or Proforged 104-10132) should work for the Pitman arm side of the drag link, but neither Moog nor Proforged make a right hand thread tie rod end for the other end of your drag link.
 
That's not stock steering linkage. That's some UTK setup. As for the tie rod ends, the one at the Pitman arm either has a totally wasted boot, or it has a sliding boot setup that is not well sealed. A stock XJ tie rod end (Moog ES3096L or Proforged 104-10132) should work for the Pitman arm side of the drag link, but neither Moog nor Proforged make a right hand thread tie rod end for the other end of your drag link.

Are these inner or outer tie rod ends?
 
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I would consider a whole new steering set-up because that's not a good set-up.
 
Are these inner or outer tie rod ends?

I suppose. What you probably need are 22 mm thread tie rod ends. You may have to pop off the pitman arm tie rod end to see if its been opened up for 1 ton studs.

Your best option at this point might be to order a Moog ES3096L or Proforged 104-10132 from Amazon, remove the pitman arm tie rod end, and see if the new tie rod end has the right thread pitch for the drag link and the right stud size for the pitman arm.

And if you are really offroading your XJ, you might want to consider a track bar that mounts to the frame using a double shear setup.
 
I would consider a whole new steering set-up because that's not a good set-up.

This has worked well as far as steering and tracking but was on the rig when I bought it.

Would absolutely prefer a bolt-on kit for an upgrade. From the little I've looked (Stinky Fab, for instance) there are several mods needed for the 1-ton kits. I don't have a machine shop, and I'm not a welder.
I've heard the Currie CorrectLync is good. Now called Rock-Jock CorrectLync.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/rkj-ce-9701/make/jeep/model/cherokee/year/1999

I'm WIDE OPEN for suggestions.
FYI I'm running 33 x 10.5 and doubtful I'll ever go to even 35s. 4.56 w/ARBs. Trail, hunt, fish, a bit of rocks now and then.
 
I would consider a whole new steering set-up because that's not a good set-up.

Please elaborate on why it's not good and recommend.
Don't want to spend $500+ and/or heavy mods.

If I can find the end links that work I'll go that route since it's felt just fine up to now as far as tracking, no wobble, has aligned well, etc. even with bad end links.
I'm guessing this might be the right end. No idea what brand the drag link is tho'.
 
With that set-up you will get tie-rod "roll", it does look like they installed the firm spacers to help eliminate the issue.

The Currie is what I run and it's a very beefy set-up.
 
definitely not stock. looks like an old rustys setup to me. its a crossover steering/inverted T that someone flipped the LH tie rod TRE on. the tie rod goes from knuckle to knuckle, the drag link goes from the pitman arm to the tie rod.

if you are happy with it as is and simply want to replace joints... get yourself a set of thread gauges and talk to rustys. im pretty sure they have the rod ends you are looking for, but it would be good to verify. im not sure if they can offer you an OE applciation to get rod ends from. the important parts for sourcing new rod ends would be the thread size, shank length, and taper.

personally not a fan of iverted T, but it works. its just known for tie rod roll. looks like someone installed an anti roll bushing on the tie rod TREs which is a band aid fix for the inherent problems of inverted T. and flipping one end of the tie rod but not the other was a janky move. im guessing the tie rod was flipped with inverted Y steering and then the inverted T was added later. just speculation.

if you want to replace it with something OE style (inverted Y) like the curry steering, youll need to replace the drivers side knuckle, or drill it out and weld in a tapered insert. i would probably do this even if you are keeping the inverted T. under the knuckle inverted T or OE style steering or likely plenty for your usage.
 
if you want to replace it with something OE style (inverted Y) like the curry steering, youll need to replace the drivers side knuckle, or drill it out and weld in a tapered insert. i would probably do this even if you are keeping the inverted T. under the knuckle inverted T or OE style steering or likely plenty for your usage.

the part in red is for your given trackbar setup. anything else and youll need to address the track bar as well.
 
You can keep the inverted drivers side with almost all the different manufacturers set-ups.
 
Fired off the pictures to Rusty's hoping they can ID. They have end links available for their bar so I'm hopeful.
 
definitely not stock. looks like an old rustys setup to me. its a crossover steering/inverted T that someone flipped the LH tie rod TRE on. the tie rod goes from knuckle to knuckle, the drag link goes from the pitman arm to the tie rod.

if you are happy with it as is and simply want to replace joints... get yourself a set of thread gauges and talk to rustys. im pretty sure they have the rod ends you are looking for, but it would be good to verify.

You nailed it! Rusty's has confirmed it's their setup and they have end-links, so off I go. If I wear out another pair of end-links in a hurry, I'll replace the whole shaboom. For the time being, I'll be glad to get rid of the clunk it was causing and see where it takes me.

Appreciate all the input.
 
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