Steering repair

[JeepinSoldier]

On the last run at Crozet I slightly damaged my steering.

It seemed fine on the trail, but then it was difficult to reconnect my sway bar, (Never had a problem before) and after reconnecting the steering wheel is tilted to the left. The Jeep pulls a little to the left as well. There are rock marks on the tie rod, draglink, and the bottom of the track bar, but none of these components appears to be severely bent.

I have had to drive it about 600 miles round trip down to N.C. to wrap up affairs there, and there seems to be no signifigant tire wear.

I would like some opinions. Should I just have it inspected, aligned, and the steering wheel re centered? Or do you think I need to replace the steering parts?

[02tj]

you just warped it a little. get an alignment and you should be fine. Ill look at it tomorrow and see.

[Jagged73]

Thats one of the downfalls of the TJ. Terribly weak steering in my mind.

Im guess that you probably just tweeked your tie rod a tiny bit. Take it in and get it aligned.

If your really worried, get yourself a Big Daddy Tie rod. The thing is serious beef compared to your stock stuff. While its big and beefy it also uses the stock tie rod ends so you can carry spares for cheap, and if your out of spares you only have to go to the nearest dealership to get a replacement instead of waiting for one to be shipped from somewhere.

While going off road stresses your steering components adding bigger tires and taking your jeep off road really stresses the crap out of your steering. Im betting you dont really need to replace your entire steering setup right now cause what you have experience happens to me every single time I go off road...even to GW.

Get your Jeep aligned and call it good until you can start upgrading your steering.

[JeepinSoldier]

Hey Phil!

Great to hear from you! How is it over there?

Thanks for the advice. Rick looked at it yesterday and Im going to try to Just have it aligned and the steering wheel re centered first. (Just had to lay out $500 for a new washer and dryer-stupid bills)

I checked out that big daddy tie rod on the net, looks like a good mod.

[Pacifier]

The currie, rock Krawler, and u-turn are 20 times better.

[Jagged73]

The currie, rock Krawler, and u-turn are 20 times better.

I've heard of the currie setup, but havent talked to anyone who owns that setup. As I understand it the currie setup replaces your whole steering setup, and its not "limited budget" friendly as I understand it.

For someone on a budget the big daddy tie rod is a great start...especially once you tweek that stock tie rod beyond fixing with an alignment.

Anyone have a link or info on the "U-Turn".

Turkey is the awesome by the way. Wish I had brought my Jeep. There are hills and gravel roads leading up the mountains about 20 minutes away from where I live....saw a toyota getting stuck on that road about a week ago. I like turkey enough to think about staying for two years since they have offered it to me.

[JeepinSoldier]

The currie, rock Krawler, and u-turn are 20 times better.

I totally agree that these systems are much better than just replacing the tie rod with a Big Daddy or RE.

However, my mod budget is long gone and the wife gets pissed now any time I spend money on the Jeep. (Getting a new wife is not an option :roll: ) The move up here just cost us a couple thousand dollars the Army is not reimbersing and we also had to get a new washer and dryer.

The steering has to be fixed I know, or I risk thrashing the tires. If I can fix it cheaper, just enough to get by, that will have to do for now.

I also have other priorities for the Jeep before heavy duty steering. The rock hits on my rear diff really concerned me and my gas tank skid is getting pounded. I am also starting to get vibes from some where, so Im trying to figure out where Im going to find $2,000 for more armor, adjustable upper arms, and a CV drive shaft.

If I had wheeled with a Jeep only club before I got some of my stuff, I would have modded my Jeep differently. The fact that it sits most of the time now helps, I can save for the stuff without driving it daily.

Nothing is going to stop me from driving it the way it is to the club meetings and trail rides though!

[Jagged73]

The currie, rock Krawler, and u-turn are 20 times better.

I totally agree that these systems are much better than just replacing the tie rod with a Big Daddy or RE.

However, my mod budget is long gone and the wife gets pissed now any time I spend money on the Jeep. (Getting a new wife is not an option :roll: ) The move up here just cost us a couple thousand dollars the Army is not reimbersing and we also had to get a new washer and dryer.

The steering has to be fixed I know, or I risk thrashing the tires. If I can fix it cheaper, just enough to get by, that will have to do for now.

I also have other priorities for the Jeep before heavy duty steering. The rock hits on my rear diff really concerned me and my gas tank skid is getting pounded. I am also starting to get vibes from some where, so Im trying to figure out where Im going to find $2,000 for more armor, adjustable upper arms, and a CV drive shaft.

If I had wheeled with a Jeep only club before I got some of my stuff, I would have modded my Jeep differently. The fact that it sits most of the time now helps, I can save for the stuff without driving it daily.

Nothing is going to stop me from driving it the way it is to the club meetings and trail rides though!

Your budget issue is exactly why I went with the Big Daddy. When I got mine I had bent my tie rod so badly you could actually see the curve in it. It was bent bent. The big daddy will get you on the road and will be strong enough to not bend or break in anything your going to be wheeling on for quite some time.

So why isnt the army paying you for your move. If you were on orders all you have to do is fill out the travel voucher and send in your orders along with copies of the receipts....atleast thats how the AF works.

As far as the vibes go, good luck. I finally have given up on finding all the vibes, squeeks and rattles in my jeep and just come to the conclusion that its part of owning a jeep with more than 5 miles on it that goes off road. The squeeks are the worst for me though.

Why do you need the CV drive shaft and the gas tank skid. Your really going to have to put a hurting on the one you have now...the TJ skids arent as thin and weak as the old YJ ones, and as for your drive shaft, I thought the rubicon already had one....

[Pacifier]

Here is the link for the u-turn set up.

U-turn set up (http://www.offroadonly.com/products/new/u-turn/)

Rock Krawler set up.

Rock Krawler Steering (http://www.rockkrawler.com/)

[Jagged73]

Here is the link for the u-turn set up.

U-turn set up (http://www.offroadonly.com/products/new/u-turn/)

Rock Krawler set up.

Rock Krawler Steering (http://www.rockkrawler.com/)

Yikes!!!! $650 including shipping thats divorce papers for some of us right now. Maybe in about 12 months after I pay off a couple more credit cards. It is a nice innovative setup there with the U-Turn setup.

The rock crawler setup is a bit more reasonable but i didnt quite see the advantage other than price over the U-Turn setup which I like better.

[02tj]

https://rustysoffroad.com/img/SteerTRconv2.jpg

Rusty's steering conversion is a complete steering system, replacing the factory Y-design with a wheel to wheel tie-rod. Rusty's tie-rods are built of 1" drawn over mandrel (dom) tubing and are zinc plated for durability and a great look. Rusty's steering system comes with conventional tie-rod ends. The conventional tie-rod ends last much longer than the race type heim ends and can be bought at any rural auto parts store (part# ES140R & ES62L). Whether you're in moab or in the smokey mountains of tellico you can find replacement parts. So if you're an off road enthusiast tired of bending parts or have a street Jeep tired of poor handling and excessive tire wear, go with rusty's steering system conversion. For installation we recommend having the drag-link attach ABOVE the tie-rod for lifts of 4.5" or more to help reduce angles.

Quantity in Basket:none
Code: SC-250
Price:$240.00

[JPWAVE]

FWIW - I LOVE my Rock Krawler steering upgrade. You're more than welcome to check it out next time I see ya.

http://www.rockkrawler.com/
1.5" Solid Stock Knuckle Over Tie Rod, 1.25" Solid Stock Drag Link, Bump Steer Free Operation, Great For Full Axle Droop Conditions as well as High Articulation Conditions.

[mhauganater2315]

hey rick how do u like that rusty's steering conversion? I am thinking of upgrading to that in a couple of months

[02tj]

made a solid differance! no bump steer at all. I like it a lot!

[JeepinSoldier]

So why isnt the army paying you for your move. If you were on orders all you have to do is fill out the travel voucher and send in your orders along with copies of the receipts....atleast thats how the AF works.

As far as the vibes go, good luck. I finally have given up on finding all the vibes, squeeks and rattles in my jeep and just come to the conclusion that its part of owning a jeep with more than 5 miles on it that goes off road. The squeeks are the worst for me though.

Why do you need the CV drive shaft and the gas tank skid. Your really going to have to put a hurting on the one you have now...the TJ skids arent as thin and weak as the old YJ ones, and as for your drive shaft, I thought the rubicon already had one....

The Army's travel system works much the same way, and I will get a settlement. But because of other issues I ended up spending alot of money on this move. I came up first because I had to report but the kids were still in school. It helped that I stayed with relatives for awhile, but I had to sign for quarters before they were finished with school if I was going to get a four bedroom. Maintained two households for a month.

Issues with clearing the old house meant the family stayed in a hotel for almost two weeks before they came up here. Driving round trip to NC three times on weekends because the Army gave me my orders five days before I was supposed to report and got no leave cost a bundle in gas. Add no washer and dryer in the new quarters and Viola! Seriously broke...... time to start selling blood plasma.

The Rubicon does not need a SYE but still needs a CV shaft if you get vibes after a lift. Of course with the CV shaft you need adjustable arms or cam bolts to keep the pinion angle correct. My tank skid took some really good hits but is still there. I suppose if I stay away from Crozet It will be fine! :lol:

[JeepinSoldier]

Alot of good info on the various heavy duty steering systems in this thread!

I would like to get one eventually. Ill be watching how well your systems hold up Diego and Rick. $300 is about all I would be willing to spend. That ORO system looks awesome but for the price of it I could get Alloy USA axle shafts for the front.

I know all these systems are specialty items and subject to supply and demand economics, but I think they could still make money but selling more volume at a lower price. They do not not look complicated or difficult to make with the proper machine tools. I bet alot more of these type systems would be sold if they were in the $200 price range.

[Jagged73]

My tank skid took some really good hits but is still there. I suppose if I stay away from Crozet It will be fine! :lol:

That will only last so long and then you will have told everybody the stories of your adventures and how you got your dents and then you will need to eith tell more people or get more dents.....

[JeepinSoldier]

My tank skid took some really good hits but is still there. I suppose if I stay away from Crozet It will be fine! :lol:

That will only last so long and then you will have told everybody the stories of your adventures and how you got your dents and then you will need to eith tell more people or get more dents.....

:lol: Im trying to figure out how you guys wheel this stuff with less armor than I have already! I guess I just suck at driving off road......