Tie rod too close to sway bar

Daredevil96

Daredevil96

Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2019
Messages
93
Location
Houston TX
Ok guys so I had a little summer project which included replacing a lot of suspension parts.

I was told by some people on this forum that since I had a 3 in lift, I didn’t need a dropped pitman arm and I needed to switch it back to stock or else it could mess up the suspension eventually. According to what I was told, dropped pitman arms are only out on 4 in+ lifts.
So I changed out the tie rod (I went with the ZJ upgrade), put a new drag link, tie rod ends, new steering stabilizer, the stock size pitman arm, and a new track bar.

I noticed however when I turn the wheel to the right, the tie rodshifts to the right and is very close to the sway bar and sway bar bracket. The zerk fitting that was on the tie rod even fell because it hit the sway bar.

I took it to an alignment shop earlier this week and I’m assuming they got everything in place which included moving the caster, etc etc.

I am only worried that the tie rod will hit the sway bar bracket or the sway bar itself when I pull into a parking lot that often had steeper entrances (I used the Jeep as a daily driver for now, not much off-roading at the moment).

how do I fix this? Or what are my options? I really don’t want to weld a new sway bar bracket Although that might be the best choice I have no idea. I am not trying to spend a fortune since I am a college student and I recently dropped a lot of money into this thing with maintenance suspension parts, new gaskets, welding on brackets that were broken (I got this Jeep in February so I’m working on fixing previous owners mess ups).

is the dropped pitman arm the better option? the Zerk fitting on the tie rod fell off because it hit the sway bar already. I might have to tap a grease zerk underneath in the mean time. I don’t know.

long story short, switched from dropped pitman arm to stock height pitman arm, and other suspension parts, did an alignment and now the tie rod is very close to hitting the sway bar bracket/sway bar. Zerk fitting got knocked off already.

What do you guys suggest I do?

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Look at your steering knuckles. There are stops to prevent the steering going too far. They look like a bolt with a nut welded to it. Remove it at put some thin washers under it to lengthen them until the tie rod no longer contacts the bracket
 
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Feralkid said:
Look at your steering knuckles. There are stops to prevent the steering going too far. They look like a bolt with a nut welded to it. Remove it at put some thin washers under it to lengthen them until the tie rod no longer contacts the bracket
Click to expand...
I might look into that as a temporary solution just so it doesn’t get to the actual sway bar bracket.

the tie rod where the zerk fitting was and the sway bar are about 1 inch apart. I just hope things don’t move around too much if I go up a curb or something and they could bump into one another.
 
Part of the the problem is the non stock swaybar link mount and trackbar mount. You may have to add some bend to the draglink to push it forward slightly.
 
mrblaine said:
Part of the the problem is the non stock swaybar link mount and trackbar mount. You may have to add some bend to the draglink to push it forward slightly.
Click to expand...
Yeah it’s not stock. I had to get a replacement from artec industries and have it welded on since the previous owner didn’t get an adjustable track bar when putting on the lift and ended up drilling a new hole (crooked hole) instead of just getting a longer adjustable track bar.

unfortunately the guys at the shop cut off the old steering stabilizer bracket as well and didn’t tell me and they had to put on a piece for that as well and well, that’s another issue.

The artec industry one is supposed to be “stock” but we all know it may vary
 
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