New to me 2000 Saraha TJ

[Jbaker530]

Hey every one, I picked up a new to me 2000 TJ Saraha 4.0 5sp recently and have been reading everything I can on here and everywhere else. As far as I can tell its got a RC 6" long arm kit, SYE, 35" coopers on 15" wheels, and just about every RC product they make. Its been a blast driving it around and hitting some local trails and learning about it. I have a few questions i was hoping you guys could help me out with,
1, this jeep rides like shit, it wanders all over and sways back and forth and is jarring over any bump. I did do a dry steer test and replaced the frame side Track bar bushing. I replace the front U joints / stub shaft and checked all tie rod ends for play. it helped but its still kind of a handful to drive. Is it normal for a RC 6" kit to be this bad? I don't want to toss a bunch of money at it but I'm thinking new shocks are coming next
2. if I do get new shocks should i get new springs too and drop it to a 4" lift? will the RC long arms work if I go this route? I will 35's clear?
3. I want to ditch the dropped pitman arm and dropped track bar bracket and go back to Stock with both. Is that do able with a 6" lift?

 

[Chris]

Hey every one, I picked up a new to me 2000 TJ Saraha 4.0 5sp recently and have been reading everything I can on here and everywhere else. As far as I can tell its got a RC 6" long arm kit, SYE, 35" coopers on 15" wheels, and just about every RC product they make. Its been a blast driving it around and hitting some local trails and learning about it. I have a few questions i was hoping you guys could help me out with,
1, this jeep rides like shit, it wanders all over and sways back and forth and is jarring over any bump. I did do a dry steer test and replaced the frame side Track bar bushing. I replace the front U joints / stub shaft and checked all tie rod ends for play. it helped but its still kind of a handful to drive. Is it normal for a RC 6" kit to be this bad? I don't want to toss a bunch of money at it but I'm thinking new shocks are coming next
2. if I do get new shocks should i get new springs too and drop it to a 4" lift? will the RC long arms work if I go this route? I will 35's clear?
3. I want to ditch the dropped pitman arm and dropped track bar bracket and go back to Stock with both. Is that do able with a 6" lift?

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1. Yep, that's an exceptionally shitty lift you have there. I'm not surprised it handles like crap. There is no such thing as a quality bolt-on long arm lift. They do not exist and in the process of trying to make bolt-on lifts like this, you sacrifice quite a bit.

2. Your best bet would be to get a high quality 4 inch short-arm lift (i.e. RockJock) and then add a Savvy (or similar aluminum) 1.25" body lift for 5.25" of total lift. That will be more than enough to clear 35s. The RockJock 4" springs are the best around, and if you couple it with some nice shocks and an appropriate tire pressure, you'll fix your issues.

3. You have to remove both the drop pitman arm and the drop track bar bracket. At 6" of lift though that may be problematic. You won't see many TJs here with over 4" of suspension lift (which is more than enough to run 35s with the body lift added on) and so I can't speak to 6" of lift and whether or not it needs the drop brackets. Perhaps someone more knowledgable than me can speak to this.

 

[Sensei]

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Can you post more pictures of this trackbar mount? Looks sketchy.

 

[Tob]

Can you post more pictures of this trackbar mount? Looks sketchy.

@ChadH Perfect example! this is what we were discussing earlier.

 

[Tob]

Congratulations on the TJ, glad you’re getting out and enjoying it!

Poor ride quality: this is most likely due to your shock absorbers. Rough Country is known to be low-quality especially when it comes to shocks. I recommend replacing with skyjacker blackmax shocks - these are also cheap, but they are soft. Also check your tire pressure. With 35” tires, you should be around 26 psi on road and somewhere between 8 and 15 psi offroad, depending on how much extra cushion and traction you want to gain.

Wandering: Check the toe-in of your front tires. A slight toe-in will make them track straighter. Also check the caster angle of your front axle. Positive caster makes the steering self-stabilizing, while negative caster makes the steering self-destabilizing. The number you’re aiming for is around 6 to 7 degrees of caster, which you’re probably not getting with that high of a lift.

Lift height: 6” is higher than necessary to clear 35” tires while retaining a good amount of travel/articulation. I recommend lowering to at most 4” of suspension lift (body lift is another topic). This would require replacing your coils and shocks. I recommend rockjock coils and skyjacker blackmax shocks. As part of the long arm installation, the control arm brackets on the frame were cut off, so you’re stuck with the long arm linkage without major welding and fabrication. I can’t answer for sure whether that long arm system works well at 4” of lift but I suspect the answer is yes. Lowering the lift height will mildly reduce body roll.

Trackbar: There is an aftermarket trackbar drop bracket bolted to the factory one. I recommend removing it in conjunction with both lowering the lift height to 4” and replacing the drop pitman arm with a factory version. The factory bracket, which once had a tapered hole to accept a tie rod end, has been drilled out. It is no longer compatible with a stock track bar, but many aftermarket track bars are installed in the same manner with that drilled out hole. I recommend the Rockjock front trackbar, but do check the diameter that your bracket’s hole has been drilled out to and ensure it is correct for whatever trackbar you get.

Edit: you didn’t mention this, but I just noticed that your steering linkage is not the factory “Haltenberger”/“Inverted-Y” configuration. It is an “Inverted-T” linkage and is susceptible to tie rod roll, which creates a dead spot in your steering. This is likely contributing to some poor handling and wandering. I recommend replacing that entire linkage with either a ZJ Steering Linkage upgrade or a Rockjock Currectlync.

If you have any questions on any part of this, don’t hesitate to ask and I can further elaborate.

 

[Jbaker530]

Here's the frame side track bar mount. Thank you guys for the insight and help on this. I reached out to RC to see if the 6" arms and the 4" arms are the same. sadly the stock frame mounts have been cut off so I'm sticking with the long arm kit. with better shocks and springs and steering I'm sure I can get it dialed in.

 

[Jbaker530]

Just got a response from RC and the 4" long arm and 6" long arm are the same parts just different spring and shock lengths. looks like it time to shop good springs and shocks now.

 

[Space Naught]

Edit: you didn’t mention this, but I just noticed that your steering linkage is not the factory “Haltenberger”/“Inverted-Y” configuration. It is an “Inverted-T” linkage and is susceptible to tie rod roll, which creates a dead spot in your steering. This is likely contributing to some poor handling and wandering. I recommend replacing that entire linkage with either a ZJ Steering Linkage upgrade or a Rockjock Currectlync.

Good catch on that linkage, I knew it looked off from just a glance. Looks like its an RC HD steering kit, it must steer like crap.

I am in the market for a new linkage setup soon thanks to 24 years of neglect to the front end from the PO, would you recommend the Currectlync over the ZJ upgrade?

Also, JBaker, welcome to the forum.

 

[TheBoogieman]

Good catch on that linkage, I knew it looked off from just a glance. Looks like its an RC HD steering kit, it must steer like crap.

I am in the market for a new linkage setup soon thanks to 24 years of neglect to the front end from the PO, would you recommend the Currectlync over the ZJ upgrade?

Also, JBaker, welcome to the forum.

If you offroad and make cash like I did when I raced Motocross, go with the expensive stuff. If not, DON'T.

 

[Space Naught]

If you offroad and make cash like I did when I raced Motocross, go with the expensive stuff. If not, DON'T.

Looks like the ZJ upgrade is the move, or the Crown HD kit...

Thanks for the quick response!

 

[Jbaker530]

well shoot, now I'm wondering which way to go for most bang for the buck, springs and shocks to drop it 4" or leave the height for now and fix the steering? I don't have the stock parts so I'm basically starting from scratch, which way would you guys go? the curry setup isn't out of the question but it would drain the "Jeep parts account" for a while. Trying to keep upgrade projects to under $1k per project lol.

 

[Space Naught]

well shoot, now I'm wondering which way to go for most bang for the buck, springs and shocks to drop it 4" or leave the height for now and fix the steering? I don't have the stock parts so I'm basically starting from scratch, which way would you guys go? the curry setup isn't out of the question but it would drain the "Jeep parts account" for a while. Trying to keep upgrade projects to under $1k per project lol.

Personally id drop the height and lose the adapter brackets. Toss in an oem pitman arm as well.

That alone should reduce the issues you are having. rough estimate would be like $750 for all parts.

If you want to do it all, go for the crown HD kit since its $200 on amazon right now rather than the $700 for the currectlync.

Refer to this thread for the comparisons between currectlync and "ZJ Upgrade"

Thread 'What is the best steering for my Jeep Wrangler TJ?'

Dec 19, 2016

I figured this would be a useful FAQ since I see so many questions about crossover steering, steering upgrades, etc. For some reason there seems to be a rumor that started on the Internet, where people seem to think that crossover steering setups are superior to the stock configuration. I have no idea how (or why) that rumor started, but for the majority of us, it couldn't be further than the truth.

The truth is, the factory steering on the TJ does a great job of working the way it should. Unless you're running some sort of extremely custom aftermarket setup, then there's no reason at all...

• Chris
• Replies: 242
• Forum: TJ Resources

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[Jbaker530]

the bummer on the pitman arm and track bar is going to be finding a new track bar that can use a bolt on the frame side. they drilled the tapered hole to install the drop bracket and the rc bar wont bolt into the stock location.

 

[deadbeat son]

the bummer on the pitman arm and track bar is going to be finding a new track bar that can use a bolt on the frame side. they drilled the tapered hole to install the drop bracket and the rc bar wont bolt into the stock location.

Most aftermarket track bars, other than the RC bars with the ball joint, use a bolt frame side. Look at options from Rock Jock or JKS. Do you know what size the frame side mount was drilled to?