ZJ Tie Rod Conversion

Any tips on removing these? it seems like both ends are siezed and the one to my pitman arm is as well.

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I'd assume by now you got this handled, but here's a video explaining the easiest way to get there. No need to watch the whole video, this link should get you right to the relevant section.

 
I’m about to purchase the tie rod, tie rod end sleeve, and tie rod end to replace my stock one. I have a couple of questions....

1) Do I have to grease the new tie rod end, or does it already come greased?

2) When I get the new tie rod on, are there any recommendations to make sure I don’t screw up the alignment too bad? Is there something I should measure BEFORE removing the old tie rod so I can get it in the general vicinity of what it was before?
 
One is inner, one outer, tie rod ends
Ι don't really think that's accurate.


See photos

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This is what I have. But the question remains, what’s a 1311?
The TJ Drag Link is the DS1430. The DS1311 is the Drag Link for the ZJ, which doesn't work, not correctly at least, on the TJ.

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I did this upgrade today, and as I was greasing the tie rod, I noticed that (it appears) I wasn’t getting any grease inside the bushing where the tie rod connects to the track bar. It looks like bushing has slid over top of the lip on the tie rod (see pics).

On the driver side end, the bushing clearly received grease because I can see it bulging and squeeze the bushing, but on the tie rod/track bar side it seems like I just put the bushing on, it slid over tie rod lip, and now the tie rod and track bar are sitting flush, with the rubber bushing in between it with no grease. I can’t squeeze the bushing - it just feels like metal underneath it.

EDIT: and it appears that the bushing is no taking any grease because when I squeeze the trigger it just oozes out the top and side of my grease gun.

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I did this upgrade today, and as I was greasing the tie rod, I noticed that (it appears) I wasn’t getting any grease inside the bushing where the tie rod connects to the track bar. It looks like bushing has slid over top of the lip on the tie rod (see pics).

On the driver side end, the bushing clearly received grease because I can see it bulging and squeeze the bushing, but on the tie rod/track bar side it seems like I just put the bushing on, it slid over tie rod lip, and now the tie rod and track bar are sitting flush, with the rubber bushing in between it with no grease. I can’t squeeze the bushing - it just feels like metal underneath it.

EDIT: and it appears that the bushing is no taking any grease because when I squeeze the trigger it just oozes out the top and side of my grease gun.

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Looks full?

Here’s mine
1619142633399.jpeg
 
I did this upgrade today, and as I was greasing the tie rod, I noticed that (it appears) I wasn’t getting any grease inside the bushing where the tie rod connects to the track bar. It looks like bushing has slid over top of the lip on the tie rod (see pics).

On the driver side end, the bushing clearly received grease because I can see it bulging and squeeze the bushing, but on the tie rod/track bar side it seems like I just put the bushing on, it slid over tie rod lip, and now the tie rod and track bar are sitting flush, with the rubber bushing in between it with no grease. I can’t squeeze the bushing - it just feels like metal underneath it.

EDIT: and it appears that the bushing is no taking any grease because when I squeeze the trigger it just oozes out the top and side of my grease gun.

View attachment 245954

View attachment 245955

View attachment 245961
Looks full to me as well. If you're concerned, pull the zerk fitting and test the check valve, to eliminate that as a potential problem.
 
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So I ended up ordering both the TJ drag link (DS1430) and the ZJ drag link (DS1238), and there is a slight difference at the mounting point for the steering damper. Here's a couple of pictures that show them side by side as parallel as I could get them. I also held the ZJ link up against my stock link for comparison. I couldn't line it up exactly because my tires are still on, but this gives a general idea of the alignment. I drew lines to represent the angle of the steering damper bolt, admittedly poorly drawn and probably exaggerated. Anyone who installed the ZJ part - did you have any problems with installing at this point? @hear - you said it installed fine, just wanting to confirm.

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I have the crown kit which uses the zj drag link, I noticed the angle difference but it didn't affect my install. Seems to be great quality, even the hardware is excellent and I assume it bolted in as easy as the Moog parts do.
 
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