I have a little bit of cash to spend on the jeep and I really want to reinforce my tie rod / drag link.

Whats the cheapest option? I know I can just buy a new setup but its out of my price range

Any ideas? Sleeve them and get extra ends?

offroadaz wrote:I have a little bit of cash to spend on the jeep and I really want to reinforce my tie rod / drag link.

Whats the cheapest option? I know I can just buy a new setup but its out of my price range

Any ideas? Sleeve them and get extra ends?

Have you looked for a used setup? Just saw one on the cheap the other day...

fatbob309 wrote:Have you looked for a used setup? Just saw one on the cheap the other day...

ya thinking more around the lines of under $170 though

thinking of putting in one from a Cherokee then sleeving it

any thoughts?

I have no idea about the drag link or ends

offroadaz wrote:thinking of putting in one from a Cherokee then sleeving it

any thoughts?

I have no idea about the drag link or ends

Im just going to come out and say it... Dont 1/2 a$$ it. By the time you spend all the money doing the work you will be a few bucks under a solid kit. I wish I would have gone this way with the black jeep... It cost me 3x as much in the long run.
I say make an offer on one of the kits you see come up all the time.
Thats just me...

Yah I can undestand where youre coming from

Another question, why does the RK steering system look so different from the Currie?

Rock Krawler setup



Currie setup




The RK says they dont use an inverted Y system. Im guessing thats the bend on the drag link with the Currie?

fatbob309 wrote:Im just going to come out and say it... Dont 1/2 a$$ it. By the time you spend all the money doing the work you will be a few bucks under a solid kit. I wish I would have gone this way with the black jeep... It cost me 3x as much in the long run.
I say make an offer on one of the kits you see come up all the time.
Thats just me...

X2. I went cheap on my steering upgrade and keep bending my tie rod after each significant run. Geoff is going to sleeve it for me. The ends are HD and fine, but the rod sucks. It's definately better than stock, but I should have saved up a little more money and gone solid and high steer with Currie.

Also, the ram assit, or at least heavy duty box and reseviour when I went with 35's...

Live and learn, but learn from what Bob lived.

My 2 cents, buddy.

Thats a good question. Thats the sterring I have. I'll ask tader next time I see him.

offroadaz wrote:Yah I can undestand where youre coming from

Another question, why does the RK steering system look so different from the Currie?

Rock Krawler setup



Currie setup




The RK says they dont use an inverted Y system. Im guessing thats the bend on the drag link with the Currie?

The inverted Y refers to the stock steering setup. With the Draglink continuing thru to the passenger knuckle and the tie rod connecting to the draglink. You can see the "inverted Y" if you stand and look at your jeep. Currie's setup just mimicks the stock steering with way beefier components. And this is definitely not a bad steering setup.

RK has done away with this in two different models. The first used a bracket that was bolted thru the unit bearings and gave you a separate tie rod and drag link. The second is the newest and uses a single attachment point for the drag link and tie rod on the knuckle. The tied rod is bent from RK so that it clears everything on the axle from full lock to lock.

alanzona wrote:X2. I went cheap on my steering upgrade and keep bending my tie rod after each significant run. Geoff is going to sleeve it for me. The ends are HD and fine, but the rod sucks. It's definately better than stock, but I should have saved up a little more money and gone solid and high steer with Currie.

Also, the ram assit, or at least heavy duty box and reseviour when I went with 35's...

Live and learn, but learn from what Bob lived.

My 2 cents, buddy.

Alan,

In my opinion it would also be good for you to make a new drag link. I think that drag link from the ORI setup you have is way too short. When we did your long arm Joe wanted me to make sure your steering wheel was straight when we were done. He always wants rigs to leave with everything nice and straight even when they don't come in that way. :lol: But with yours I just wasn't comfortable leaving that much thread on the tie rod ends. I got it much better than it was, but not perfect.

Sleeving that tie rod would beef it up considerably, but there isn't much you can do with the drag link. Making one about an inch and a half or so longer on each end would significantly strengthen that area. You could probably get away with a .120 wall DOM, but .250 would be better. I'd bet you could get the piece of tube along with two weld in threaded inserts for less than 100 bucks.

Dozzer wrote:Alan,

In my opinion it would also be good for you to make a new drag link. I think that drag link from the ORI setup you have is way too short. When we did your long arm Joe wanted me to make sure your steering wheel was straight when we were done. He always wants rigs to leave with everything nice and straight even when they don't come in that way. :lol: But with yours I just wasn't comfortable leaving that much thread on the tie rod ends. I got it much better than it was, but not perfect.

Sleeving that tie rod would beef it up considerably, but there isn't much you can do with the drag link. Making one about an inch and a half or so longer on each end would significantly strengthen that area. You could probably get away with a .120 wall DOM, but .250 would be better. I'd bet you could get the piece of tube along with two weld in threaded inserts for less than 100 bucks.

Thanks, Jack. I appreciate the feedback. Geoff and I are doing some work (read that as Dr. Geoff is doing some work and I'm buying stuff and cheering him on and telling him what a great job he's doing...), so I'll discuss this with him too. We discussed just moving over to heim's like his, so I'll look at drag link options too while we have it torn apart.

Dozzer wrote:The inverted Y refers to the stock steering setup. With the Draglink continuing thru to the passenger knuckle and the tie rod connecting to the draglink. You can see the "inverted Y" if you stand and look at your jeep. Currie's setup just mimicks the stock steering with way beefier components. And this is definitely not a bad steering setup.

RK has done away with this in two different models. The first used a bracket that was bolted thru the unit bearings and gave you a separate tie rod and drag link. The second is the newest and uses a single attachment point for the drag link and tie rod on the knuckle. The tied rod is bent from RK so that it clears everything on the axle from full lock to lock.

Thanks Jack, makes sense now

is this worth $200? its the currie hd steering. Looks like it took some hits but its still straight

It's about 400 new, so 200 definitely isn't a bad deal. That setup does look straight. If fit was me I'd offer the guy 175 for it.

ZJ's with V8's have a stronger stock steering set-up over other Jeeps. As soon as I decide to stop being lazy and hit up the pick-n-pull I'll trade that out for my stock XJ set-up. It's a far cry from the Currie stuff, but it's a lot cheaper and a little stronger that what you have.

AZCA jeeper wrote:ZJ's with V8's have a stronger stock steering set-up over other Jeeps. As soon as I decide to stop being lazy and hit up the pick-n-pull I'll trade that out for my stock XJ set-up. It's a far cry from the Currie stuff, but it's a lot cheaper and a little stronger that what you have.

You are correct, but it's only the tie rod. You are still going to be using the stock weak drag link which is very important in the stock steering setup.

Dozzer wrote:You are correct, but it's only the tie rod. You are still going to be using the stock weak drag link which is very important in the stock steering setup.

Good to know. I was under the impression it was nearly every component of the steering that was stronger.:red|

AZCA jeeper wrote:Good to know. I was under the impression it was nearly every component of the steering that was stronger.:red|

Don't get me wrong, it is a stronger tie rod. I have said ZJ that is in question with this steering, but I'd still never put it on my rig to wheel consistently.

Heard back from T.C

Im going to be buying his old Currie setup