Aside from the Currie/Rockjock steering, Is there any other setup that you would consider a decent option.
This is just for informational purposes .I already run the Savvy/Rockjock set up
New Steinjager crossover steering for my 2001
- Thread starter Orangetj
- Start date
This is just for informational purposes .I already run the Savvy/Rockjock set up
Supposedly Poly has fixed the problem they had with the draglink knuckle side TRE and slotted it correctly. Before that, and unless that is true, the draglink rolled up and down pretty severely as the tires received steering input. At that point it is essentially a late blooming copy of the Currie with unknown durability.
It appears there are quite a few options out there, but I have always stuck with the currie setup. I've seen setups that use rod ends as opposed to tie rod ends. They might be ok for off road use only, but it's not something I would trust on a daily driven vehicle.
When I used to work at the speed shop, there was a guy with a custom set up on his Bronco. It seemed like he would replace the rod ends every 6 months.
There are always or have always been lots of different stuff, almost none of it is worth owning. What everyone misses on the rod ends is in order to have enough misalignment for the draglink and all the movement it has under articulation, you have to run high misalignment rod ends. For them to have that much angle built into them, the race around the ball has to be much smaller so it wears very quickly under load.
Also why I only use the high quality HD rod ends for track bars and tie rods. They have a bore size in the ball that is smaller than the shank size which increases the race around the ball and makes them last a very long time even on 40" tires.
I actually did this last week while I had things apart for the locker install.
Best I could tell, steering axis inclination was about 9.3° on my HP30, measured with an angle finder on top of my lower ball joint. I measured both sides and took the average to account for any slope in my floor or manufacturing slop in the height of my jackstands. I eyeballed the axis and measured the WMS about 5-1/8" out from the axis at the hub centerline. That puts stock scrub radius about 1-3/4" for a 30" tire package on a factory 5.5 BS 15x8 wheel like the Canyon or Ravine. Since my measurements weren't exactly precise I didn't worry too much about the stock scrub radius, but once you have the SAI you can calculate scrub radius relative to stock for any wheel/tire combination you want. I will note this is one situation where the wheel offset is more useful than the backspacing.
From a 30" tire package as a baseline:
31's and Moabs (Rubicon) adds .418"
33 on a 5.25" BS wheel is +.013, or effectively same as a factory 30" setup - this is my favorite thing about 33x10.5 is you can run a lot more BS than you can a 12.5.
33 on a 3.75BS is +1.5"
35x12.5 on a 4" BS (my arrangement) is +1.099"
All these were based on a 9.3° SAI, 15x8 wheel and rolling radius calculated based on BFGoodrich stated revolutions/mile for that size of KM3.
I'll be another advocate for ditching it altogether for currie/savvy steering..... but it's simple and effective, whether it's right or wrong..... it has limitations of limited downtravel, 24" extended shock length, from binding joints and limited up travel from crossed up links, bolts will never stay tight. As you can see in the pictures, a Rough country Forged track bar is used. cut off the sleeve and insert a 7/8" bung, use a 7/8-3/4 heim and jam nut. you retain double adjustability. The bracket used here is what I hand cut and use, there are plenty of options available from artec, barnes, ect. to raise the axle end near 3" and keep it off the springs
could be a WJ part, also appears similar to what the jk uses. just to be clear you don't prefer either off set because of the force line or just the P shaped offset head?
this type of TRE would net me some room inside the rims edge for balance weights too.
this is the pic.
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kinda feel bad for this guy. profile says he's 15. i was certainly more of an idiot than this guy at that age.
At 15 I was only capable of busting/cracking the ceramic of the new spark plugs I was trying to install into my dad's Olds.
The stock wj rod ends are pretty weak. I've used them alot. As soon as you put a ram on there, they will just bend like butter. Even without a ram, they fold up. I found It takes very little pressure to bend them in a press while modifying them due to the lack of right hand drive parts availability to flip the drag link and clear components.
As far as wheel clearance is concerned. If you aren't running 3.75" backspacing that clears, you have other issues going on to worry about.
Running the wj stuff still puts you in the same situation with track bar relocation and maintaining proper length, beyond just getting rid of bumpsteer at ride height to drive on the hwy.
pretty sure they make those offset shank ends in 1ton version. i'd not run stock anything anymore WJ, JK or anything between. the offset end or P shaped joint rolls to much and requires more room inside the rim, where that offset shank style does tuck back in under the connection point.
was just wondering if that type offered a chance to eliminate that rolling behavior. but ain't willin to bet on it since the bars still out front of the ends.
sorry to jump this thread. but no reason to open another steering thread.
@mrblaine, here's ya a chuckle for this mornin.
can i assume you know what a JK passenger side knuckle looks like (pic below)?
1st, this axle is not gonna be around very long (out next fall) , this is my hesitation to buying hi-steer knuckles and fitting them. in the meantime i'd like some better clearance on this TR.
so next dumb idea down the pipe is...............what if someone lopped off the drag arm and flipped the TR OTK and used a Y link?
or remove just enough of the drag arm to get the link by and drilled and tapped the remaining bit to fix a double shear mount and stack the ends inside that.
if i can make an improvement it's worth the effort, but spending more $ to rent it for a yr is not..
@mrblaine, here's ya a chuckle for this mornin.
can i assume you know what a JK passenger side knuckle looks like (pic below)?
1st, this axle is not gonna be around very long (out next fall) , this is my hesitation to buying hi-steer knuckles and fitting them. in the meantime i'd like some better clearance on this TR.
so next dumb idea down the pipe is...............what if someone lopped off the drag arm and flipped the TR OTK and used a Y link?
or remove just enough of the drag arm to get the link by and drilled and tapped the remaining bit to fix a double shear mount and stack the ends inside that.
if i can make an improvement it's worth the effort, but spending more $ to rent it for a yr is not..
I don't know the rest of it. Is the axle narrow enough that the Currie Y link will work? Is the lower steering arm close enough to the height of the axle end of the trackbar mounting height that it won't have terrible bump steer? Do they make RH drive JK parts?
couldn't use the Currie unless they make HD long shank ends. most likely the TRE made to accept the drag link end. great point, a Y would require an axle end height adjustment of the TB. so that's off the table.
but the drag link end will remain very close to it's present height and angle if i did the double shear bracket and stacked the ends. would you trust an OE knuckle with a fixture like that?
Not sure what you mean unless you are stacking rod ends on the same bolt?
as always thanx for your input, the questions always provoke more thought. in my attempt to illustrate my idea, a flaw immediately became apparent.
i'll have to do some cypherin and repose the question later.