OP
What was the reason if the opportunity was plainly there? In your case, everything is altered in some way, including a custom pitman arm.
Raising the front frame, bumper and steering box
- Thread starter jjvw
- Start date
OP
Here is the larger idea, so everyone can follow along.
Cut the frame on the white line between the steering box and track bar.
Remove the front three 1.25" body lift spacers.
Raise the frame/bumper/steering box an 1.25".
The XJ pitman arm is about 1.25" lower than the TJ. Install the XJ pitman arm to restore the drag link to it's factory position.
The result would be an increased approach angle and a less obtrusive steering box.
Cut the frame on the white line between the steering box and track bar.
Remove the front three 1.25" body lift spacers.
Raise the frame/bumper/steering box an 1.25".
The XJ pitman arm is about 1.25" lower than the TJ. Install the XJ pitman arm to restore the drag link to it's factory position.
The result would be an increased approach angle and a less obtrusive steering box.
OP
Here are my arguments against this.
The lower drop XJ pitman arm increases leverage on the steering box and increases wear on the steering gear already exasperated by larger tires. A solution might by hydro assist.
The ROI in increased approach angle isn't worth the effort. I can see this project being progressively less worthwhile with increasingly larger tires and a front stretch.
I can't think of other reasons why this isn't worth doing. But if there are others, I would like to understand them.
Getting back to the XJ box itself, that part doesn't really matter in any of this. It's just a part that exists as much as the Durango box does.
The lower drop XJ pitman arm increases leverage on the steering box and increases wear on the steering gear already exasperated by larger tires. A solution might by hydro assist.
The ROI in increased approach angle isn't worth the effort. I can see this project being progressively less worthwhile with increasingly larger tires and a front stretch.
I can't think of other reasons why this isn't worth doing. But if there are others, I would like to understand them.
Getting back to the XJ box itself, that part doesn't really matter in any of this. It's just a part that exists as much as the Durango box does.
OP
I hadn't thought of that. After a quick look, the late XJ appears to use a different clock spring than the late TJ. But I don't know if that is the spring itself or because of other differences in fitment.
BTW, I changed the thread title since this is about the other bigger idea now.
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OP
Wow! Clock springs are a mess to figure out. Almost every year has a different part number with different part numbers for cruise control.
This is a cool idea. I have thought about doing something similar in the rear behind the shock outboard. It would raise the tank and departure angle. And cure the crack. nobody wants to see that.
OP
The rear will happen on mine, without question. It's less complicated and there is precedence of it being done successfully in various forms.
The front end is somewhat murky. To me at least. This is an aggressive modification since the steering and track bar are directly involved. I understand how to do the physical work. Ultimately, what I'm trying to do with this thread is figure out the arguments against it. For those who have the opportunity to do this, why is it not done? Is the end result not meaningful? What gets screwed up by doing this?
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I see only two things being affected in the end, Antirock end link lengths (easy) and difference in pitman arm length (harder)
There is about an extra 3 turns available (1-1/2 turn each direction) compared to the TJ steering box. As long as your clock spring is centered.
Edit: You can find the clock spring stops by GENTLY(!) disconnecting the shaft and turning the steering wheel stop to stop.
What tire size do you plan on running? What belly height do you want to end up at? What wheelbase do you want?
Look at other Jeeps with those specs, see what they are doing well and not well. Would a raised front bumper help or would spending that same effort on something else be more beneficial and then reassess raising the front at a later date?
VERY GENTLY! Any time I needed to find clock spring center I removed the wheel and rotated the clock spring by finger pressure only.
OP
You are getting into the problem of diminishing returns, which is absolutely fair and valid. This is also subjective territory rather than mechanical.
From my perspective, I very recently experienced a dramaticly noticable improvement from just reducing the physical size of the front and rear bumpers. Even today, after a few months of still catching and dragging the new smaller bumpers, an extra inch looks meaningful. I'll get that with a jump to 35s. Moving the bumpers up puts them into 37 levels of clearance, for whatever that is worth.
I am planning to do a front stretch similar to the TNT kit this winter in which the steering box gets rotated upward. And I move the front tube in the frame ends my anti rock is in. I can see doing all this work for that benefit. But if I was just looking for a better approach angle I would chop a few inches off the front frame rails and relocate the tube for your Antirock. It would eliminate the gap behind the bumper that the factory sway bar goes and gain you more approach angle than raising it 1.25” I would imagine.
Nordic
TJ Enthusiast
Do the frame chop and the frame raise for the ultimate in approach angle. Wonder what the calculation would end up being with both, like the equivalent of going from 33s to 37s solely in terms of approach angle?
OP
Just to put a useful pause to this thread, here's a pic of an XJ arm next to the TJ. That's about an 1.25" drop.
I understand wanting to get the whole bumper up higher, but maybe a simpler approach to get the steering box out of harms way is to relocate the steering box mount sleeves 1.25" higher in the frame and use the XJ pitman to restore geometry.
Is there enough room in the front cross member tube with the antirock to cut a notch for the front of the steering box?
Is there enough room in the front cross member tube with the antirock to cut a notch for the front of the steering box?
OP
On mine, the bumper and winch deck is fully in the way. Raising the box only would require a big scoop taken out of the deck. Feels like more fussy work than cutting the frame.
i looked at moving the box, up is less work than out, but neither is simple.
go up an inch and rotate the front end up, and the pitman will be almost where it was.
go up an inch and rotate the front end up, and the pitman will be almost where it was.