Stock Tie Rod and 35's

DaveF

DaveF

TJ Addict
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Bothell, WA
So my new LJR was lifted by the previous owner. He put what appears to be OME 4" springs on it, and a 1" body lift before putting on the 35" tires.

As I'm going through in detail, it appears the he left the stock tie rod in place however.

Question is, do I need to avoid any wheeling before upgrading the tie rod or will some light trails etc. (no real rock crawling) be OK until I do?

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Do a V8 ZJ tie rod swap. It’s a good cheap upgrade. Like $80. Buy all MOOG parts.
 
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Damn, that underside looks pretty clean, nice find (I guess I found it though, huh? Haha)

Anyways, you'll be find on the stock tie rod with 35s and light wheeling. The only place you may find yourself in trouble is if you get into some rock crawling or bouncing around in the rocks. Since I doubt you'll be doing that, the stock steering will be fine. When you get the funds, do what most of us do (myself included) and upgrade to the Currie Currectlync (which is on sale right now on Amazon for the lowest I've ever seen it in years... no joke!).
 
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The TJ's OE tie rod is not only skinny, it's hollow too. It's just not strong enough to wheel for long on 35's without eventually bending it. And because it's hollow, it can't simply be straightened on the trail. I'd swap it with a stronger tie rod, with the ZJ Grand Cherokee with a V8 tie rod being a good strong direct replacement. Better yet, go with the Currie Currectlync as recommended by Chris above.
 
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Definitely planning on upgrading, probably with the Currie... I've had the Jeep for 2 days now and I've already got a page long list of things to do... working on sorting and prioritizing them though so I can do them as budget allows.

Thanks for the info, helps to know where in the line to put it :)
 
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The Currie is probably the best a available with the ZJ swap next. You should also ditch the dropped pitman arm.
 
Rob5589 said:
You should also ditch the dropped pitman arm.
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Good catch, I didn't notice that. DEFINITELY replace that dropped Pitman arm with the OE factory Pitman arm. That dropped Pitman arm is causing bump steer which is when the steering is bumped left/right when driving over bumps/dips on the road surface.
 
Kinda surprised you get away with 4" of suspension with a stock trackbar. Is the front end noticeably pushed over?
 
fljeeper said:
Synergy came out with a replacement kit recently. It looks stout.View attachment 49519
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Synergy wouldn't make my list of even conceivable brands to install onto my Jeep or to recommend to anyone, it'd be tied for last place along with Rusty's junk. IMHO Synergy's stuff can look good initially but it doesn't hold up. Their notoriously short-lived ball joints being just one example.
 
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fljeeper said:
Or Rough Country has just the tie rod..... View attachment 49520
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Rough Country's reputation is on a par with Synergy.

DA RUNT said:
You may want to burn in some inner c gussets when you do a ball joint replacement. Something I like to do for piece of mind
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The C's are not the problem on a TJ axle, they don't benefit from being gusseted like the JK axles do. Staying with Spicer ball joints is all that's necessary at that part of the axle.
 
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Jerry Bransford said:
Rough Country's reputation is on a par with Synergy.

The C's are not the problem on a TJ axle, they don't benefit from being gusseted like the JK axles do. Staying with Spicer ball joints is all that's necessary at that part of the axle.
Click to expand...

Good info, this is the first TJ I’ve built after working on the JK’s.
 
Jerry Bransford said:
Good catch, I didn't notice that. DEFINITELY replace that dropped Pitman arm with the OE factory Pitman arm. That dropped Pitman arm is causing bump steer which is when the steering is bumped left/right when driving over bumps/dips on the road surface.
Click to expand...


I've ordered a replacement pitman arm... going out of town for a bit but hopefully get it put in when I get back.
 
Rob5589 said:
Kinda surprised you get away with 4" of suspension with a stock trackbar. Is the front end noticeably pushed over?
Click to expand...


I didn't see it when just eye balling... but after measuring it's about 1/2 inch offset towards the passenger side.
 
fljeeper said:
Or Rough Country has just the tie rod..... View attachment 49520
Click to expand...
I run that on mine. It's a heavy steel bar that is threaded on each end. Kinda hard to mess it up. Had I known about the ZJ set up prior to purchase I would have gone that route for the thicker tre's. But the RC does the job just fine.
 
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