ZJ Tie Rod Conversion

I'm about to tackle this tomorrow (doing a full refresh) before I get new tires put on Friday, but don't have a grease gun. Is there enough grease in these to get me to the shop about 9 miles down the road? Then have them lube up everything when they put the tires on?
 
nqlblq said:
I'm about to tackle this tomorrow (doing a full refresh) before I get new tires put on Friday, but don't have a grease gun. Is there enough grease in these to get me to the shop about 9 miles down the road? Then have them lube up everything when they put the tires on?
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I would say yes, but you know you could take it to the shop before you put it on, but it’ll be a huge mess, ha. Maybe just put a small shot, then bring it back to finish when it’s on if you’re worried. I would put it on and go, or get a gun.
 
nqlblq said:
I'm about to tackle this tomorrow (doing a full refresh) before I get new tires put on Friday, but don't have a grease gun. Is there enough grease in these to get me to the shop about 9 miles down the road? Then have them lube up everything when they put the tires on?
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Why not just run to Walmart and pick up a grease gun and grease tube? They're cheap!
 
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Yes get a grease gun. They're money well spent and why risk any damage (which I don't think will happen). Rural king in my area is the cheapest place for grease. I don't skimp on my grease guns, but I have to grease equipment a lot.
 
Hello Chris, I want to purchase the drag link for ball joint that goes to the knuckle. Is there a part number you could recommend? I don’t want to purchase the entire drag link set up only because the one I have is in really good shape. Thank you.
 
Chris said:
I believe you're looking for this part:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000C59W7U/?tag=wranglerorg-20
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Sorry Chris it was the opposite side on the passenger knuckle. See attached pic
024F7F80-455F-4CF1-9D3B-6D296FCBED37.jpeg
. Thank you
 
nqlblq said:
I'm about to tackle this tomorrow (doing a full refresh) before I get new tires put on Friday, but don't have a grease gun. Is there enough grease in these to get me to the shop about 9 miles down the road? Then have them lube up everything when they put the tires on?
Click to expand...
Btw. Good call on tackling this first. My front end was pretty good, but the springs were totally shot and my shocks were garbage and I've had bad cupping on my front tires. Kind of a no-brainer in hind-sight, but I needed tires at the time.
 
DieselJeep said:
Btw. Good call on tackling this first. My front end was pretty good, but the springs were totally shot and my shocks were garbage and I've had bad cupping on my front tires. Kind of a no-brainer in hind-sight, but I needed tires at the time.
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Yeah, Ive got new springs (front and back), front lower control arms, the ZJ upgrade from here, new drag link and track bar, too. Got it all for about 550 bucks between ExtremeTerrain, Quadratech, and Amazon. I'm fully stock, and staying that way, so it is a bit cheaper for me than others.

Got the drag link and tied rods painted today (red). I'm going to try to get everything on during the next few days leading up to new tires. But I don't think I'm going to make it.
 
Hi Folks, just aligning it all back up after install/swap. How do folks go about torqueing the drag-link to pitman arm nut properly? I tightened it down with the only thing that would fit in the space: a common open ended wrench.
When I take it to the shop to align I am going to have them torque it down. Just wondering if normal tools could accomplish it.
While underneath, I decided to upgrade to a Teraflex 9550 dampener, as the 2 year old Monroe one was completely shot. Already had full access to it (since I swapped my JKS track bar back onto the jeep) so it was an easy swap.

In hindsight, the hardest thing about the swap was getting the old parts off. Thank god for BFHs... and pickle forks.
 
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Hello all new to the site just wanted to throw my two cents in ,I purchased the ZJ tie rod from O reillys for 65.00 and it came with a lifetime warranty .This is my second TJ ,The first one was new ,This one not so much .I enjoy working on it as well as my cherokee .I look forward to interacting with you guys .
 
Hi guys, I have finally purchased all the parts for this upgrade and I'm getting ready to put it in. I have a dropped pitman arm and a track bar relocation. This was done when I didn't know any better. Is it possible these will conflict with the upgrade?
 
Getting ready to tackle this myself, and decided to assemble (yet another) complete parts list with some explanations, along with Rock Auto prices (they were the cheapest I could find), because it seems like there isn't one place that explains it clearly enough (to my simple brain). And also because I didn't really want to do work this morning. Of course all these prices will vary over time, but its nice to see how things change over time, even from the beginning of this thread. Props to all who came before me and made all this even possible.

Drag link - goes from pitman arm to passenger knuckle
You need:
(1) ES3096L - $21.79
  • tie rod end which goes in on the pitman arm side. This one has left hand threads, and is the exact same part on the ZJ/TJ.
(1) ES2079S - $12.10
  • coupler, which attaches the short tie rod end to the drag link. It's possible you don't even need a new one of these; it's the exact same part on the ZJ/TJ, and it doesn't really have any "wearable" components.
(1) DS1430 - $82.79, but this is where it gets interesting
  • drag link, aka "long tie rod end with the two holes"
  • A post on page 14 says that you can use the XJ part here (DS1238) which only costs $57.79. Looking at the Rock Auto parts lists, the XJ uses the same coupler (based on part #), but interestingly not the same tie rod end (ES3094L is listed). The coupler is threaded, so the TRE difference must be on the ball joint side, not on the threaded side.

Tie rod - goes from drag link hole to drivers knuckle
You need:
(1) ES3096L - $21.79
  • tie rod end which goes on the drivers knuckle side. This one has left hand threads and is the exact same part on the ZJ/TJ
(1) ES2079S - $12.10
  • coupler, which attaches the short tie rod end to the long tie rod end. It's possible you don't even need a new one of these; it's the exact same part on the ZJ/TJ, and it doesn't really have any "wearable" components.
(1) DS1312 - $42.79
  • This is the "long" tie rod end which goes from one of the holes in the drag link to the driver's knuckle. This is the only ZJ-specific part in the whole project.

So the whole thing boils down to this
(2) ES3096L
(2) ES2079S
(1) DS1312
(1) your choice of either DS1430 or DS1238

This concludes the research portion of the presentation. Hopefully that was helpful to anyone who plows through all 18 pages and still had a little confusion. Also hopefully this didn't add to the confusion.

All that on Amazon came out to $242, Rock Auto was $193 (plus s/h of $20). Interestingly, the XJ drag link is the same price on Amazon as Rock Auto. My plan is to re-use the couplers. Yeah, it's only a $12 part, but there are 2 of them, and this is how you get nickel'd & dime'd to death.

For the drag link, I have a buddy with a parts XJ, so I'm going to test fit that drag link with the ZJ/TJ tie rod ends, and assuming that all works out I will order that new part as well, and update this post accordingly. I considered going down the junkyard route, but both of the expensive parts have a fixed ball joint on one end, and if those are serviceable it is news to me, so it makes sense to go new here.
 
@hear thanks for a solid update. I’m between this and the Currie setup, but for 1/3 of the price, the ZJ conversion is pretty tempting. Post an update once everything is installed!
 
TWiG01 said:
@hear thanks for a solid update. I’m between this and the Currie setup, but for 1/3 of the price, the ZJ conversion is pretty tempting. Post an update once everything is installed!
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Although I run the Currie setup, I would go with the ZJ conversion first. If you see that the steering needs more beef - upgrade later!
 
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Chris said:
The ZJ tie rod upgrade is a simple, cheap, and effective upgrade for your Jeep Wrangler TJ. Found on the V8 model Grand Cherokee ZJ, this tie rod is substantially larger than the stock TJ tie rod. The threaded section of the factory tie rod end measures .65" in diameter. The ZJ end measures 1".

Below you'll find some photos comparing the ZJ tie rod (and tie rod end) to the stock TJ tie rod (and tie rod end). You can see that the ZJ tie rod and tie rod ends are much, much larger than the TJ tie rod setup. This ultimately means you'll have a much stronger steering setup (which isn't a bad thing if you like to get your tie rod hung up on rocks, logs, and the likes).

View attachment 20181

View attachment 20182


Parts Required
The ZJ tie rod conversion parts can be purchased for a very reasonable price on Amazon. You'll need the following parts:
The following parts are optional if you'd like to replace your drag link at the same time, with quality replacement parts. This is a great option if you want to refresh everything, including the drag link (not a bad idea if your Jeep has higher miles). Though the drag link will still remain the stock diameter, (the ZJ and TJ drag links are the same diameter) it will provide you with a completely refreshed steering setup, which is great for preventative maintenance.
Another option is to purchase the the Crown HD steering kit which includes the beefier ZJ tie rod, as well as a new drag link. This includes everything you need, all in one "kit".


Torque Specs
Drag Link to Pitman Arm Nut - 81 Nm / 60 ft.lbs.
Drag Link to Knuckle Nut - 47 Nm / 35 ft.lbs.
Drag Link Clamp Bolts - 49 Nm / 36 ft.lbs.
Tie Rod Clamp Bolts - 49 Nm / 35 ft.lbs
Tie Rod Knuckle - 47 Nm / 35 ft.lbs
Tie Rod to Drag Link - 75 Nm / 55 ft.lbs.


Conclusion
Last but not least, this is a good article worth reading if you're interested in the various possible steering upgrades for your TJ: What is the best steering for my Jeep Wrangler TJ?

This is an incredibly easy modification to do, and can be done while your Jeep is on the ground with the wheels still on, not even jacked up at all. It's really that easy!
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Do you recommend the kit or buying the parts you listed individually?
 
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