ZJ Tie Rod Conversion

Ranger_b0b said:
This makes sense...Toe out is going to force the tires away from the vehicle centerline, and "tighten" any looseness that may be present. Since they are both pointing away from each other, the joint is always under tension. You won't notice in a corner, other than a clunk because road speed is slow. Toe in forces the tires toward centerline....which may tighten things up, but both tires push in on one another, fight each other, and cause an oscillation in that bad joint. As those oscillations grow, they result in DW...
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Stated much better.
 
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@Chris

Here are the torque specs for this Conversion from the 93-98 Jeep Grand Cherokee ZJ Full Service Manual for the 4.0L I6 and the 5.2L V8.

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.

Hope this helps somebody
 
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JMT said:
@Chris

Here are the torque specs for this Conversion from the 93-98 Jeep Grand Cherokee ZJ Full Service Manual for the 4.0L I6 and the 5.2L V8.

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.

Hope this helps somebody
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Incredibly helpful, thanks for posting this.
 
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Been working on the Crown HD upgrade install today- anyone whose installed this broke or stripped the bolts on the clamps?
I might have been a tad over the 35 ft/lbs, but damn that was some crap hardware.
 
Bosco said:
Been working on the Crown HD upgrade install today- anyone whose installed this broke or stripped the bolts on the clamps?
I might have been a tad over the 35 ft/lbs, but damn that was some crap hardware.
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Yes, this is a common complaint about the Crown steering unfortuntely.
 
I have ordered all my parts for this ZJ conversion + drag link set. I ordered all Moog parts though, I didn't wanna risk anything going with the Crown quality or less. Crappy part is they all need to be painted still, and the PNW weather does not always allow for good painting conditions outside if you don't have a garage. Hopefully I get the job done this week!
 
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EJD said:
I have ordered all my parts for this ZJ conversion + drag link set. I ordered all Moog parts though, I didn't wanna risk anything going with the Crown quality or less. Crappy part is they all need to be painted still, and the PNW weather does not always allow for good painting conditions outside if you don't have a garage. Hopefully I get the job done this week!
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Yeah, I know. Not bad if you have good weather often. I just self etched and painted them black, covering the sensitive parts on the tie rod ends. Holding up well.
 
JMT said:
Yeah, I know. Not bad if you have good weather often. I just self etched and painted them black, covering the sensitive parts on the tie rod ends. Holding up well.
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I did the same thing, painted them all matte black today even though it was under 40 outside we had sun and I just did several light coats and then brought everything inside to fully cure before I bolt it all up in there.

Noob question...(@Serbonze might also know a good answer to this too) Since the adjusting sleeve is different for the ZJ tie rod, whats the best way to get everything threaded in correctly? Measuring? or are there any good tricks to this part?
 
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EJD said:
I did the same thing, painted them all matte black today even though it was under 40 outside we had sun and I just did several light coats and then brought everything inside to fully cure before I bolt it all up in there.

Noob question...(@Serbonze might also know a good answer to this too) Since the adjusting sleeve is different for the ZJ tie rod, whats the best way to get everything threaded in correctly? Measuring? or are there any good tricks to this part?
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Measure your old setup as a starting point. Adjust from there
 
So I ordered all of the parts...the drag link and tie rod end didn’t come with boots/dust covers....what do I use? I don’t want to use the old ones. Google results on the topic didn’t yield any good answers.
 
EJD said:
Noob question...(@Serbonze might also know a good answer to this too) Since the adjusting sleeve is different for the ZJ tie rod, whats the best way to get everything threaded in correctly? Measuring? or are there any good tricks to this part?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure that I understand what you mean by getting everything threaded in correctly. Do you mean making the new tie rod the same length as the old one?
 
jthoms1 said:
So I ordered all of the parts...the drag link and tie rod end didn’t come with boots/dust covers....what do I use? I don’t want to use the old ones. Google results on the topic didn’t yield any good answers.
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What brand did you go with that didn't come with rubber boots?
Serbonze said:
Do you mean making the new tie rod the same length as the old one?
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Yeah that what I was talking bout, I won't be able to unscrew the old tie rod ends from the old adjusting sleeves for reference due to rust and corrosion, so I was trying to figure out the best technique for making everything the same length.

I might be just overthinking it too cause i've never done this before.
 
EJD said:
What brand did you go with that didn't come with rubber boots?

Yeah that what I was talking bout, I won't be able to unscrew the old tie rod ends from the old adjusting sleeves for reference due to rust and corrosion, so I was trying to figure out the best technique for making everything the same length.

I might be just overthinking it too cause i've never done this before.
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I'd just measure the entire length of the tie rod on the Jeep, then setup the ZJ tie rod with the same length. I was able to remove mine from the Jeep and make this measurement, but it should get you close either way. I hope I'm making sense.
 
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EJD said:
Yeah that what I was talking bout, I won't be able to unscrew the old tie rod ends from the old adjusting sleeves for reference due to rust and corrosion, so I was trying to figure out the best technique for making everything the same length.

I might be just overthinking it too cause i've never done this before.
Click to expand...

JMT said:
I'd just measure the entire length of the tie rod on the Jeep, then setup the ZJ tie rod with the same length. I was able to remove mine from the Jeep and make this measurement, but it should get you close either way. I hope I'm making sense.
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I'm pretty sure that I just removed mine as one complete assembly and then matched up the two next to each other. If you don't think that you can get yours out as one assembly, I would take a good measurement while it's on the Jeep and then transfer that measurement to the floor. When you assemble the ZJ replacement, adjust it to fit within the lines. Then you don't have to dick around with a tape measure.
 
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jthoms1 said:
So I ordered all of the parts...the drag link and tie rod end didn’t come with boots/dust covers....what do I use? I don’t want to use the old ones. Google results on the topic didn’t yield any good answers.
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There should be a bag with the dust boot, castle nut, zerk fitting, and a cotter pin. If those aren't in the box then they are missing and you should return them.
 
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jthoms1 said:
So I ordered all of the parts...the drag link and tie rod end didn’t come with boots/dust covers....what do I use? I don’t want to use the old ones. Google results on the topic didn’t yield any good answers.
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Yep, return them. Are these Moog? They should be complete with the dust boots.
 
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